Open your doors. Close them again. Cancel your bookings. Move your services online… with restrictions being changed, often at short notice, it can feel like everything is out of your control. However, there are things you can control. So, sit down, take a deep breath, and let’s sketch out a marketing strategy that will help you adapt, survive and ultimately thrive during 2021.
First of all, remember that if you can grasp the opportunities Q1 of 2021 presents, and come out of the gate with focus, clarity and energy, there’s a lot you can achieve. And after that? Who knows, with various vaccines in play, and the weather improving, things might feel a lot more positive.
In the meantime, whether you’re making notes on the back of a nearby cereal box, or you’ve got a colour-coded planning app, let’s grab those bootstraps, and brainstorm some ideas that will get us through these dark and dingy months and onto better things.
Who is your target market and where do they hang out? What do they do? Where do they spend their time online? What sites do they visit for work? And for pleasure? What are their preferred social media sites? Do they read local papers?
What is causing them pain? What are the big problems they face right now? What are the minor conveniences that frustrate them? And most importantly, what can you, your brand, and your products or services do to resolve these problems? And to go one step further… why should people choose you, rather than your competitors? What is your edge?
Whether you managed a few notes, or a detailed list with bullet points for every question, give yourself a pat on your back, because you’re halfway towards drawing up a marketing strategy that will improve your 2021. However, now you need to drill down a little deeper and decide how you can achieve maximum impact with your marketing…
How can you best communicate with your market? What message do you want to get across? And what is the best form of communication to do this? Could you create a video? A welcome pack that offers customers more options to upgrade their services? What about a how-to guide that shares your expertise with potential customers? Or a sales brochure or email campaign designed to stimulate dormant subscribers on your email list?
Now it’s time to make concrete plans. Write a list of marketing ideas. Get that year planner out, and mark some dates for when each piece of content will go live. Give yourself enough time for production, writing and designing, and stick to the deadline.
Decide who will be responsible for what. Whether you’re operating on your own, you have a production manager who is going to create a video tour of your premises, or you’re engaging a marketing agency to turbo-charge your efforts, ensure everyone is on board with the timeframe for when things will go live. This way, each new marketing effort can be leveraged for maximum impact via social media shares, email signatures, and other nudges.
Establish a a metric for success. How many unique impressions do you want to see your marketing content receive? Or will you judge success based on the amount of requests for call backs? Responses? The volume of press coverage a press release gathers? Don’t be afraid to set a lower bar at first, but do make sure you can measure things. That way, as your marketing push gathers pace, you will get a feel for what types of marketing are working best for you.
And one final thing… rest. It’s been a long, strange year. Take some time to reenergise, so when 2021 arrives, you can hit the ground running.
Ready to make 2021 a success story? Speak to The Bridge Marketing team today.