Ever wondered how prospects are able to find your business? Who is your ideal prospect? And more importantly, are you actually attracting the right prospects? Well, the aftermath of having an effective marketing strategy, is being able to answer all of these questions - and that's only the beginning.
In today's fast-paced digital world, almost each and every thing that we consume is the outcome of one key focus: Marketing. So, are you really out there? While a vast majority of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) would like to think so, the truth is, marketing is actually one of the biggest "pain points" for all MSPs (Datto, State of the MSP Report, 2019).
Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to refine your existing marketing strategy, we provide the ultimate best practices' guide for how to simply get started:
Sure, having a cutting-edge name makes it a lot easier to market your brand, but what's your business actually about? With the rise of emotional marketing, research confirms, that visitors who are emotionally influenced, are far more likely to become a customer.
According to a recent survey of 1,400 successful advertising campaigns, strictly emotional content "performed about twice as well (31% vs. 16%)" than content that was merely rational. So, prior to dedicating a budget, it's essential to first answer the following questions:
- How is your product or service helping its consumers?
Here, you need to identify how your product or service is serving a purpose; this requires identifying the need for your product. When you're able to identify exactly what your customers need, and why they desire your product or service, you'll then be able to articulate your customer journey; a pivotal milestone for any successful marketing strategy.
- Who can your product or service help?
Here, after you've clearly identified the need for your product or service, you now need to identify who actually needs it; who is your ideal customer? What does your audience look like? This includes demographics, behaviours, and key interests. - What are your core values?
Here, it's essential to ascertain what your company stands for. Not only will communicating these values help your customers to instill trust in you, but more importantly, it will significantly assist your staff in achieving your company's vision. - What's your background story?
Marketing starts and ends with a story. The bigger your brand becomes, the more your customers will want to know about you: How you started, why you launched your business, and what inspired you.
In our previous blog, MSP Best Practices: How to Win at Customer Service, we discussed the importance of determining your key personas, which brings us to -
Invest in Powerful CRM Software
We understand that identifying your key personas can be a mammoth task, often easier said than done though fortunately, there's outstanding Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software that can help you to achieve this.
Regardless of which stage of the journey your customers are at, powerful CRM platforms such as HubSpot or Salesforce, facilitate the data you need to discover and identify who your target audience is. To learn more about how CRM software can assist you, visit our related best practice feature here.
Understand Content Is King, but "Distribution Is Queen"
As written by Forbes' Media Strategist, Peter Himler, "Content Is King, Distribution Is Queen." This means that while content is unarguably, one of the most important pillars of any successful marketing scheme, distribution is almost as important; in fact, it's interdependent.
While editorial content was once the primary focus, online publishers have since reported massive losses from being unable to keep up with the digital demands of how content is better received. Now, the industry sees a phenomenal shift toward marketing-driven content; this is where emotional marketing, social media, marketing automation, SEO, email marketing, public relations, and more, play an integral part in its success.
A staggering 62% of leading B2B marketers report having a content marketing strategy, while content marketing is said to generate leads three times greater than that of paid search advertising.
Utilize Word of Mouth Advertising
Word-of-mouth was, and still is, one of the most powerful forms of advertising. Before the world of digital, word-of-mouth is how news about your business would get around; the classic friend-of-a-friend scenario. Well, Word-of-mouth advertising plays on that same principal, the only difference is that now, customers have extended the medium in which they communicate their experiences.
In the past, people would have physically communicated to friends and family alone. Now, customers are also using online forums, social media platforms, reviews, and ratings, to express their customer experiences.
Since almost every 9 in 10 consumers will trust the recommendation of a friend or family member more than any other type of advertising, there's no greater time than to utilize the power of having a customer referral program.
We hope this marketing guide has inspired you to get started. In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about customer referrals, check out our best practices' post 6 Ways to Boost B2B Referrals, and discover how you can revel in significant revenue growth.
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