Here’s the marketing truth bomb that we’re dropping in 2024. Your business needs a marketing strategy to survive. It’s as simple as that. Whether you want your business to finally break even, or you have really ambitious plans for future growth, you NEED a plan.

Did you know – B2B companies like yours should be reinvesting, on average, between 2-5% of your revenue on marketing? If you’re a B2C company, this should be even higher at 5-10%.

So – it’s time to ask yourself some big questions.

What are you currently investing in your marketing, and is 2024 the year you take things to the next level?

We absolutely get it. For some of you, 2023 was just about staying afloat, and a large part of 2024 will be a continuation of that “survival strategy”. BUT…there are some things you can do now that don’t cost a thing.

1. Start by doing your research – work out who your ideal prospect is (or read our blog here https://thirtysixdigital.com/who-is-your-ideal-client-and-do-they-know-it-yet/), and have a clear understanding of what your competitors are already doing to attract them
2. Set small achievable goals – maybe it’s posting once a week? Maybe it’s creating a list of ideal prospects to contact via LinkedIn? It might even start with attending a webinar. Just start setting yourself small goals that you can achieve each month to move things along
3. Understand the costs – you might not be ready to update your website or outsource your social media content NOW, but do you have any idea what those services cost? Understanding the figures will help you to plan ahead with clearer intention and purpose, as well as helping you to identify successful growth in the future!
4. Set a budget and track it! Once you are able to make an investment, you need to be clear on what you can commit to spending each month and stick to it! Remember, most marketing will take around 3 months to gain any traction, so factor this into your budget.
5. Don’t be afraid to experiment – whilst it’s important to stick to one thing and do it really well, don’t be afraid to try different platforms, times, content types, message tones etc. Try email marketing, cold outreach, flyers, newsletters and website landing pages. As long as you give each marketing method enough time to perform, track their progress carefully, and make a plan to adjust or replace, you’ll actually begin to enjoy the process of marketing your business, and that enables you to do a much better job!

How can you get started?

Strategy is definitely important when it comes to your marketing. You need to have one. There, we said it.

A timeless, tried and tested strategy is to plan your marketing around milestone moments throughout the year. It’s not too late to kick things off with a New Year’s focused approach. We’re thinking resolutions, intentions, reflections, pivots, realignments, planning and new directions. What are you learning from 2023? How are you using this information to structure a new approach?

Here are some suggestions if you’re not sure how to get started.

1. Welcome the New Year with a post – Of course, don’t make it too late in the month! Logically, most people are still off in the first week, and the kids won’t be back to school. So try to aim for the 1st full week to improve the chances of getting engagement.
2. Consider launching/relaunching a new product/service – now it’s probably too late in the day to launch something brand spanking new, but consider whether or not you can start marketing a launch for February during this time. If you have a service, digital download or product that you haven’t mentioned in a while, now’s the time to shine the spotlight on it again.
3. Reward your referrers – often, the audience we neglect is our existing customers, previous service users or key contacts/collaborators. So, how can you make them a part of your strategy? Can you reward them with a discount? Perhaps they can provide you with Google reviews or testimonials for your website/marketing materials? Maybe they can provide feedback to improve your existing process/services? However you see the benefit of their input, make sure you offer a reward
4. Don’t be afraid to use what works – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Stick to what you know, then experiment with any gaps or future iterations of the same stuff. Being consistent, reliable and trustworthy is always a hit with your existing audience and in attracting a new crowd
5. Be bigger and bolder to attract attention – if you want to “stop the scroll”, remember that less is more. Too many words or words that are dull and lack clarity will not encourage interaction. Keep it short, snappy and on brand. Think how else you can set yourself apart from the competition. Brighter colours? More personality? Less templating in your graphic content? What do you need to do to become more recognisable?

Of course, when looking to make a splash with your marketing, you’ll want to work with a team of talented professionals who can take you from “blah” to BRILLIANT! That’s what we’re all about. Book in a call or check out our other blogs to get more impact into your marketing.