Establish Marketing Objectives If You Want to Beat Your Competition

Oct 10

What did the locksmith think marketing objectives and SEO have in common?

Keywords!

OK, I know what you’re thinking.

But, all jokes aside. I’m tired of seeing so many small business owners break their leg falling off the bandwagon when trying to boost sales online without clearly established marketing objectives.

Do you think that promoting your business online is as simple as making a Facebook page and putting out the occasional tweet?

You’re dead wrong!

But, who am I kidding?

We all know you can’t just “wing it” when it comes to a successful marketing strategy.

That said, there are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to planning a fruitful marketing strategy.

Here’s how to establish marketing objectives that you CAN reach:

Where do you want your business to be in a year? How about three years? How about ten?

Determining your business goals is the first step to launching a successful marketing campaign. By the same token, both the short-term and long-term goals of your business are vital to success. So, not only do you have to plan for the day-to-day, but you also have to worry about the future of your business.

Be that as it may, without having a clear picture of the end, it’s tough to get a good start. What’s more, how will you ever connect people with your passion if you don’t have a reason for doing it?

Some reasonable goals might be:

We plan to increase our annual sales by 15% in the next two years.
I want to grow my company’s market share by 10% within the next six months.
We want to triple our production in the next 18 months.
Alternatively, they could be more challenging to measure, like:
I plan to be more engaging with my customers in the upcoming year.
I need to strive for higher office morale and focus more on my employees.

By setting specific and quantifiable goals, which are not overly ambitious, you’re putting yourself on the right track to achieve those goals.

For the goals that may seem qualitative, you can come up with methods to track progress in these areas. For instance, counting how many times a day you speak to each employee might reveal you’re not engaging enough, or anonymous surveys could gauge office morale.

Whatever the case may be, establishing business goals for your company is vital to any growing business.

Will reaching your goals make a difference to you?

If you don’t have any motivation or incentive to drive your business in the right direction, then what’s the point?

It’s absolutely imperative that you have a reason for achieving your pre-set goals, and it had better be a good one!

As Tony Robbins says, “People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals —that is, goals that do not inspire them.”

With this in mind, you need to have to develop strong reasons to succeed. Financial gains, a sense of purpose, or a sense of success are some common reasons. Additionally, these reasons need to be emotionally charged so you can draw upon them for motivation when the future seems bleak.

Who Is Your Daddy and What Does He Do?

Ok, so you’re not Arnold Schwarzenegger from Kindergarten Cop, but this doesn’t mean you can’t find out details about your target audience.

Identifying and understanding your target audience is critical to the success of any company. After all, if you don’t know whom you are talking to, how will you know the right thing to say?

Identifying your target audience is the easy part. This task involves compiling basic demographics of your clientele. If you want to run an active business, it’s essential to gather data about your audience’s geographic location, annual income, age, and gender. As I said, this is the easy part, and a fundamental step in the process of marketing.

At the same time, understanding your audience can present a bit more of a challenge.

Do you want to learn how to understand your target audience better?

Trying building out some Buyer Personas to get a more accurate portrayal of the individuals that comprise your market. By combining the previously mentioned demographics with info like consumer interests, their reasons for buying, and common questions and concerns, you’re definitely set to gain an edge on the competition.

Where did everybody go!?!?

Figuring out where your target audience hangs out and spends time is indispensable.

Everyone wants a Facebook page for his or her business, or to be at the top of the list on Google. Be that as it may, how do you even know if your audience is on Facebook? Or, if they are searching for you on Google?

Finding out where your target audience spends their time is a lot like fishing. You throw out as many lines as possible and see where you get a bite. Some paths to consider would be checking out social advertising or shopping sites, like eBay, Amazon, Shopify, and Google Shopping.

Where Does Marketing Fit Into All Of This?

Intertwined with nearly every aspect of business, marketing is the lifeblood of any successful business.

In developing acceptable marketing objectives, questions about being on social media or having a website are addressed.

The important thing is not having to fight for the attention of potential customers, and to attract customers “through content and interactions that are relevant and helpful— not interruptive.”

Chances are, your business needs both outlets. However, getting online is a lot different than being online, and developing relevant content based on the needs of your target audience is clutch.

Evaluate Your Assets!

Evaluating your assets is not an exercise in futility. It’s also not just a physical inventory check. Now, more than ever, intangible assets are becoming increasingly valuable. This is no less true when speaking to marketing objectives. That said…

What resources do you have available?

Have you incorporated others into your plan? Or, do you plan on doing this all on your own?

Consider whether or not you need to hire people, outsource certain work, or invest in other human resources capabilities. These considerations create viable marketing solutions.

Start With The Basics.

Create a marketing strategy for the first six months. This plan entails taking a closer look at your business. Moreover, it requires setting clear goals that define your marketing objectives.

Even so, effective marketing plans only really need a couple of elements.

First, get a comprehensive idea of your competitive landscape. That is, WRITE DOWN your goals, document the current state of your business, identify your competitors, and conducting a SWOT analysis never killed anybody.

Second, set up a calendar-based spreadsheet to realize your strategy over the next six months. Essentially, a calendar will dictate what happens with your business and help plan for the costs.

Of course, planning for the entire next year is ideal, yet, by starting with a 6-month plan, you can get in the swing of things without getting too overwhelmed.

Check Your Progress Against Your Marketing Objectives.

Regularly checking on your company’s performance is vital. Now that you have a “snapshot” of your business take a peek at it after six months.

Check to see where you’re reaching your goals, and in what departments you’re falling short.

Looking at analytics is not enough!

Recognizing short-comings by looking at analytics doesn’t do much if you aren’t willing to adapt your business to the numbers.

In other words: Read, React and Adapt.

If you’re not reaching your goals, it’s important to adjust your marketing strategy accordingly to optimize your available content for your specific target audience.