An effective marketing strategy is normally developed in the following way:

• – The business identifies its ideal target market and then segments and groups its potential customer-base according to their specific needs and requirements.
• – It identifies its unique selling points (strengths and offerings) to clarify how it can meet customers’ needs in better ways than its direct competitors.
• – Appropriate marketing activities are then selected and implemented to reach and engage consumers about the business’ products, services and brand.

While this may sound like a rather straightforward process, the reality is that what customers want from your business today might be vastly different to what they’ll be looking for in the months to come. This is largely due to the constant flux of local and global markets, economies and industry trends.

This blog provides some insights into what you can do to keep your marketing strategy as current as possible.  

STAY ABREAST OF INDUSTRY NEWS AND RELEVANT MARKET RESEARCH

To stay ahead of competitors and appropriately respond to the latest business trends, you’ll need to keep up to date with what’s ‘hot’ and what’s ‘not’ in your industry, as well as in the marketing and advertising space.

Online resources to refer to for home improvement trends and insights include the UK-based Trend Monitor or LinkedIn Groups like The Home Improvement Group and Home Improvement and Repairs.  

When it comes to helpful marketing resources, keep your eye on the Hubspot, Brandwatch and Quick Sprout blogs and websites (to name a few) – a quick scan of their online content will help you keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the advertising and marketing realm.

In addition, don’t be shy to follow known trendsetters on their professional networking channels to see how their ideas and insights can be adapted to your own business offerings.

KEEP YOUR EAR CLOSE TO THE GROUND TO HEAR WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS HAVE TO SAY

Customer needs and requirements are the hinge pin of any successful marketing campaign; this is why customer feedback plays such a critical role in helping to fine tune a marketing strategy.

Businesses can use social media channels to engage with current and potential customers and assess their responses to new product offerings and services. Online surveys can also be utilised to solicit direct feedback from customers about their product experiences.

USE PAID SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROMOTE YOUR BRAND AND SERVICES

Free marketing tools aren’t having the same effect on online consumers as they used to, says this Reuters blog. Paying to run adverts on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook is now the next best things for increasing a business’ reach, promoting its brand and gleaning additional insights into customer preferences.

Read this Quick Sprout blog for tips on how to use paid social media to grow your business’ blog audience, for example.

TAKE MOBILE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN MARKETING VIA YOUR WEBSITE

This simply means, because billions of people access the internet via their smartphones, your business’ website needs to be mobile-friendly. The industry term for this is ‘responsive’ and it relates to how easily your website’s content can be accessed and navigated via mobile technology. A quick look at this Sitepoint blog will show you how technical a job this can be, so do be sure to ask a web developer or designer for help with the process.

BE SURE TO MEASURE THE ROI FOR ALL YOUR MARKETING ACTIVITIES

Instead of indiscriminately pouring money into your marketing strategy, take the time to measure the effectiveness of each marketing activity to see what delivers the highest ROI. A recent Webpage FX article recommends that you “look at information like email clickthrough rates, on-site conversion rates, and the ROI of your paid advertising methods, among other things, and use this information to adjust your strategy accordingly”.

Image Credit: PESTLE Analysis

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