Try a 'Marketing Audit'
01/07/11 14:44
Quite often, we speak to new customers who are 'desperate' for a piece of marketing material. Usually they are trying to attract a particular sector or customer, or promote a specific part of their business. This can be a little daunting for us... being asked to quickly write/design something stand-alone that is disconnected from the customer's existing brochures, website etc. It can be a bit like pulling on a loose thread on a jumper - before you know it, the whole thing is unravelling!
We all know that it's a tough market out there at the moment, which makes it an ideal time to 'audit' your marketing material. Put aside an hour to look at your competitors websites, look-up companies that are bigger than yours and see how they're marketing themselves, the quality of their material and the kind of projects they're working on. Compare that to your own and critically examine how well you come across compared to your peers. It can be a tough thing to do - you're close to your company and know everything about it - what you need to remember is that your website, brochure or flyer might be the first and only opportunity you have to sell yourself to a new client. Is it just a new piece of material that you need to help put you in front of new customers, or is your public image a little more lacking? Maybe your tender documents have fallen into a rut... do you know what sort of submissions your competitors are producing these days?
A wholesale audit may well convince you that you're doing the right thing and just need to use your material more effectively, which is great! However, it might be a timely reminder that things move on... in a competitive market not only is it important to offer great value and service, you also need to SHOW customers that this is what they will get from you. So, whether it's a set of new case studies that describe your latest innovations and successes, or a total rebrand, don't leave it until you're 'desperate' - do the audit, get some advice and go out there and sell yourself! What are you waiting for?
(Of course, we can help with all of this - just give us a call!)
We all know that it's a tough market out there at the moment, which makes it an ideal time to 'audit' your marketing material. Put aside an hour to look at your competitors websites, look-up companies that are bigger than yours and see how they're marketing themselves, the quality of their material and the kind of projects they're working on. Compare that to your own and critically examine how well you come across compared to your peers. It can be a tough thing to do - you're close to your company and know everything about it - what you need to remember is that your website, brochure or flyer might be the first and only opportunity you have to sell yourself to a new client. Is it just a new piece of material that you need to help put you in front of new customers, or is your public image a little more lacking? Maybe your tender documents have fallen into a rut... do you know what sort of submissions your competitors are producing these days?
A wholesale audit may well convince you that you're doing the right thing and just need to use your material more effectively, which is great! However, it might be a timely reminder that things move on... in a competitive market not only is it important to offer great value and service, you also need to SHOW customers that this is what they will get from you. So, whether it's a set of new case studies that describe your latest innovations and successes, or a total rebrand, don't leave it until you're 'desperate' - do the audit, get some advice and go out there and sell yourself! What are you waiting for?
(Of course, we can help with all of this - just give us a call!)