How to successfully market your business
3rd March 2015
Make every penny of your marketing budget count in 2015
Every business is different and we service a wide variety of clients at HFE although the aims of each company are broadly similar.
Running a successful business is the name of the game and that usually means a healthy operating profit while also delivering customer satisfaction on a continuous basis.
Here at HFE, we’re of the opinion that product is absolutely key when running a successful business, although marketing then plays a vital role in steering people to the product!
Whether you’re running a chain of pubs, restaurants, gyms or any other type of business, a successful marketing campaign can make all the difference when it comes to generating customer visits, turnover and subsequently that all-important profit margin.
So how do you assemble a marketing plan to make your business shine in the best possible light? We take a look at the pros and cons of direct marketing and indirect marketing.
Direct Marketing
Many small businesses deploy direct marketing to good effect. As the name suggests, it is all about directly speaking to new and existing customers alike.
Direct marketing is great when you want to create a tailored marketing message to a bespoke audience, with direct mail, mailshots and leafleting all examples of how businesses have traditionally deployed direct methods.
However, in the modern age, it is more common for a business to consider social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter as effective tools for providing marketing messages.
Similarly, email and mobile phone marketing is commonly used although businesses should always be wary of how regularly they make contact with potential and existing customers.
Indirect Marketing
It’s all very well if you have a ready-made customer base or an audience of people who can be “converted” into customers although we all have to start somewhere as a business.
Many successful companies start off with indirect marketing campaigns, with banners featuring online and offline to promote their business.
Here at HFE, we cater well for indirect marketing campaigns by offering cheap PVC banners, banner stands and displays, pavement signs and many more products designed to help you stand out from the crowd.
Indirect marketing is something of a percentages game. A gym that uses PVC banners on the roadside to advertise to potential customers will know that a fair share of people won’t be interested in taking up membership.
However, a banner advertising a promotion to acquire new members could see the campaign prove successful. Once further data has been acquired from new members such as email and mobile number, direct marketing methods can be deployed to generate loyalty and extra custom.
Businesses have to weigh up the potential costs attached to each different approach. Do you want to cast your net far and wide by adopting an indirect marketing campaign? Potentially you could reach tens of thousands of people for just £45 spent on a PVC Banner, now to most people that’s pretty good value for money.
Or do you spend potentially more money on focused and targeted campaigns, knowing that a smaller number of people will see a more personalised message?
As always, there are no right or wrong answers and it is inevitable that a combination of both methods will ultimately be used for any successful business.
In addition a degree of overlap exists between direct and indirect as you would strategically place your Signs, Banners or Flags in positioned of greater exposure and in place where you are likely to be seen by the desired audience.
