Aligning your marketing to help you grow

Marketing strategy and planning

We can either review your current strategy and plans or work with you to create them. These are some of the areas we’ll assess and make recommendations on.

  • Customers and prospective customers. Do you have a clear view of their behaviour, demographics and wants and needs? Is there a new market you want to, or could, address?

  • Product and pricing. Do these align with the target audience? Are you considering launching a new product or want to know what other products your clients purchase?

  • Brand and service. Does your brand, and the service you offer, meet with your customers’ needs and expectations?

  • Customer acquisition and retention. Where are you sourcing your new customers and is this the best mix of sources? Are you making the most of your existing customers?

  • Customer journey and communications. Is the customer journey a smooth one, or are there pinch points where, for example, those new prospects you’ve spent a fortune on disappear into the ether?

  • PR and social media. Are you communicating effectively to your audience or just putting out ‘white noise’ on social media? Having a clear strategy and knowing your audience for social media are essential.

  • Measurement. Are you able to measure the effectiveness of your marketing activity? Do you know how many enquiries you get from your each source, and how they convert to bookings?

  • Profitability. The acid test of all the above - are you maximising profitability?

  • Skill set assessment. Does your marketing team have the right skill set to deliver your market strategy and plans?

Virtual Marketing Director or Fractional CMO

For some clients we’ve taken the next step and have regular meetings to help them follow through with their strategy and plans. This can include:

  • Monthly progress reviews.

  • Quarterly performance and strategy reviews.

  • Marketing staff mentoring and team check-ins.

  • Ad hoc reviews.

Customer insight

We’re firm believers that customer insight should be at the heart of all your strategy and plans. Whether it’s regular ‘temperature checks’ on your clients’ attitudes, or research into launching a new product or entering a new market. We can provide advice on how best to approach insight or carry out the insight ourselves, bringing in partners where needed. Here’s some areas to consider around customer insight.

  • Purpose. Having a clear purpose or question will give you clear answers. Conversely, a vague purpose gives vague answers, and creates more questions.

  • Cost-effectiveness. Research can be eye-wateringly expensive. It doesn’t have to be, there are low-cost and free options out there.

  • Sources. A survey shouldn’t be the starting point for an insight project. Your staff, existing customer feedback, review sites and tourist board research are all invaluable sources, and can inform later stages of research.

  • Brand integrity. We’ve seen too many surveys where agencies, who should know better, want to ask questions about net worth or house value. Our rule is to be engaging and involving around the purpose of the research. It gets more meaningful results and doesn’t damage your reputation.

Next steps

For an informal discussion about the marketing challenges facing your business please contact us via the link below.