Sales vs Marketing
Sometimes we confuse sales with marketing. The sale is the desired endpoint and marketing is the combination of all the tools and techniques we use to help us get to the point where we can close the sale. Once we have a client ready to buy, we can use our sales plan to close the deal, but first we need to find those clients by using marketing and the first step to success is our marketing plan.
There are lots of different ways to market our businesses like; cold calling, newspaper advertising, digital marketing and referrals.
Do you have a Marketing Plan?
Most small to medium sized businesses don’t really have a written plan for their marketing and instead carry out marketing on an ad hoc basis either when sales drop or an attractive marketing proposition comes along.
A true Marketing Plan takes a number of hours to develop and usually involves external help. It looks at the company brand, the sales goals and activities of the business, the current marketing activities and if the objectives of those activities are being met. Then the year ahead should be considered so you can work out which marketing activities are needed to support the sales objectives.
What kind of activities could be part of your marketing plan?
There are now such a wide range of activities available, we need to work out which activities suit our particular business the best and are of course cost effective too!
What methods do you use?
Business cards
Brochures
Website
Social media
Newspaper advertising
Signage / Vehicle Sign writing
Radio
TV
Bill boards
Bus shelters
Back of Buses
Sponsorship
Sampling
Direct mail
Digital Marketing…….
Committing budget and time to the wrong mix of activities can be wasteful so spending time proactively planning your marketing is time well spent.
What unique or low-cost methods do you use that may be helpful other members of the chapter?
Different businesses and people have great ideas for low cost alternative marketing strategies. Ask your fellow members what works for them
How much should I spend on marketing my business?
It depends on your plans for sales and business growth, if your business is new or established and of course how much money is available. But as a rule of thumb between 2 & 5 % of turnover is about right.
If your marketing is reactionary rather than planned or your marketing plan is out of date, January is a great month to spend some time on your marketing plan. Engage with the Marketing Professional in your chapter if you aren’t sure where to start.
