Competitors, Target Market & Demographics
To be successful, a company must know the following about their competition, target market, and corresponding demographics:
1. Who is your competition:
*What's your main competition doing?
*What can you do better?
2. Who are your ideal customers?
3. What are the demographics of your ideal customers?
*Gender perception
*Locality
*Economic statistics
*Age & cultural norms
4. What methods & channels will reach your intended base?
*Offline, in-person, outdoor media, postal mail, printed medias, television
*Online, social networks, digital ads, natural searches
Every industry's optimal target market, demographic, and pertinent competitors will be different. Even within an industry, a business's niche may dictate even more diverse targets & demographic factors to consider.
Check out some additional free information on reviewing your company's strategy for success >>
Cohesive Brand Identity
A brand identity defines & differentiates from the competition. This identity must be cohesive across all collateral, including:
1. Online collateral such as:
*The company website
*Social media platforms
*Other online profiles & directory services
3. Other marketing collateral such as:
*Brochures
*Flyers
*Promotional Swag, etc
4. All signage for real & physical assets:
*Building & property signage
*Vehicle & machinery signage
5. Utilize an effective image that:
*Creates emotional appeal
*Portrays security & trustworthiness
*Differentiates from the competition
Check out some additional free information on creating an effective online & offline brand image >>
Company Website
For a company's website to be successful, it must include the following traits at a minimum:
2. Optimized with essential Calls To Action
3. Optimized for search engines & search ranking
4. Kept up-to-date with fresh & relevant content
5. Central hub of all online & offline collaterals & efforts
6. Utilize real-time interaction & assistance technologies such as chat
Depending on industry & niche, additional traits may be important to review and consider.
Check out some additional free information on essential factors for a successful website presence >>
Google My Business Card
Google offers a free business profile helping drive customer engagement with local customers across Google Search & Maps:
1. Claim your Google My Business card
2. Optimize your GMB card with all pertinent information,
*From the basics like:
- Name, address, phone (NAP),
- hours of operation,
- business logo;
*To more detailed information including:
- Listing all your company's products & services,
- Relevant company & industry news,
- Help & other informational topics.
Check out some additional free information on boosting local SEO & improving visibility using your GMB >>
Relevant Social Medias
While there are some main social media platforms important for any industry, each business will differ as to which are most important & useful:
1. Secure your brand on all relevant social media platforms for your customer base.
2. For those platforms most relevant to your industry & clients, be sure to fully complete and optimize the profile for that platform.
3. For the best lead generation opportunity, go beyond just filling in the basic name, address, phone, etc, and optimize all profile areas including:
*About & history of the company,
*Full details on all products & services offered,
*Photos & galleries of relevant case studies,
*Pertinent reviews & testimonials,
*Regular posts of value to the profile newsfeed.
Relevant Directory Sites
Utilizing relevant directories and external, incoming links can dramatically help improve overall SEO as well as the generation of qualified traffic and sales leads:
1. Claim your business listing on all major directories such as:
2. Be sure to fully complete & optimize each directory listing with all relevant data including full product & service listings.
3. Make sure that all major online directories have EXACT & accurate NAP (name, address, phone) to help improve overall online authority, reliability, & consistency of information.
4. Make use of other relevant external website links.
Reputation Management & Reviews
A company's online reputation is a huge factor to success in today's world. Managing the reputation & corresponding reviews is essential to online health & success:
1. Be sure to manage online reputations:
2. A negative review is not the end of the world. Consumers want to see that ownership of the failure, as well as steps to remediate the issue were taken.
3. False or inappropriate reviews can often be flagged for removal. In cases where they're not removed, a well-mannered, tempered response can earn a company kudos in staying calm and respectful when faced with a no-win situation.
Plan Follow-up Routines
Most customers do not buy the first time seeing a company's ad, product, or service. This is why it's so extremely important to build follow-up into any business routine:
1. Utilize Remarketing strategies targeting past visitors to remind them of your company products & services as they navigate other sites on the internet
*Google Remarketing
*Facebook Remarketing
2. Implement Marketing Automation strategies for sending follow-up reminders & emails about services and products the user’s visited or expressed interest in on your website.
3. Schedule regular phone and email follow-ups to current clients to make sure their needs are being met and to see if there are other needs they may need assistance with.
Utilize Available COVID Resources
There are numerous resources available for businesses to utilize and take proper advantage of for growth & survival.
Whether a new business looking to grow, or an established business needing to recover due to the COVID pandemic:
1. Take proper advantage of available resources, including financial assistance made available for small and medium businesses.
2. Utilize technologies to adapt to COVID.
3. Schedule regular phone and email follow-ups to current clients to make sure their needs are being met and to see if there are other needs they may need assistance with.
Other Marketing Tips
Utilize other marketing tips to get the most from your efforts, including:
1. The latest promotion & marketing opportunities.
2. Doing all necessary steps to convert visitors.
3. Making sure all landing pages are effectively developed.
4. Utilize low-cost digital ad options & consistently audit the results.
