How to Build a Marketing System to Attract and Keep Customers
Basic Principles to start from
There are two basic principles for advertising:
- Target groups when conducting sales activation tactics (generally, 40% of the budget).
- Reach as many people within the market as your budget allows within your market for brand-building activities (typically, 60% of the budget).
Sales Activation Activities
Sales activation activities are marketing activities that evoke a short-term or immediate response. Sales activation helps capture the demand that already exists. (Source: Binet and Field, 2013.)
Brand Building Activities
Any marketing activities that build the mental structures of customers to think positively about the brand slightly. Brand Building can create demand and capture much of it.
Short-term sales activities are usually highly efficient. However, the long-term brand building generates a higher rate of return in the long run. (Source: Binet and Field, 2013.)
A Personalized Marketing System
Owners get caught up in everyday operations and lose sight of what makes the difference in their business’s growth. A marketing system is a tool to attract and keep customers without reinventing the wheel every time. A marketing system ensures consistent and predictable results.
Marketing system overview
Every racer on the line has the same goal, but only one achieves victory. Often, it’s because that person had a better system.
Leadership
What
Leaders cast vision. Vision consists of core values, purpose statement, and mission.
Why
Without a guiding star, your business and strategic decisions will wander and drift.
Market
What
The market foundational block creates your market snapshot; the size of the market in dollars, your business share of the market, and competitors’ share of the market.
Why
This block provides a no-BS view of exactly where your business stands in the marketplace so you can make informed strategic decisions.
Strategy
What
Strategy is choosing what not to do. What decisions must be made to position your business in the customer’s mind? Choose your positioning, objectives and BIG IDEA.
Why
Perception is reality. How your customer perceives your product/service is reality.
Sales
What
The sales process is documenting any customer interaction with your business.
Why
By documenting these interactions, you and your team are better equipped to optimize the system you are creating. You will also identify owner interactions that need to be delegated to achieve the freedom you desire.
Website
What
Most customer interaction will flow through your site. This involves optimizing the back end, the front end, and doing it all in such a way that is distinctly you.
Why
By making sure you can capture leads automatically, are seen, and distinct, you are in a better position to harvest the value you create.
Advertising
What
Develop a campaign that is consistent, frequent and distinct.
Why
Every business reaches an inflection point. At this point, you can choose to advertise and achieve growth, or not advertise and stay exactly where you are.
Network
What
Network is your list that you have direct influence with. It is the media which you own. It can be hosted on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, but it often will be your contact list.
Why
Owning your own media increases the value of your company exponentially.
Reference:
Les Binet and Peter Field, The Long and the Short of it: Balancing Short and Long-Term Marketing Strategies (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, June 11, 2013).
About the Author
Jacob Powell is Owner/Founder of Powell Business Development Inc. PowellBD helps owners identify a clear path to grow their business and build a system to attract and keep customers through research, strategy, and implementation.