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No plain, no gain.
When you write in ‘plain English’, you use simple words, short sentences, clear headings and short…
How to follow up your leads without feeling like a stalker!
Here are five ways to go from ghosted to “I ain’t afraid of no ghost”! 👻
How to decide the best retail route for your brand
From selling to retailers, wholesalers and distributors, to using mail order and sales agents, the…
How to deliver a successful brand launch
Whether you’re starting from scratch or re-branding, launches are an opportunity to tell a…
How to avoid hiring an unreliable marketing partner or prevent your current one going rogue!
Looking to hire a new agency? Ask these question...
Speaking plainly…
Here’s why simple writing matters, and a few tips on how to keep it that way.
Talk to me nice – how to speak to Gen Z
Stop talking just for the sake of it. What you say holds weight. You decide how much with the…
The Importance of UX Design in Discovery
In the world of AWS cloud technology with buckets and instances, I sometimes find myself baffled by…
Marketing in the Era of the Cloud
Today I wanted to share what it’s like working as a Digital Marketer for a company that specialises…
Be better than you were before
As you prepare your companies’ journey into the post-Covid World here's five things your brand…
Ready your database for email marketing automation
When it comes to email marketing, an area that is constantly evolving, everyone wants smarter…
Net Promoter Score: What it is and why we do it
NPS stands for Net Promoter Score and is a metric commonly used by businesses and agencies (like…
Mission, Vision & Values
It is vital for any business to have a clear idea of their Mission, Vision and Values. These are…
How video can help you and your business
Adding a film to your web-landing page typically increases conversion rates by up to 80%.
Is your Website accessible?
As web designers, it is crucial that we take into account the usability of a website across all…
A name worth sharing
Contrary to popular opinion, naming is not just about brainstorming. It’s an art and a science, and…
6 fresh content ideas for your blog
Original content in the form of blog articles is one of the best ways there is to drive traffic to…
Verbal Identity 101: Why brand voice matters
To communicate effectively, brands need what they say and how they say it to work together, in a…
Don’t be mis-sold on domains
Like many business owners, and marketing leaders, you’re eager to make your website work as hard as…
What kind of video is right for my business?
There are so many ways that video can help promote and grow your business. What’s right for you…
Shaping a team is the most fulfilling aspect of business
Some creatives don’t naturally see themselves as business people. However, I have found the process…
Be willing to learn
So, what’s my best advice to anyone starting out? Ask yourself why you think it’s a good idea and…
Knowledge is power
Having been on the other side of the fence as journalists once hassled by PRs, we gained valuable…
Never place all your eggs in one basket
Never work alone. As much as you may need or want to go your own way, you cannot do everything by…
The kid who dressed up as a Thunderbird
The best bit of advice I ever got was from my art teacher at college, who once suggested I “Go lay…
Don’t be afraid to surround yourself with talented people
The most important lesson relates to the wellbeing of the team. You will only be successful if…
In the beginning I had brown hair. Now, it’s white
Ideas are currency. Get the right one and it’s worth more than a smile – it’s the stuff that builds…
by Jonathan FordFounding Partner & Group Creative Director - Pearlfisher
If you don’t tell people why you’re amazing
Language is the most powerful strategic tool we have: it’s how we capture, define and share……
by Mike ReedCo-founder and Executive Creative Director - Reed Words
It all began with a sandwich
I had a desire to create my own workspace; one where I was answerable only to my clients, rather…
It’s about the No’s
You also need discipline so you don’t become too busy, and to possess a self-belief that stops you…
Laura Daniel of We Grow Start Ups shares advice, wisdom and the fundamentals of digital marketing...
Host Ed Palmer talks to Laura about the first steps every business should take in digital marketing, the common mistakes and pitfalls and what can be learned from how big business approaches digital marketing… Laura also shares the best pieces of advice she’s ever been given and the worse…
isme|&|conversation...
Sam Russell talks Verbal Identity
Sam Russell, a Creative Lead at Reed Words, talks to host Ed Palmer about how to make businesses and brands stronger through language.
The 90 Second Podcast...
Trance Language
The 90 Second Podcast is all about helping everyone to make better content.
Hosted by Ed Palmer from 212 Radio, this podcast series contains everything you need to transform the impact of your content.
In this episode Ed talks to Sunjay Singh about trance language and how it stops your content making impact.
Coming Soon. More valuable and insightful content.
PR Masterclass with JournoLink
The Power of Marketing
and Communication
Whether you’re a new business looking to increase your visibility, or you’ve been around for a while and want to try a new approach to help improve sales, you need to understand the power of marketing and communication!
Developing and implementing new strategies for marketing and communication will allow you to reach new clients and remain relevant to your existing customers.
isme|&|co is here to make business advice readily available to all independent UK businesses. Through the content and expert providers in the marketplace there’s everything you need to navigate the many disciplines of marketing and communication.
Find out what marketing really is from the experts themselves. Learn how to create a successful marketing strategy, how to conduct effective market research, and investigate the world of social media marketing.
What is marketing?
Marketing describes all the activities a business can undertake to promote the business and brand in order to sell its products and services
Successful marketing campaigns often take exceptional organisation to plan, create, and deliver. But effective marketing campaigns are vital if you’re to achieve increases in sales, repeat business, more visitor traffic and increased loyalty.
There are many disciplines to marketing, including:
Traditional marketing
Outdoor media, TV and radio advertising, window displays, and telemarketing.
Digital marketing
Online content, video adverts and social media.
Search Engine Optimisation
A type of digital marketing, SEO increases your website’s visibility, appearing higher up on a search engine’s results page, so users are more likely to view it and buy your products or services.
Pay-Per-Click
Another type of digital marketing, PPC is a marketing model where you pay a fee every time a user clicks on one of your online adverts.
Email marketing
Email marketing for a business is a great way to build relationships with clients and reach many more potential clients. You can use email marketing to promote your products and services, while also offering discounts and perks for clients who sign up to receive your emails.
Of the items included in this list (and there are many more) digital marketing is taking over as the primary marketing discipline for small and medium sized businesses, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Digital marketing is increasingly accessible now there are so many digital tools at your disposal. You can easily analyse your competitors, identify gaps in the market, see what potential clients are talking about on social media, and react quicker to emerging market trends.
What is a Marketing Strategy?
A marketing strategy refers to a business’s overriding plan for reaching potential customers and turning them in to active customers buying their products or services.
It’s unlikely you will deploy all marketing activities available to you. So deciding what kind of marketing is right for your business requires a marketing strategy.
A strong marketing strategy, whether it’s a digital marketing strategy, a traditional marketing strategy, or a combination of both, contains information on the 4 P’s:
Product
Product refers to the goods or service a company offers to customers. Ideally, a product should fulfill an existing customer demand. Or a product may be so attractive that customers believe they need to have it and it creates a new demand. To be successful, you’ll need to understand the life cycle of a product, and have a plan for dealing with products at every stage of their life cycle. The type of product also partially dictates how much businesses can charge for it, where they should place it, and how they should promote it in the marketplace.
Price
Price is the cost customers will pay for a product. Marketers must link the price to the product's real and perceived value, but they must also consider supply costs, seasonal discounts, and competitors' prices. In some cases, businesses may raise the price to give the product the appearance of being a luxury. Alternatively, they may lower the price so more customers can try the product.
Place
It is important to determine the best place to try and sell your products or services. Where do you stand the best chance of potential customers coming into contact with your products?
Do you have a physical store, are you selling online through other services such as Amazon? Do you have a website or an eCommerce site? Where you plan to sell your products, will have a bearing on how best to market them.
Promotion
This is where the bulk of the planning happens because the ‘promotion’ part of the 4 P’s involves all the marketing techniques you’ll be using to persuade customers to buy your products or services. This could include paid advertising, social media campaigns, blogs, or PR and outreach amongst others!
A marketing strategy founded on the 4 P’s can help you grow your business by improving existing customer relationships and help you reach potential new customers.
Communicating your brand
What makes your business recognisable? How does your product or service stand out of from the crowd? How do you want customers to describe your business to other people? One word – Branding!
Creating a strong and distinctive brand will enhance your company. Telling your customers about it sits at the heart of all marketing activity.
Building a strong brand involves creating an identity, design, naming and tone of voice amongst other things:
Brand design
Your brand design is your visual identity. This involves everything from shapes, sizes and colours, to logos, fonts, style and imagery. It’s important to make sure your designs are unique and easily distinguishable from your competitors. Your branding appears on everything you use to market your business, including official documents, pitches, and products. Paying attention to the detail and being consistent across your business is key to reinforcing and strengthening your brand.
Brand tone of voice
Together with design, you also need a branded tone of voice. This is the type of language you associate with your business. This is key because it will appear on everything from your products, to formal communications, and social media. It helps express the personality you want to convey. Which in turn helps customers know what to expect from dealing with you. Your tone of voice should be representative of your business, so if you’re offering legal services, you might choose a more factual, formal tone of voice. Whereas for a video gaming shop a friendly and relaxed tone of voice is more appropriate.
Creating and looking after a strong brand is essential for businesses of all sizes, from all types of industries, and all sectors.
Learn How to Conduct Market Research
Regular market research is important if you’re to maintain relevance with your target customers. It’s also a good way of looking more closely at what your competition are doing so you can stay ahead if them.
If you approach market research in the right way, you can understand what your target audience or customers want. You can see what your competition is doing. This will enable you to make decisions about your marketing and communication strategy to ensure its the best it can be.
Market research is also cost-effective because it stops you from wasting time and effort on irrelevant marketing. With social media and online resources being so readily available, in some sectors trends come and go quickly. This means regular research is needed to make sure your communications are reactive and relevant.
You might be wondering how to conduct market research successfully and the answer is, there’s no right way. It will depend on the nature of your business and your target market. However, the more market research you can do, the better informed you’ll be! Here are some examples of market research you might adopt:
Conduct surveys
If you want to find out information about your clients and their spending habits. Just ask them! Conducting a survey is the easiest way to find out who your clients are and what they enjoy buying because the information comes straight from them.
Create personas
Create target personas to represent your target audience. Each persona will include a set of characteristics such as age, personal profile, and financial status, that together summarise a particular group of people who you think will be interested in your products or services.
Record insights & analytics
You can’t argue with facts! Taking data such as keyword research and online traffic insights, will help you understand what your target audience are looking for, how well your competitors are doing and how you can improve your marketing. Recording the data also means you can quickly spot any improvements or changes to the data as a result of the marketing activity you have undertaken.
Create customer journey maps
Where do your customers go before they get to the checkout? By mapping and understanding your customers’ journeys, you can make sure they are given all the information possible and are encouraged at every possibility to buy your products or services.
You need to assess what you want to find out from your market research. If you want to find out what people are buying, a survey is a great option; If you’re trying to find out how your clients find your products, a customer journey map may be a better option!
Effective marketing and communication can transform your business, especially when you develop a strong marketing strategy.
isme|&|co was created to help make access to all the information and resources you could need easier. Helping you to create dynamic marketing and communication campaigns that improve and grow your business.
Sign up for full membership access and learn more about business marketing such as creating a marketing strategy and how to do effective market research. It will help your business grow.
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