USEFUL TOOLS AND TIPS

A FEW USEFUL TOOLS AND TIPS

The key to improving your chances of surviving and thriving is to have clarity, consistency, and to make every marketing dollar count by focusing on opportunities that are suitable for your business.

Understand Your Target Markets

Avoid a scattergun approach in your marketing by identifying your ideal client and where to find them. Spend time profiling your ideal clients. Determine which social networking platforms they use, what they read, listen to, and watch. Engage with them on a personal level.

Use Cost-Effective Strategies

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are free, and advertising on these platforms is targeted and cost-effective. Paid ads or sponsored stories on Facebook can provide numerous leads. Offering something free or valuable that highlights your expertise will attract engagement.

Free publicity provides credibility and can be obtained through developing relationships, effective writing skills, and follow-ups.

Be Found Online

Optimize your website using basic SEO practices to ensure potential clients can find you when searching for terms related to your business. List your business with free online directories, Google Maps, or advertise using Google Adwords.

Develop Partnerships

Strategic partnerships help maximize marketing efforts through joint promotions. Partners should offer services complementary to your business. Ensure they are reputable, fulfill their promises, and enhance your brand image.

Test and Measure Your Campaigns

Establish criteria for each marketing campaign and test the results. Evaluate what worked well and what needs adjustment for future campaigns. Asking questions like “How did you hear about us?” can be helpful.

If you need further assistance, call us at 9382 8880.

SME SIZE BUSINESSES

If you are an SME owner or wish to learn how to start a small business in the future, this article will be beneficial for you.

By consistently educating your target market, you can begin to build a relationship that establishes your credibility and trust with them. However, it is essential first to consider several steps to formulate a successful marketing plan.

Determine who your target market is and identify your ideal client. Conduct simple research by asking relevant individuals to gain insights into your target market’s likes, dislikes, frustrations, wants, and needs.

Ascertain what products and services you can offer your ideal clients to address their wants and needs. Identify the problems your products and services solve for your customers and the solutions they seek. Determine what sets you apart from others in the marketplace and develop your pricing strategy accordingly.

Analyze the geographical and psychographic characteristics of your target market—where are your customers located and what are their preferences and dislikes? Decide where to position yourself so that you are easily accessible to them. Plan the channels through which you will convey your marketing message, whether it involves targeting specific groups, advertising, organizing seminars, or publishing blogs and articles.

Consider why your clients should trust you and why they should choose your product or service over your competitors. Develop a unique selling proposition (USP) that articulates your promise and distinguishes you from your competitors.

Establish how your customers can purchase your product or service and provide them with the necessary information to make informed buying decisions.

Create a marketing budget. One effective method is to calculate the profit an average client will generate for your business in a year. If you have a target number of new customers, you can determine how much you can afford to spend to acquire them. Calculate the average profit per new customer annually, multiply it by the desired number of new customers, and allocate a percentage to your marketing budget. For instance, if each customer yields $1000 in annual profit and your goal is to acquire 100 new clients, achieving this would result in $100,000 in profit. You could then allocate approximately 40% of this amount, or $40,000, to your marketing budget for the year. This approach allows precise budgeting to reach your goals while also considering the cost of retaining existing clients. Remember, acquiring a new customer costs six to seven times more than retaining an existing one.

Should you require further assistance, please contact us at 9382 8880.

MARKETING BUDGETS

Marketing budgets vary, and there’s no one-size-fits-all rule. Here are some methods to determine your annual marketing budget, listed by preference for local SMEs in Perth.

Client Profit Value Model

Calculate your average client’s profit value annually. Set a target number of new customers and allocate a percentage of their total anticipated profit to your marketing budget. For instance, if each customer brings $1000 profit and you aim to acquire 100 new clients, you’d gain $100,000. Spending 40% ($40,000) on marketing is reasonable. Remember, retaining customers is cheaper than acquiring new ones.

Budget as a Percentage of Revenues

Determine your marketing budget based on a percentage of total revenue, typically 2%-10%. Retail and B2C businesses might need more initially. New businesses may spend 20%-30%, established ones around 5%. This method is simple but involves guesswork.

Benchmark Against Industry Average

Use industry surveys to guide your budget. For example, TV/radio/electronics sectors might spend 5.3%, computers 5.1%, investment advice 8.6%. These averages offer useful insights but remember to consider your unique circumstances.

Competitor Analysis

Discover your competitors’ spending through media plans. This method gives a good spending estimate but may lack precision for below-the-line marketing activities.

Cautionary Tips

Build a contingency fund (10%-15%).
Diversify your marketing methods.
Allocate budget across various media (networking, internet marketing, referrals).
Set realistic expectations and be patient for returns.

Need more help? Call us at 9382 8880.

SOME TIPS ON SEO

Focus on selecting key search phrases that are most pertinent to your business. If you are uncertain about which phrases to choose, conduct basic research by consulting with friends, colleagues, or business associates regarding the terms they might use when sourcing products or services you offer.
Examine the keywords or phrases utilized by your competitors and strive to differentiate your selections from theirs to achieve a higher ranking for those terms.
Ensure that your business has both Google Places and Google Maps listings. Encourage customer reviews for your Google Maps listing to enhance your ranking.
Given the exponential growth in local searches, incorporate location-specific words in your phrases (e.g., Accountants Perth or Physiotherapy Subiaco) and optimize your website for local search.
Submit extensive information via articles, blogs, etc., to relevant web directories, online groups, forums, etc., to boost your site’s relevance.
Develop links and link exchanges, as major search engines rank sites based on the number and relevance of links, as well as the relevance of your site to chosen keywords.
Ensure that your meta tags accurately reflect your keywords or phrases and integrate these key phrases throughout your site content.
Concentrate on one key phrase per product or service offering.
Request your clients to link to your website and reciprocate the gesture.
Initiate a blog and begin sharing valuable content.
Create engaging web content that encourages sharing.
Send your website link to pertinent industry websites or bloggers associated with your business.
Regularly update your web content.
Utilize Title tags that accurately represent your business and correspond with your key phrases. Keep them under 70 characters.