Step 1 – Set some goals. These can be whatever is important to your business at this time. For example…
- Increase Brand Awareness
- Acquire New Customers
- Build A Marketing List
Step 2 – Define your target audience. This is called creating a client avatar. Be REALLY specific here because it will form the basis of all your messaging, advertising and communications. Include things like.
- Age
- Gender
- Psychograpics (habits, hobbies, values)
- Pain Points
- Lifetime Customer Value
Step 3 – Choose the best marketing channels based on where your avatar is most likely to consume their media.
- Which Social Media Platforms Do They Use?
- Do they listen the radio or read magazines?
- Is outdoor media appropriate?
Step 4 – Create some engaging content. Again, this is based on your client avatar. How are they most likely to engage with you?
- Blog Posts
- Status Updates
- Paid Advertising Content
Step 5 – Launch a campaign. This is where you actively start getting your message out in front of your target audience. Make sure you include the following.
- A clearly defined budget. (Yes, you need to allocate money for advertising and marketing support).
- An absolutely irresistible offer for people to try you for the first time.
- A strategy to test and validate your audiences, your offer and your ad copy.
- A plan to cultivate your new customers, or inquiries, into long term advocates for your brand.
Step 6 – Constant review. Once you have done all this, you’ll have a functional sales funnel but you’ll need to monitor it to ensure it continues to deliver value. You should measure metrics like
- Cost per client acquisition.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS).
- Conversion rate.
- Average order value.
There are no guarantees with advertising and marketing but of you’e following a simple plan like this one, you’ll maximise your chances of getting a great return.
