As you begin building a successful business, you’ll experience a journey filled with excitement, challenges, and endless possibilities. One of the compasses guiding your journey to success is a solid marketing strategy, driven by specific goals.
In this article, we’ll explore five marketing goals specifically tailored for new businesses, along with simple steps to help you achieve them.
Setting the Stage: Your First Marketing Strategy
Your first marketing strategy is like the architect’s blueprint for your business’s success story. It’s the roadmap that shows you exactly how you’ll attract your dream customers, build a killer brand presence, and watch those sales numbers climb. But where on earth do you even start?
Here’s a simple breakdown:
- Who’s Your Dream Customer? First things first, picture your ideal customer. Are they young professionals scrolling through Instagram? Maybe they’re busy parents checking emails. Whoever they are, understanding their needs, wants, and frustrations (those pesky pain points!) is crucial. Think of it as catching a wave – you must know the ocean before riding it. Read more about understanding your target market here.
- What Makes Your Brand Shine? I always tell this to my clients: your brand is more than just a fancy logo – it’s your personality as a business. Are you setting yourself apart from the crowd? What are your values? What problem do you solve like nobody else? There are also different ways to build a dynamic brand identity. Think of it like your secret sauce – you’ve got to make them crave your brand!
- Choose Your Marketing Channels: You can’t shoot for the stars and be present everywhere, right? My advice is to select the channels that will help you reach and engage with your audience effectively. Whether it’s through social media, email marketing, content marketing or paid advertising, choose the platforms and channels that will align with your target market’s preferences and behavior.
- Set Measurable Goals: It’s important to remember to identify specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals that align with your business objectives. These goals will serve as benchmarks to track your progress and measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Now that we’ve laid out the groundwork, let’s explore five marketing goals that every new business should aim for:
Build Brand Awareness
Your goal first is to increase visibility and recognition of your brand among your target audience. Brand awareness is the foundation for all future marketing efforts. It makes sure that potential customers know who you are and what you offer. A cost-effective way to achieve this is through a well-planned social media campaign. Focus on sharing engaging, valuable content that resonates with your target audience, and be consistent in your messaging and visuals across all platforms.
Collaborating with influencers or running giveaways can amplify your exposure. Also, try to build real trust. The more you get yourself out there where people can see you. For your efforts, you’ll gradually establish a recognizable brand presence that potential customers will think of when they need your product or service.
One good way that won’t cost too much is to launch a social media campaign to introduce your brand to potential customers. But I don’t mean just posting for the sake of posting. You’ve got to share engaging content, interact with your audience, and leverage SEO and hashtags to expand your reach organically.
Generate Leads
Your goal in building a business is to sell, so one main marketing goal is to attract potential leads and customers to capture their contact information for future marketing efforts.
I always recommend my new clients to create a lead magnet (think free ebook, webinar, or offer an exclusive discount) to entice visitors to provide their email addresses. Your aim here is to be able to nurture relationships with them so that you can become top of mind in the future should they need your products or services. Share this lead magnet across social media channels, your website, and even email marketing campaigns.
Drive Website Traffic
While there are many businesses today that choose not to have websites, I still advise that you create one. Many consumers today are more discerning and oftentimes search for companies online to see if they have websites. If they can’t find your website, it might raise some red flags. Your goal here is to increase the number of visitors and improve your online visibility.
The best way is to optimize your website by adding relevant keywords, creating valuable content, and improving site speed and usability. What has worked so well is sharing website links across social media channels and engaging.
Increase Sales and Conversions
The aim for any entrepreneur is to sell. Your goal is to convert leads into paying customers and drive revenue growth.
How? Implement a targeted email marketing campaign to nurture leads through the sales funnel. My top choices would be to send personalized messages, offer exclusive discounts or promotions, and always include compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) to encourage your audience to action.
Improve Customer Retention
Customer retention is just as important, if not more important, than customer acquisition. Many new businesses focus heavily on gaining new customers, but keeping those customers coming back is key to long-term success. Retaining customers is often more cost-effective than acquiring new ones, as loyal customers tend to spend more over time and are more likely to refer others to your business.
One of the best ways to improve customer retention is through exceptional customer service and personalized follow-up. Offering loyalty programs, discounts for returning customers, or exclusive offers helps build a stronger connection with your existing customer base. Regularly check in with your customers to ask for feedback, ensuring that they feel valued and heard. Email marketing campaigns that provide useful content or recommendations based on previous purchases can also enhance customer loyalty. In addition, ensuring that any issues are quickly and effectively resolved helps establish trust and keeps customers returning.
Establish Thought Leadership in Your Industry
Becoming a thought leader is an essential marketing goal for new businesses that want to stand out in a competitive industry. Thought leadership helps you establish credibility, gain trust, and differentiate your brand by demonstrating expertise in your field. By positioning yourself or your business as a trusted authority, potential customers are more likely to choose your brand over competitors.
Start by creating high-quality content. While funny and entertaining videos go viral, as a business owner it may be best to go in another direction. Try using content that addresses the pain points, challenges, or emerging trends in your industry. Blog posts, white papers, case studies, and guest articles on reputable industry sites can help you build authority.
Also, try participating in public speaking engagements, podcasts, or webinars allows you to showcase your expertise and connect with your target audience on a deeper level. Engage with your audience by answering their questions and contributing to industry discussions on social media or professional platforms like LinkedIn. Over time, consistently providing valuable insights will position your business as a go-to resource in your industry.
Grow Social Media Following
A larger, more engaged social media audience translates to more opportunities to reach potential customers, increase brand awareness, and boost sales. Because of this, getting more followers on your social profiles creates the opportunity to create more future customers. This means that growing your social media presence should be one of the important goals of a new business. This is especially true if a business can sell directly online.
Identify the social media platforms that are most relevant to your target audience. Focus your efforts on a few key platforms where your audience is active. Consistency is key if you want to for grow a social media following. It is unlikely people will follow an account that doesn’t publish content often or regularly. So post regularly and use a mix of content types, including images. videos, stories, and live sessions.
Strengthen Local Community Presence
While the internet allows businesses to reach a global audience, establishing a strong local presence is still vital, especially for new businesses. Becoming a recognized and trusted name within your local community can drive foot traffic, build lasting relationships, and establish brand loyalty. Strengthening your local presence should be a key marketing goal, especially for businesses with a physical location or those that primarily serve a specific geographic area.
To strengthen your local presence, get involved! Keep an eye out for community events and initiatives. Also, sponsor local events, participate in charity drives, or collaborate with other local businesses to build your network.
Another thing you can do is to host in-person workshops or events that are relevant to your industry can also help foster connections with potential customers. Claiming and optimizing your Google My Business profile, encouraging reviews from local customers. Building a loyal, local customer base provides your business with a solid foundation to expand from.
Conclusion
Building and running a business is a dream come true for many. But remember that it won’t always be a walk in the park. It has its ups and downs. This guide is packed with strategies to jumpstart your journey and turn your vision into a thriving reality. Buckle up, because we’re about to delve into the exciting world of marketing – your secret weapon for making your business bloom like a champion.
Team Writer: Victoria brings a unique flavor to strategic campaigns and brand storytelling with a vast experience spanning boutique to multinational agencies, startup, and solopreneurship. As the “storytelling chef” behind The Narrative Kitchen, she’s known for challenging norms and whipping up compelling narratives that build relationships across diverse industries and regions. An avid strategist and storyteller, she approaches every project like a master chef, crafting authentic stories that truly resonate
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Find Your Way · Grow your business · marketing · Your Mindset
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