Supercharge Your Marketing to Dominate Your Market

Supercharge Your Marketing to Dominate Your Market

When budgets got tight in decades past, marketing was often the first area to be slashed. To many business leaders, marketing was viewed as a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. That’s a far cry from the value businesses place on marketing today. Leaders see marketing as an essential component of business success — a tool that holds the power to build brand identity, bolster demand, shape customer behaviors, foster loyalty and, ultimately, drive sales and revenue.

As you evaluate your past marketing results and look toward building even stronger results going forward, these tips may inspire some powerful new strategies.

Let your imagination run wild

Creativity in marketing isn’t just coming up with clever headlines, slogans or ads. It’s also thinking about what you can do differently — developing strategies and activities that differentiate your company by engaging with your audience in fun new ways. Holding their interest means keeping a lot of fresh ideas in your rotation.

Here are 10 ideas to fuel your think tank:

1. Shake up your digital game by starting a podcast about a timely, high-interest topic
2. Inject new excitement into your website, blog and social media content
3. Run a contest offering your products or services as prizes
4. Host a virtual or in-person special event — a webinar featuring an expert panel, a customer appreciation day, a service project benefiting a local or national nonprofit, etc.
5. Kick off a customer loyalty program
6. Tie your promotions to upcoming seasons and holidays
7. Revitalize your approach to soliciting and sharing customer reviews
8. Partner with complementary (not competitive) brands to multiply your reach through reciprocal marketing, such as mentioning one another on social media, offering discounts when customers bundle your products or services, etc.
9. Work with brand advocates or influencers you trust
10. Get involved in the community to meet customers and prospects face to face

You can also apply your creativity to engaging your entire team in brainstorming new ideas. Hold a quarterly or annual competition to reward the best marketing ideas with cash prizes, gift cards, merchandise or time off. Your next big idea may come from anyone!

Mix something old with something new

What makes marketing so exciting is that it’s always changing. Still, that doesn’t mean you should abandon tried-and-true media and strategies. If something continues to work for you, keep it in the mix — maybe adding a new twist or vibe to reenergize your pitch.

Consider your clientele and their comfort levels. If you’re selling to younger audiences, then sure, a targeted social media campaign supported by digital ads, videos and podcasts makes sense. If you sell primarily to baby boomers, then traditional media — newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, direct mail and outdoor advertising — may reach more of them. Selling across demographics? Develop a layered strategy that leverages digital channels for real-time customer and prospect engagement, while relying on traditional channels for broader reach.

Beat your competitors at their own game

Monitor what your closest competitors are doing in terms of marketing, and strive to not only have a presence wherever they are but also outperform them there. This doesn’t mean you should copy their approach; rather, you can learn from their behaviors what’s working for them and how they’re engaging with their audience. Like you, they have spent time and money learning how to best reach their clientele; by seeing where they have chosen to spend their marketing dollars, and what they are choosing to say there, you may identify new opportunities for your own marketing.

There are a variety of competitor analysis tools available online — some free, some subscription-based — for monitoring companies’ marketing activity and performance. You can also commission a media monitoring service to track activity across both digital and traditional channels.

Become an authority in your field

There’s a reason you chose to lead the company you do: You, and perhaps members of your team, have expertise in your industry. Share your knowledge and insights openly through news outlets, social media channels, and industry publications and events. Customers want to buy from people they trust. The next time they’re looking to make a buying decision, make sure they’re looking to you for guidance.

Stay true to your brand

It’s not a new message for marketers but one that’s worth repeating, given the ever-broadening options for touting your brand: Consistency is key. From in-store signage to social media, advertising and beyond, your brand look, personality and messaging should be cohesive. Be as creative as you’d like, but always project the image your customers have come to know and love. Your brand is uniquely yours; uphold its integrity and familiarity in every communication.