Top 20 New Year marketing resolutions
…..and 12 buzz words to watch out for in 2012
Here are some marketing resolutions you might want to make this new year….
1. Undertake a marketing audit
How is your current marketing doing? Review the campaigns you’ve done and material you have and think about how it can be improved in 2012.
2. Write or update your marketing strategy
Are you focused enough moving into 2012? Are you clear on your niche and how this can drive your business?
3. Seek training
Are there marketing knowledge or skills gaps within your business? Look to up skill and make your business more efficient. Good marketing consultants will be happy to transfer their own skills to you and your team via tailor made training.
4. Consider a new website
Your current website may (or may not!) look nice, but is it working? Answer these questions:
- How much business are you losing?
- Is your current website ‘leaky’?
- Do you measure your website traffic and visitor behaviour?
- How easy is it for people to engage with you/your brand through your site?
- Where do you rank on Google compared to your competitors?
- Does updating or expanding your website cause you headaches?
5. Get blogging
Blogging is still a great way to showcase expertise and brand personality, engage with your target audience, and improve your search engine optimisation. Every business should have an active blog and at least a simple blogging strategy.
6. Use social media better
Is it time for a re-think? Are you one of the many that are ‘..on Linkedin but not really sure how to use it’? It’s time to raise your social profile, and turn connections and engagement into real live opportunities for your business. This is harder than you think! Seek help from a social media adviser.
7. Build your online profile
With more than 90% of all purchases being researched online, it’s essential that your business has a presence online, well-beyond your main website! With a clear stategy and using social media, blogs, blogger relations, online PR, article writing etc it’s possible to quickly build a strong online profile and rank alongside or above your competitors.
8. Seek day-to-day marketing support
Owner-managed businesses struggle with marketing due to time limitations, skills gaps, or both. You simply can’t do it all. A great option is using freelancers to help you deliver communications without the commitment of an annual salary.
9. Use email marketing
When done well, email marketing is one of the most cost effective ways to keep in touch with your customers and promote repeat business and referrals. Did you know this doesn’t have to involve costly design templates and subscription fees? Try www.mailchimp.com.
10. Think about coaching/ mentoring
Some marketing consultants offer this as a service, and it’s a great way for small businesses to tap into high-calibre expertise in a cost-effective way. Short coaching sessions can be a great way to gain marketing focus, and mentoring is perfect if you have more junior staff you’d like to up skill whilst ‘on the job’.
11. Undertake some research
When did you last survey your customers? How about your competitors? Perhaps you have a new business idea but no idea if it will work? www.surveymonkey.com is a great tool to create free, easy to use online surveys that you can circulate by email.
12. Set-up some in-house workshops
Are you sick of attending generic seminars that leave you wondering what it all means for you? How about organising a workshop at your own premises for you and your staff in order to explore and learn more about a particular subject, such as internet marketing or social media? Marketing consultants will usually offer this service, and will design and facilitate a session based upon your specific needs.
13. Seek advice from a marketing specialist
A one-off telephone consultation can be a really cost-effective way to focus your marketing ideas and establish some clear actions and goals.
14. Review your branding
How does your business look? Is your brand out-dated, homemade, or just stale? Did you know many good designers will offer a logo refresh for much less than the cost of a new design, making it very affordable.
15. Think about new literature
Could you do with a new brochure, postcard, or flyer to support your marketing campaigns and business goals in 2012? As well as a print-ready file it’s always a good idea to get a PDF version of any literature from your designer so that you can also use the material online and by email.
16. Start using online video
Online video became huge in 2011, and this is set to continue. There are a number of film-making companies now targeting smaller businesses, and therefore offering affordable services. It’s worth considering, but if your budget still won’t stretch it’s worth starting to use YouTube and share relevant existing video content within your own blogs & social media.
17. Invest in some professional copywriting
Why spend money on a new website, brochure, marketing campaign etc and then cut costs on the copy? Many would argue that actually the copy is more important than the design!
18. Consider organising your own event
If you’re bored with other people’s networking events, business seminars and conferences, why not organise your own? This can work really well if you are looking to connect with other businesses in your sector and establish partnerships etc, as you can design and target your event as you wish.
19. Run some targeted campaigns
In addition to your on going ‘baseline’ marketing activity it’s a good idea to enhance this with targeted campaigns that focus on a specific product or service and are aimed at a particular audience.
20. Enlist professional help with managing marketing projects
Don’t underestimate the work, knowledge and experience required to manage the development of a new website, campaign, event, brochure, design piece etc. It can be stressful, and for small businesses that often do not have the resources to spare, it causes big headaches. Marketing consultants can use their expertise to help produce a design or project brief that is inline with your marketing strategy. They will then ensure the process runs smoothly, to budget and schedule.
My top 12 marketing *ones to watch* in 2012
1. Social commerce
2. F-commerce (Facebook commerce)
3. M-commerce (Mobile commerce)
4. QR codes
5. SEC (Search Engine Conversion)
6. Blogger relations
7. Mobile marketing
8. WordPress
9. Niching
10. Social media marketing
11. Engagement marketing
12. Apps
Do you have anything to add, or could you just use some help with marketing in 2012? Get in touch!