EPISODE 54 OF THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS PODCAST: DONE FOR YOU 2021 MARKETING PLAN   

            Feeling like there's a million different options and things you should be doing for your marketing. In this episode, I give you the most simple and effective marketing plan for your biz in 2021.

            Welcome to the Boom Your Biz podcast, a podcast the movers, the shakers, and even bigger action takers in business. I'm your host on Sonya your McIntyre-Reid and each week I'll be exploring the question of what really makes businesses and organizations thrive. I'm on a mission to educate, empower, and inspire business owners and myself along the way.

            I'm going to introduce you to a really simple concept for your marketing plan. I think a lot of us just make it way too confusing. The reality is as a small business, you don't have the time to be doing all of the things with your marketing. So it comes down to focusing on what your goals are and putting in the effort where it really counts. First of all, I want you to take half an hour to sit down and jot down some ideas around these questions I'm about to post you. Now I mean seriously, sit down and think about them and do the research. So number one, what do you feel is working best for your business right now and attracting new clients and customers? Are you asking people how they found you? And if so, what is the most common answer? You might find that people think it's word of mouth. It might be social media, but it's worth asking the question. And then I want you to think about whether or not you're retaining these customers and clients as well. That's a really, really important one.

            Number two. What do you feel like you're spending a lot of time on that isn't getting you results? There is no point in doing it if you're not getting anywhere with it, right? There's only so many hours in a day. So stop focusing on this stuff. But I just want to preface this by saying that sometimes an activity is brand building and it might not be directly bringing you customers, but it could be spreading that word of mouth for you. Some things like organic social media is actually quite hard to tell whether or not it's directly resulting in new business for you.

            Number three, take a look at the competitive landscape. What are your direct competitors doing? What are the businesses in your industry that you really look up to are doing? So these might also be companies that are overseas. We all have people in our industry that we really admire and we look at and we get inspired by the work that they're doing. And if you're not coming across anyone that's doing that for you, you need to go looking for them, because I can guarantee you, they are out there. So really spend time putting the research into these questions. Seriously, I like to sit down once every three months for about half an hour to do this. And it just really helps with the next section that I'm going to take you through for building this marketing plan.

            So the next stage is working out what stage of business you're at as well as what type of business you have, because there really isn't a magic bullet and one size fits all solution. So despite the name of this podcast episode, which is Done For You Marketing Plan. I can't hand you on a platter the solution to how you're going to get the best results out of your marketing unless I actually sit down with you one-on-one and tailor it to your business. So bear with me and go through these next steps.

            If you're just starting out, it can be tempting to pour a lot of cash into fancy branding and a website. But if you listen to my previous episode about the three way brands that I have just been through personally, you would have heard how I was talking about how I didn't actually know who my ideal customers, my client avatars were, until about four years into business. So when people are just starting out, they might pour all of this money into a website and branding, but it's not speaking to anyone, because they haven't nailed those key client personas.

            And honestly, it's not something you know until you start in business and start serving customers and working out who you want to be working with, right? So what I would recommend you do is just build something really basic on Squarespace or Wix and get a logo off Fiverr or Upwork. You really need to focus on getting a brand built with a small presence to begin with. And then from there generating that cash flow. Cash is king. Don't go investing a ton of money on branding and a website just yet. Once that cash is coming in consistently, then you can invest in that.

            So what can you do to bring in customers or clients right now? That's what you need to be asking yourself when you're in this initial stage in business. Your network is the first place to start. Pick up the phone and stop calling. Come up with an irresistible offer to promote just to get people through the door and get that word of mouth spreading. This stage is also really about getting crystal clear on your unique positioning statement or your unique selling proposition.

            So another component to that is also building trust. As a new business you don't have a proven track record yet. So getting testimonials and reviews can be a great way to start. If you have all this down Pat and up and running with consistent clientele, now is the time to build brand equity and scale. I really want you to focus on building your die hard fans and getting that word of mouth happening even more. Building an email list and a social media following that is solid is a great place to start here, because it's all about re-engaging those existing customers and building that loyalty.

            Also at this stage, you need to be thinking about how your brand is coming across. By now you should know who your ideal client is, and this is a stage you invest in a flash website and beautiful branding that really speaks to them whilst highlight what your unique selling proposition is.

            The final stage is expansion. You've got your USP nailed, your business model and your offering makes sense and people love what you do. And most importantly, it's profitable. So let's grow this thing. This is the stage I'd be reaching out to a digital agency, such as Linchpin to assess what's going to provide you with the best return on investment. That could look like the slow burn of Google rankings through SEO or even short term advertising campaigns with Facebook and Google. Once you've outsourced that, you should look at establishing a profile for the director of the business, so they can be seen as the expert in the space. See if you can collaborate with other businesses to increase your rate and audience.

            I'm going to be one of those annoying people now and say to, all right, let's write a full sentence marketing plan. So there are three marketing activities you are going to focus on this quarter, no more, no less. I'm talking laser focus on this stuff. Once it's ticked off or systemized, if it's something that will be ongoing, then you can move on to the next goals.

            First of all, clearly state your business. For example, a home repair business in Richmond.

            Number two, identify what stage of business you are at. Are you just starting out and getting momentum? Are you at a place where you have a profitable business with consistent customers? Or are you at the stage where you're looking to expand?

            Number three, who is your target market and what is your unique selling proposition?

            Number four, what marketing strategies are you going to use for this stage of business? This is where I want you to list three. Will it be a new website, Google advertising, getting more reviews, building referral network, coming up with an irresistible opening offer to get clients on board in the early days of business, social media? Remember, just pick three to focus on. Give yourself deadlines and set a calendar reminder to revisit this in three months to review results. Look at the different stats such as new clients, client retention, and whether or not you've grown any assets such as your mailing list and social media following.

            It sounds so simple, right? It really is. Stop making it over complicated. Write down a plan and remember this won't work unless you actually go and implement it.

            Now, I'm just going to take an opportunity to remind you as well about our free Facebook group called Boom Your Biz. Come over and join the conversation. And if you have any questions that you don't want to ask publicly, feel free to reach out to me by Instagram. That's at the Boom Your Biz podcast or KISS_Marketing. Until next time, keep moving and shaking.