Tips for marketing a new business abound. As the owner of a new business in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, you may already have a lot of things on your mind. You may be worried about staffing your new business, arranging your supply chain, and maintaining your budget while you get off the ground. Marketing may not be at the top of your list of things you need to take care of in the coming days.
Without an effective marketing plan, however, you may struggle to have your voice heard amid the clamor of other businesses in your industry. If your customers don't know you're out there, they can't know all the different ways your business might benefit them. Success for your new business is within reach when you take the following actionable steps for your first marketing campaigns.
1. Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
A failure to effectively plan your marketing strategy can leave you scrambling to bring in business. Unfortunately, that can set your business up for failure from the beginning, which may leave you struggling to see the results you need or even keep the doors open.
2. Know Your Ideal Customer
Before you can start planning your marketing efforts, you need to know the target of those efforts. Who are you hoping to reach through your marketing? What do you want them to know? Create a comprehensive profile that details which your target customer is. What are they struggling with? What do they need? Use these questions to form customer avatars that you build campaigns around.
3. Know Your Competition
Knowing your competition when you're ready to launch a new business in Eau Claire is critical. While you don't want to copy your competition directly, you also don't want to miss out on the opportunity they present, which is the chance to get to know more about your target market and your next steps. How is your competition marketing itself? Who is their target market?
Make sure that you know how your business differs from your competition. What do you have to offer that they don't? Why should customers turn to you instead? By answering those questions, you can start to shape your marketing efforts.
4. Know Your Brand
Before you can start marketing your business, you need to be able to define both what your brand has to offer and why it will benefit your target audience. How does your brand make people's lives better? How does it solve those critical pain points? You need to be able to clearly shape your marketing efforts to cover the challenges your customers face and why they should trust you.
5. Build a Website
Approximately 82% of customers check their phones before making an in-store purchase. Other customers will do considerable online research before selecting a brand or the solution for their needs. If you don't have a website, you're missing out on the opportunity to connect with potential customers. Ensure you have a website that reflects your brand, including a blog and other content to help raise awareness and provide essential information.
6. Launch an Email Marketing Campaign
Email marketing has an estimated ROI of $36 for every $1 spent on your marketing efforts. Explore the benefits of email marketing and how it can spread the word about your brand to new customers and current customers alike.
7. Stay Social
Social connections are a great way to have a more significant overall influence on your customers and provide them with greater insights into what your brand offers. On social media, where most of your customers can be found regularly, you can start and participate in regular, relevant conversations about your industry and get a better idea of what your customers are looking for.
Social is also about in-person events and networking opportunities. Pay attention to the events in Eau Claire each year and how you can participate in them to make those essential connections and spread the word about your brand.
8. Don't Knock Tradition
Methods like radio advertising are still highly effective for connecting with your customers. Many customers, for example, may be more likely to trust your business and what you offer when they hear about you on the radio, especially if the radio personality specifically endorses you. When combined with digital marketing, radio can considerably impact your ability to reach your target audience.
BONUS: Try New Advertising Methods when Available
Don't be afraid to branch out as you open your new Eau Claire business and connect with your target market. Podcast advertising and radio streaming ads have become increasingly popular, and with good reason: they can connect you with a broader range of potential listeners. Don't be afraid to branch out and see how effective those methods can be.
Market Your New Business with Mid-West Family Eau Claire
Partnering with MWF Eau Claire can help you launch your new business with highly effective marketing services tailored to your needs. When you’re ready to begin, the fastest way to success is to create a partnership with an experienced team that already has the knowledge needed.
