Becoming Marketing Active: The Fulcrum Guide to Getting Started with Business Marketing – In the first part of our guide to becoming marketing active face2face Marketing consultants in navi mumbai, we looked at some of the reasons that drive a business to start marketing (if you missed part one, check it out here). But once you’ve made the decision to embark on a marketing strategy for your business, what next? Where do you start and what steps should you take to ensure a smooth and successful process? As is so often the case in business (and life!), preparation is key. So before rushing into any kind of marketing, it’s important to take the time to plan, research and strategise for success. In order to create an effective marketing strategy, you need to develop a thorough understanding of your market, your competitors and your business itself. This means getting back to basics and equipping yourself with all the information you need to identify marketing activities that work for your brand. 1) Research your target market How much do you know about the target audience of your product or service? We’re not just talking about age, sex or occupation (though, of course, you need to know these too). To have the best chance of reaching your target market, you need to dig deeper and find out exactly what drives them towards purchase. What kind of triggers are they most likely to respond to? Which elements of the marketing mix have the most impact on them? How will your product or service benefit them? Understanding these aspects of your target audience will enable you to position and market your brand accordingly, so comprehensive market research is essential. It’s often easier (and more cost-effective) to outsource this type of research to a professional agency who will be better placed to obtain the information you need. 2) Analyse your competition In order to stay ahead of your competitors, you need to know who they are, what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. Once you’ve identified who your key business competitors are, look into the marketing methods they’re using and the way in which they have positioned their brand. What channels and platforms have they chosen to market their business? How are they promoting their brand and its products/services? Consider which elements are crucial to your own business and how you can position your brand in order to get ahead. 3) Define your objectives What do you want to achieve from your marketing activity? Whether it’s to increase your revenue, establish your business in a new market segment or improve brand awareness, setting clear, measurable marketing objectives is vital in understanding what steps need to be taken in order to achieve these goals. Make sure that each identified objective is specific (how much do you want to increase revenue by?), achievable (is it realistic?) and has a timeframe for accomplishment (are you aiming to achieve this goal in three months or a year?). You also need to make sure that your marketing objectives tie in with your overall business objectives. 4) Understand your business You may think you have a pretty good understanding of your business, but it’s surprising what insights can be achieved when you conduct a thorough SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Be rigorous, be meticulous, and above all be brutally honest. Is a lack of staff training letting your business down? Are your prices too high to compete in today’s market? Arming yourself with this knowledge is invaluable in developing a marketing strategy that leverages your company’s strengths and addresses those areas which need to be improved. In the next instalment of the Fulcrum guide to becoming marketing active, we’ll be looking at the raft of marketing channels available and helping you to identify which ones are best for your business. If you have something to share on this topic, why not get in touch? Leave your comments below…

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Drury Design in Chief Marketer: B2B Content Marketing

Just about every B2B marketer has content. But not every B2B marketer is necessarily doing content marketing. “Blanketing people with junk isn’t content marketing,” says Chris Drury, president/chief creative officer, Drury Design Dynamics. “People are beginning to understand that they need a strategy.”

“It comes down to creating relevant content that gets in front of the right people at the right time,” says Doug Pace, vice president and COO of Bayshore Solutions.“You have to understand your consumer and what interests them—we want to capture those consumers higher in the buying funnel. Most of them don’t even know that they are looking for your product, so you need to send them down the path you want them on.”

“On the B2B side, there are so many people who do hours of research before they make a call, so you want to be high in the consideration set,” says Jenni Walsh, director of digital marketing, Bayshore Solutions.“You need to have branding and content that will speak to their needs, with a strong call to action.”

In many organizations, there are two tracks of thinking about how to approach the customer, notes Marcia Chithelen vice president, marketing strategy, BizMark. Corporate marketing is thinking big picture, with a global view of generating content to move into new spaces. At the product manager level, the content generation approach is more narrow and focused.

“Having content is important, but really understanding where your customers are is a big thing,” says Ed Gillespie, executive director, BizMark.“You need to use it to tie your product to their larger corporate initiatives and position yourself to be part of the solution.”

WHAT YOU NEED
Marketers must come up with a content calendar, to highlight what needs to get promoted at what point in the year, says Walsh. Companies need to have a clear focus on what content needs to be produced, who is responsible for producing it, how often it should be updated and what graphics are needed to make it pop. “Most people understand the need for having copy and written content, but the powerful messaging that you can get across in a video or photo is important and should be included in any content strategy,” she says.

All of these elements can be incorporated into an integrated strategy involving PR, LinkedIn, case studies, webinars, whitepapers and more, says Pace. “If you can take off the gloves and say you’ll give away the secret sauce, you’ll be seen as an expert and that will drive awareness.”

The challenge is to optimize the experience for your customer, and how to become a more agile content marketer, notes Abaza. Marketers are increasingly looking to marketing automation solutions to figure out ways to generate leads from premium con- tent like whitepapers and webinars without having to ask IT to create a new landing page every time they want to test something.

ROI IMPACT
Of course, knowing who you are targeting is essential. Bayshore spends time with clients creating buyer personas centered around individual customers, what they are after and what drive them emotionally, says Pace.

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