A core marketing strategy is essential for any business. Whether you are a roofing contractor or provide other services, if your core marketing strategy is not on point, you are taking a big risk for the success of your business. You should pay attention to your marketing strategy for several reasons. Here is what you should consider.
What is a Core Strategy?
A core marketing strategy is the basis of all marketing strategies. It is a blueprint that guides your business marketing plan. A core strategy includes several key components. It identifies your target audience. For example, for a local plumber, the likely target of a marketing campaign would be local homeowners. The marketing strategy is built around reaching local homeowners.
Of course, the core strategy would also include promotional plans, pricing specifics, and more. A robust strategy would include a focus on customer service and added value. These components help to attract new customers while ensuring loyalty from established customers. It is essential that you make customer service a part of your core ‘selling’ strategy.
Every successful business has a core marketing strategy as a foundation for all their marketing needs. It is a customized plan that is tailored to a specific business need. Much like a business plan, a core marketing plan or strategy is flexible and designed to change as needs change.
A core plan is the basis of every other part of your marketing. It includes all the necessary components to build on to ensure that your marketing strategy is complete and draws in the customers you need. Let’s look at some components that should be included in your core marketing strategy to understand better what you should focus on.
1. Targeting Your Audience
No matter how good your message is, it is useless if you don’t target it for the right audience to receive the message. Targeting the right audience takes a bit of work. Typically, the professionals will analyze data to determine the demographic most likely looking for your services. For example, residential roofing customers are most likely to be found among homeowners in well-established neighborhoods. You may find some need in a new neighborhood that was recently constructed, but efforts should focus on the most likely target.
Defining your target group can be a complex process. Professionally evaluate data about demographics, buying behaviors, and more to develop a target identification group. This process ensures that your message is received by people who are ready to make a purchase. Target audience identification is necessary to tailor the marketing message to the right group.
Ensuring your message reaches the right audience is essential to the success of your marketing campaign. Target group identification is a core marketing strategy. You can deploy your marketing plan once you have identified the target audience.
2. Differentiating Your Brand
What makes your paving services different from other paving services? What makes any type of business stand out from other types of businesses in the same industry? It is important that you establish brand differentiation for your business. Brand identification is a core requirement for your marketing strategy.
Establishing a strong brand identification in a crowded market helps make your business stand out. Identifying the unique propositions that your brand can offer can attract buyers ready to make a buying decision. A strong brand not only communicates the unique value proposition of the business but also helps to curate customer loyalty.
You can create a strong brand through logos, memorable slogans, and a unique proposition. The proposition can be added value services, different price points, savings, discount programs, and more. Establishing and setting your brand apart from the rest is a core marketing strategy.
3. Distribution Channel Consideration
When you sell a service, it is not like selling a product. Some key differences must be considered. For example, a plumbing company, unlike a company that sells bicycles, can be put in a retail location to get attention. How will your services reach the consumers?
Distribution channels can vary. Direct sales, partnerships with other businesses, and online platforms are all distribution channels you can use to distribute your services. These channels can be highly effective at distributing your services to customers. Many service industry providers partner with service providers in closely related fields. For example, it is not unusual for a plumbing service to recommend an electrician and vice versa. Online platforms are beneficial.
Social media are an essential tool in any marketing kit. A well-designed website is also a core marketing strategy in today’s market. In today’s market, consumers will perform an internet search when they search for a service. It is vital that you evaluate the channels that are available to distribute your services. Using the right distribution channels is critical to reaching your audience members and selling your services.
4. Customer Experience
Marketing is not only about selling services to your residential window cleaning company; it is also about creating a customer experience plan. How will your customers contact you? What happens when a customer first contacts your company? It is essential that you have a customer experience plan in place to ensure that the customer experience is uniform.
For example, setting a “return call window” will ensure that your business is responsive to customer needs. Customer experience is essential because it is one of the best ways to ensure word-of-mouth advertising. Word-of-mouth advertising is one of the best ways to get the attention of new customers.
It is equally important to manage your online reputation. Many consumers depend on online reviews to make buying decisions. A bad review can affect your ability to secure new customers. Online reputation management should be a factor in your core marketing strategy.
Many “service industry” businesses get a high percentage of their new business from referrals from existing customers. Established customers who are happy with their experience will tell their friends, family, and others about their great experience with your business. Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to advertise your business protecting your business reputation will ensure people have positive things to say about your business.
5. Logos Slogan
We talked briefly about the importance of branding your business. One of the easiest ways to brand your business is to choose a logo that is visually stunning. A catchy slogan is important because it will ensure people remember your business. Everyone remembers a jingle or slogan easily associated with a business.
You should put a lot of thought into your company name, the colors you use in your logo, and what slogan you want to be associated with your business. These elements will affect how people think about your business and whether consumers can recall it when searching for services. A residential window cleaning business with an easy-to-remember name is far more likely to get the call for services than a company that has a hard-to-remember name.
The core business marketing strategy is the jumping-off point for choosing things like signage. Signage is an important part of attracting foot traffic. Clear, concise signage will instruct, inform, and grab customers’ attention. Business owners can forget how valuable the right signage for their brick-and-mortar location can be.
A roofing company could become a very memorable business with bright signage and a catchy slogan. Signs, logos, and slogans are critical to your core marketing strategy. Focusing on these elements will ensure your marketing campaigns are set up for success.
5. Corporate Culture
It’s important to create a corporate culture, even if you are a small roofing company. We talked about value proposition and how it plays an important role in separating your business from other businesses in the industry. Creating a corporate culture that every employee must adhere to is an important part of your core marketing strategy.
Consistency is an important part of providing service. Providing consumers with consistent services they can count on will ensure you build a loyal following. Corporate culture includes things like a dress code, a menu of services, how employees are expected to treat customers, and more. Defining your corporate culture is an essential step in the marketing process.
Corporate culture defines how consumers will view your business. Is it a casual, laid-back atmosphere, or do you want to present a more formal, professional look? Defining the culture of your business can help inform consumers about what to expect from your business.
Your corporate culture informs things like the hours your company works, the level of professionalism, and more. For example, local roofing contractors may choose to have a corporate culture that lets their employees enjoy a good work-life balance by not operating on the weekends. Corporate culture can define many areas of your business and affect your core marketing strategy.
6. Content Strategy
Another highly relevant part of any core marketing strategy is content creation. Whether you own a drain cleaning service or some other service business, content creation will be a focus if you want your marketing campaign to succeed. Content that is engaging and informative gets the attention of consumers.
Content like articles, blog posts, social media postings, and videos are all part of a marketing campaign. A strong content strategy helps you to reach your target audience. Of course, it is not enough to have great content; you need to know what to do with it. You also need to be flexible in your strategy.
Content does two things: it gets consumers interested in your business and engages them. Ideally, good content will keep consumers returning to your business to learn more about your products or services. Consumers appreciate informative content. Content that offers value is essential.
Building a strong content strategy typically requires professional help. Trends in marketing are dynamic and often change quickly. It can be a lot for any business owner to keep up with. Professional assistance can mean you stay focused on your core business responsibilities while your content marketing is being cared for by a professional.
7. Analyzing Data
Marketing is dynamic. What works for one business may not work for another. Regularly auditing results is the only way to know if your marketing is working. Data is gold when it comes to marketing. A good core marketing strategy uses analytics to analyze data to learn what works and what doesn’t.
Data analytics can show you where you need to make changes in your marketing. It can also show you a path to achieving your marketing goals. A good marketing strategy uses data analytics to modify the marketing plan. Without analytics, there is no way to know what marketing strategy is working for your business.
Having the right tools is essential to managing all your future marketing campaigns. Without the right tools, you are moving blindly. It is important that you can gauge the processes that are working and the processes that need to be tweaked a bit.
Of course, analytics tells you about your marketing campaign and provides information about demographics, buying trends, and consumer behavior. Analytics are a valuable tool for any business. Good analytic tools should be a part of your core marketing strategy.
8. Flexible Planning
Even the best core marketing strategy must be adjusted over time. Trends in marketing change frequently, which means that your core marketing strategy may need to be updated frequently. Flexible planning and being able to adjust the direction of your marketing is essential and will ensure that your business is always getting a fresh look from consumers.
Every core marketing strategy should be a flexible plan with room for change when necessary. Your core marketing strategy depends on reaching your audience, attracting new customers, and creating customer loyalty. Staying flexible will ensure that you are meeting the needs of consumers and that they can find your business. Learn more about marketing strategies from a professional team today.
