Sales and Marketing Tips

Building a reputation for your business can be difficult and time consuming; below are some tips and advice on how to approach your marketing and sales strategy:

What are you marketing? What is your special quality (your unique selling point)? How does your business differ from your competitors or similar organisations? How do you want to be perceived?

Who are you trying to reach? Try to find out as much information about your target audiences as possible: their age group, social class, interests, lifestyle and region. Read our article about Target Audiences xxxxx

What are your marketing objectives? These need to be measurable and timed, e.g. a 10% increase in users over six months. However, you also need to be sensible about what you can achieve. It is a good idea to create your marketing objectives in a yearly plan. The five Ws will help you define how you are going to do it, and you should always check them when considering any form of communication: Why? What? Who? Where? When? Added together, these five points = How.

What methods will you use? What are you going to use to market your organisation or project? Marketing vehicles include: Direct mail - post, door-drop. Face-to-face - e.g. door-to-door selling. Telemarketing. Advertising. Website. Events and promotions. Sponsorship/partnership. Planning and timing are essential. Plan which days, weeks or months are best to approach each audience.

How do you want to come across? How you are perceived is essential to your brand identity. Establish your key messages - a maximum of three. Outline your core differentiation, strengths and offerings. Customise the tone and style of your literature to your audience. Invest time and effort in your literature. It is crucial to have accurate and accessible communications. Memorable names and logos are an advantage - if your business name or logo is difficult to use, resize or remember then perhaps it is worth reviewing or redesigning it.

How do you evaluate whether your objectives have been achieved? It is important to measure your success, especially for future funding or building awareness. Everyone likes facts and figures - they prove that your business is or is not a success. In addition to measuring numbers you can: Organise focus groups with your different audiences. Ask what they think of you, whether they are satisfied with how you communicate to them and how it can be improved. Collect feedback, whether this is by email from your website or by a survey. If you find that you aims are never accomplished keep asking whether your objectives are realistic and keep trying new ideas.