It’s much easier to be prepared for anything when you’ve got a simplified marketing strategy. One way in which you can do this is by simplifying your marketing objectives into three areas. Know, Like & Buy.
What do we mean by ‘Know’?
Firstly, what do we mean by ‘know’? Simply put, it refers to the people that are aware your business exists. You can’t persuade people to buy if they don’t know who you are.
This part of the strategy is focused on reaching people that you don’t reach already through your owned channels (such as those who follow you on social media or newsletter subscribers). If they don’t follow you or subscribe, they’re likely not aware of what you offer.
How can you reach new people?
There are campaigns out there that you can start in order to find the right people and persuade them to read more about your offer. They should almost always aim to drive traffic to your website.
These campaigns are usually in the form of paid media which allows you to deliver your message to people normally beyond your reach. This includes social media ads (across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and more), Sky TV, Google PPC and YouTube.
This may sound complicated at first, but with the right support, this can all be done for less than £5,000.
What do we mean by ‘Like’?
The ‘like’ part of the strategy refers to the people that now know you (or already did). These are the people that follow you on social media, subscribe to your newsletter and engage with your content. Your aim is to get them to like you.
These people may be considering your business as an option for their needs but they’re not convinced yet. For people at this stage, your aim is to impress them, build trust and get them to like you. And not everyone will like you – that’s a fact. But you need to nurture those that do.
How can you get people to like you?
The focus here is reminding your subscribers or followers why they like you. You can do this by telling them something they don’t know, simplifying something or making something easier for them. The idea is to offer them something useful for free (much like this article!).
This way, they’ll begin to trust you, learn more about you and realise your authority in your field. Remember, this is not the time to hard sell yet – this comes later down the line.
Imagine the strategy like you were dating. You wouldn’t ask someone to move in with you or marry you unless you trusted them and knew all about them.
What do we mean by Buy?
Now for the part everyone likes – the ‘buy’ stage. This is what the previous two stages of the strategy were working so hard towards and you won’t reach this without them. This is about getting people to take action or make a decision with regards to your business’s offering.
This part of the strategy is where you go for the hard sell and show your best offers. Remember, this stage isn’t always a purchase. This could be a registration, form completion or even a phone call. What matters is that someone in your target audience has taken a significant action in favour of your business.
What can you do to encourage people to take action/make a decision?
The best way to encourage action is by offering incentives. For example, giving them something free with their purchase. Don’t be afraid to give away something amazing and valuable. Imagine the incentive behind a free whisky worth £1,000 with a purchase of a new home. Whilst this seems exceptionally generous from the buyers perspective, in the grand scheme of things it could be even less that 0.1% of the overall income from the sale. What’s important is, it makes you memorable and distinguishes you from your competition.
Promotions (such as buy 2 get 1 free) and discounts (e.g. 10% off in December) also work really well to seal the deal.
Be clear from the start
Before you embark on this clear and simple strategy, you need to make sure that as a business, you’re also aligned on your messaging. Clarify which platforms you’ll be using the strategy and confirm your message, copy, imagery and call to action before you start. By stopping and thinking about your strategy and messaging first, you’ll simplify your entire process, making it much easier to adapt in the face of unprecedented times.
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- Simplifying marketing strategy [the subject of this article]
- Data-led decision making
- Being agile without being reactive
- Keeping it consistent
- Seasonal preparation
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