That’s where experts like Steve Smith come in. Smith, founder and president of GrowthSource Coaching, a California-based enterprise aimed at educating clients on how to improve their business savvy, works with two types of professionals: business owners and executives and senior management personnel in larger companies.
No matter with whom he consults, Smith’s goal is to help the client “get beyond skill deficiencies and narrow viewpoints that aren’t serving them as they seek to succeed at their companies.”
Marketing one’s business is an essential aspect of a successful enterprise. With that in mind, he offers concrete tips to entrepreneurs designed to bolster the visibility and success of any endeavor. He says it is imperative for CMOs to:
- Understand the market they’re in so they can determine their niche, then strategize how to dominate that niche
- Make a thorough evaluation of their known competitors to determine if the marketplace has any unmet needs. Those previously untapped or underserved needs should be highlighted in various marketing efforts, including the company’s website
- Analyze countless websites featuring customer reviews pertaining to your industry to determine what they say about what they like and don’t like about a service, a company, etc.
Meanwhile, according to Retail Next, an ever-increasing number of customers consult an outside source before making a purchase. For example, 72% of young consumers consult online options before finalizing a sale.
Moreover, two-thirds of in-store shoppers surf on their smart phone to check prices before completing a purchase. Armed with the knowledge that the buying public relies so heavily on their smartphones and the Internet before making a purchase, CMOs would be wise to promote their company’s wares where buyers look.
With that in mind, wouldn’t it be fantastic to create an app that puts your company’s goods and services in your customer’s face? Not so fast, says Smith, who argues that using an app for marketing purposes isn’t always the best way to make a sale.
“We’ve moved to such a mobile, app-driven way of doing things, but sometimes apps won’t meet your needs,” he says. Why not? According to Smith, “Apps are designed for efficiency, but when it comes to sales and marketing, which are the only two things in a business that drive revenue, you want effectiveness over efficiency.”
When Smith counsels clients about improving their marketing efforts, he suggests they:
- Understand their target audience
- Design a strategy that will work for their business type
- Look for a way to automate or systemize the process
Although it’s not a new offering, Smith says he likes Hootsuite, an app and website that allows the user to schedule posts on various social media sites. It also manages a company’s social media sites, promotes a business’s brand and more.
Of course, Hootsuite isn’t the only app and website designed to simplify the pursuit of social media attention. Like Hootsuite, Facebook allows posts to be scheduled for publication, so the user does not have to be online when they want their post to be released.
Because the Biggies of the Social Media world, like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn consistently seek to outdo one another, it is imperative a CMO remain abreast of the improvements and changes each implements on a constant basis, he urges.
Meanwhile, no matter the marketing strategy a business adopts, it is imperative to be realistic about how those efforts translate into sales. “Depending on the type of business you have, it could take six months to a year to see any sustainable traffic from it. You must be prepared for this by starting early and staying the course,” Smith says.
Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer.
