Episode 1
Building a Strong Marketing Strategy: Foundations for Business Growth
In this episode of Better Marketing, Marketing Magic in Minutes, I’m exploring the foundations of an effective marketing strategy. Having a clear plan is essential for growing your business. I’ll walk you through the key elements of a strong strategy, including defining your ideal customer, clarifying your message, and selecting the proper marketing channels.
I’ll also share a real-life client success story to show how these strategies can make a real impact. Plus, I’ve got some practical tips you can apply immediately to strengthen your marketing efforts.
Remember to download my FREE GUIDE to get started.
Visit www.tracyheatley.com and use the code POD2025 to win a power-hour session with me!
Transcript
Hi, I'm Tracey Heatley and I really appreciate you tuning in to Better Marketing Marketing Magic in Minutes in this episode, I'll be talking about the foundations of a strong marketing strategy and why having a solid plan is the key to business growth.
Speaker A:If you've ever felt like you're doing bits of marketing here and there, but not really seeing the results that you want, this episode is for you.
Speaker A:By the end of it, you will have a clear understanding of what a marketing strategy really is, why it matters, and how you can start building one that works for your business.
Speaker A:Firstly, let's look at why you need a marketing strategy.
Speaker A:Marketing is not just about social media posts and email campaigns.
Speaker A:It's about having clear direction.
Speaker A:Without a strategy, you are throwing things at the wall and hoping something sticks.
Speaker A:It's a bit like spray and pray type marketing.
Speaker A:Put everything out there and hope for the best.
Speaker A:But that's not what having a solid marketing strategy is about.
Speaker A:Having a great marketing plan aligns with your business goals.
Speaker A:It ensures that you're reaching the right people and maximizes your efforts.
Speaker A:Three key things to ask yourself do you have a clear marketing strategy in place?
Speaker A:Do you know who your ideal customer is and how to reach them?
Speaker A:Are you using the right marketing channels?
Speaker A:If you're unsure, don't worry because I'll help you break it down into simple, actionable steps.
Speaker A:If you've got all of these things covered, then that's great.
Speaker A:But if not, let's look at the core elements of your marketing strategy and what a strong strategy includes.
Speaker A:First of all, it includes your target audience.
Speaker A:Your target audience is who you are trying to reach.
Speaker A:Then there's your unique value proposition, commonly known as uvp.
Speaker A:You may have heard usp, which is your unique selling point.
Speaker A:Very similar, but it's basically what makes you stand out from your competitors.
Speaker A:Your marketing goals.
Speaker A:Are you looking for brand awareness?
Speaker A:Perhaps lead generation or customer retention or something else?
Speaker A:But you do need an awareness of your marketing goals.
Speaker A:Then there's your marketing channels.
Speaker A:Are you going to be using digital traditional marketing methods and channels or are you going to use a combination of both?
Speaker A:Next, there's your marketing budget and the resources that you have available.
Speaker A:How much time and money do you have to invest in your marketing?
Speaker A:Each of these elements plays a crucial role in building a strategy that works and ensures that your efforts are not wasted.
Speaker A:Now let's look at strategy versus Tactics.
Speaker A:A common mistake small business owners make is jumping straight into marketing tactics without a strategy.
Speaker A:I've lost count of the number of times I'VE spoken to small business owners about marketing and you mention marketing and straight away they think of things like social media and other promotional type of activities.
Speaker A:But there's so much more to your strategy than that.
Speaker A:Besides running a social media ads campaign, for example, without knowing the right target audience can end in disaster and a lot of wasted time and money, as well as sending out emails with no clear objectives, it comes back to that spray and pray and hope for the best.
Speaker A:So let's do better than that.
Speaker A:Another one is posted on LinkedIn with no consistency.
Speaker A:I don't know if you've seen people consistently posting, posting, posting, posting, but with no strategy in place and not really reaching the target audience in the right way with the right marketing messages.
Speaker A:Having a strategy means every tactic serves a purpose and works towards the bigger goal.
Speaker A:And ultimately your marketing goals are there to help you reach your overall business goals.
Speaker A:So let's look at some action steps to start building your strategy today.
Speaker A:Let's get practical.
Speaker A:Here are a few things that you can do today to start crafting your marketing strategy.
Speaker A:Number one, define your ideal customer.
Speaker A:Who are they?
Speaker A:What are the problems and what do they need solving?
Speaker A:Number two, clarify your message.
Speaker A:How does your product or service help them?
Speaker A:In fact, I had a client who was on my strategy cycle program.
Speaker A:I think we were around about week three and she realized that she had been consistently putting posts out on LinkedIn, but they weren't targeted at the right people.
Speaker A:So first of all, she'd not broken down her customer base and exactly who her ideal customers.
Speaker A:So we went through the process of doing that and then looked at tweaking and changing the marketing messages so that what she was putting out there really was hitting home, hitting a nerve and making it relatable to her potential customers.
Speaker A:We finished the strategy cycle program in the afternoon around about 3:00.
Speaker A:And that night she put all her efforts into changing everything on the social media.
Speaker A:So taking account of all of that, she changed her strategy, she changed her approach, and by 10 o'clock the following morning, lo and behold, she was getting bookings for one of her courses that she'd been promoting because it was targeted specifically at a certain segment of potential customers.
Speaker A:And what she was saying was, I know these are your pain points, I understand, I get you.
Speaker A:And here's the solution.
Speaker A:This is what makes me different from my competitors.
Speaker A:Choose me.
Speaker A:That's obviously not what she said, but that's what the message was coming across.
Speaker A:So she became relatable.
Speaker A:It was very, very targeted.
Speaker A:Overnight, it transformed her marketing so sometimes making little changes can make a massive difference to your overall marketing success.
Speaker A:And number three, choose your key marketing channels.
Speaker A:Where do customers spend their time?
Speaker A:Online and offline.
Speaker A:Where are they hanging out?
Speaker A:Because that's where you need to be with your business.
Speaker A:And if you're not sure where to start, go to my website and get my free guide, A Small Business Owner's Roadmap to a Better Strategy and I'll walk you through it step by step.
Speaker A: sure you use the code podcast: Speaker A:To sum up, a solid marketing strategy is not just about what you are doing, it is about why and how you do it.
Speaker A:When you have a clear plan in place, your marketing becomes more focused, effective and rewarding.
Speaker A:Get your strategy right, build on that.
Speaker A:Grow your marketing activities from there.
Speaker A:If you found this podcast episode useful, do remember to subscribe, leave a review and download my free strategy guide from my website to help you get started.
Speaker A:Plus, you could win a free Power hour with me.
Speaker A: Use the code POD: Speaker A:Winners are announced every month across my social media and podcast.
Speaker A:The website is all the W's and it's traceyheatley.com that's T R-A C-Y-H-E-A-T-L-E-Y.com thanks again for tuning in to Better Marketing Marketing Magic in minutes.
Speaker A:Next time I'll be exploring AI and how it is transforming marketing for small businesses, so make sure that you do not miss it.
Speaker A:Until then, remember, better marketing, better business.
