It is through marketing that a business makes money. Therefore, to achieve effective marketing, business owners should target marketing towards major stakeholders such as the demographic customer base and competitors. Also, marketing should be innovation-focused so that it can increasingly become effective. When you outsource marketing, your marketing outsourcing partner will adopt proactive steps to determine your marketing needs. Let’s examine some of those proactive steps.
Step #1: Take a Stock of Your Business
The first step towards determining your marketing needs is to take stock of your entire business, especially the marketing department, the current strategies in use, and the materials. Get to know what strategies were used before, what worked, and what didn’t. This way, you can determine the next line of action.
Step #2: Study Your Competitors
You should find out the marketing strategy that your successful competitors adopt. So, explore your competitors’ websites and visit their physical location. One of the best ways to study successful competitors is to try completing a purchase process on their websites. It will also be helpful to read online reviews about those companies.
When you study your competitors, try to establish the competitive advantage you have over them. Subsequently, when you create a marketing plan, you should ensure it emphasizes the competitive advantage that you have over those competitors.
Step #3: Embark on a Market Research
Your market research should focus on surveying your existing customers. This way, you can find out their age range, ethnicity, gender, as well as other demographics. Use a market survey to find out what is missing in your customers’ experience with your products and business as a whole. This is a great way to know how to improve their experience with your business. Subsequently, you are able to retain them.
Step a#4: Find Out Who Your Real Customers Are
You won’t have to waste resources chasing everybody if you know who your target customers are. Subsequently, you can target your marketing resources and materials on your real customers so that you can attract, satisfy, and retain them. But, you can also try and bait a new demographic from time to time.
Also, do not forget that each demographic has it unique way of responding to marketing. So, you should seriously think of using a different marketing campaign or strategy for each demographic – that could be the marketing need that can take your business to the next level if it is met.
For instance, while it may be more effective to use conventional mail to alert 70 years old about your sale or discount offer, 20 years old would definitely prefer email or other electronic means.
Finally, you should look at your marketing materials again, including your logo, slogan, o even business name. How well do they communicate the unique features of your product and business as a whole?
Daven Michaels is a New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of premiere global outsourcing company, 123Employee. The company employs hundreds of young bright individuals on three continents. His International event, Beyond Marketing Live! Inspires entrepreneurs to build & grow their business with revolutionary new theories and systems allowing them to design the business and personal lifestyle of their dreams.
Doug Dvorak says: 
The Best Way to Determine Your Marketing Needs
It is through marketing that a business makes money. Therefore, to achieve effective marketing, business owners should target marketing towards major stakeholders such as the demographic customer base and competitors. Also, marketing should be innovation-focused so that it can increasingly become effective. When you outsource marketing, your marketing outsourcing partner will adopt proactive steps to determine your marketing needs. Let’s examine some of those proactive steps.
Step #1: Take a Stock of Your Business
The first step towards determining your marketing needs is to take stock of your entire business, especially the marketing department, the current strategies in use, and the materials. Get to know what strategies were used before, what worked, and what didn’t. This way, you can determine the next line of action.
Step #2: Study Your Competitors
You should find out the marketing strategy that your successful competitors adopt. So, explore your competitors’ websites and visit their physical location. One of the best ways to study successful competitors is to try completing a purchase process on their websites. It will also be helpful to read online reviews about those companies.
When you study your competitors, try to establish the competitive advantage you have over them. Subsequently, when you create a marketing plan, you should ensure it emphasizes the competitive advantage that you have over those competitors.
Step #3: Embark on a Market Research
Your market research should focus on surveying your existing customers. This way, you can find out their age range, ethnicity, gender, as well as other demographics. Use a market survey to find out what is missing in your customers’ experience with your products and business as a whole. This is a great way to know how to improve their experience with your business. Subsequently, you are able to retain them.
Step a#4: Find Out Who Your Real Customers Are
You won’t have to waste resources chasing everybody if you know who your target customers are. Subsequently, you can target your marketing resources and materials on your real customers so that you can attract, satisfy, and retain them. But, you can also try and bait a new demographic from time to time.
Also, do not forget that each demographic has it unique way of responding to marketing. So, you should seriously think of using a different marketing campaign or strategy for each demographic – that could be the marketing need that can take your business to the next level if it is met.
For instance, while it may be more effective to use conventional mail to alert 70 years old about your sale or discount offer, 20 years old would definitely prefer email or other electronic means.
Finally, you should look at your marketing materials again, including your logo, slogan, o even business name. How well do they communicate the unique features of your product and business as a whole?
Daven Michaels is a New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of premiere global outsourcing company, 123Employee. The company employs hundreds of young bright individuals on three continents. His International event, Beyond Marketing Live! Inspires entrepreneurs to build & grow their business with revolutionary new theories and systems allowing them to design the business and personal lifestyle of their dreams.
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