Grow Your Sales Now. Revealed: The 3 Essential Marketing Levers to Grow Sales for Small Business Owners

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1 Your Sales Now Revealed: The 3 Essential Marketing Levers to Grow Sales for Small Business Owners There is little doubt that there are a plethora of marketing options for businesses of all sizes. Our focus is on how to grow the sales of the small-to-medium enterprise (SME) owner, because for small business owners, every expense comes straight out of their own pocket. Growing sales revenue for small businesses is too important to not pay critical attention to.

2 The Consequences of Ineffective Marketing of Small Business There are many and varied consequences of not taking an effective strategic marketing approach to your small business including: Going broke the worst outcome of all and one we never like to see Business being a continual struggle from month to month Business owners basically earning a wage in their business despite having to bear all the stress of being business. It s sad to see a business owner paying some of their staff more than they are taking home themselves as they sacrifice themselves to keep the business going. Seeing business owners who have great technical skills in their industry or who have a great product but who just don t get to fully enjoy fruits of those strengths; and A top sales line being lower than it should be. Most business owners have felt some of these notions before, so if you have, don t worry you are not alone. Why Marketing Isn t Easy in 2015 Marketing has probably never been easy, but it has never been as difficult as it is in 2015, and we are not even referring to the so-so nature of the current economy. Good marketing provides a safeguard against the prevailing economic times and we believe there are always enough customers out there for small businesses to survive and grow despite the economic times, if they are well run and are marketed effectively.

3 Marketing in 2015 isn t easy for two main reasons: 1. A Complex Web of Marketing Communications Options There have never been so many different ways for how to advertise your business. Here is a possible list of advertising and marketing activities for small businesses: All forms of digital marketing including Google Adwords, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), social media marketing, marketing and display advertising; Social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and literally hundreds more; and Traditional advertising techniques such as TV advertising, radio advertising, newspapers and catalogues. The vast array of choices can be quite overwhelming and extremely difficult to navigate, especially when you have a business to run and cannot afford to spend hours and hours every week working out what is the best solution for your business. AND, 2. Consumer Behaviour Has Changed Forever Customers are different to how they have ever been before as we are now deep into the Information Age. The internet has changed everything. In days gone by, sellers previously held all the information regarding products and services and consumers would have to go to stores and showrooms to uncover information about a product and its features and benefits. Sellers had the upper hand in terms of the information equation. The internet has changed this forever now consumers are empowered with information and their buying attitudes and behaviour have changed forever.

4 The Customer Buying Process in 2015 The consumer journey now looks more like this: Recent research suggests that visitors to your website are undertaking the following activities on their buyer journey: 75% are in the research phase and are getting to KNOW you 23% are in the comparison phase between you and your competitors and hopefully are getting to LIKE you; and Just 2% of customers are ready to take action and buy from as they have come to TRUST you. (Franklin & Jenkins, Web Marketing That Works, 2014)

5 The Primary Marketing Challenge for Small Businesses to Achieve Sales Growth The quintessential challenge for small business owners looking to achieve sales growth is: To know what marketing levers to pull; and When to pull those levers given where the target market or customer base is This report will show you the key customer phases and illustrate which marketing levers to pull and when. Marketing Levers To Pull 3 Key Marketing Levers Below are the key marketing levers that we have in our arsenal and we detail when to pull them: 1 Creating Awareness & Demand 2 Nurturing the customer until the demand is primed 3 Fulfilling demand

6 1. Creating Awareness & Demand There are many instances where consumers simply don t know that our business or our products and services exist. It stands to reason that if consumers have no awareness of our existence, they simply cannot manifest any demand for our products or services, and that means, we don t get any sales. Marketing Levers to Pull The levers which create awareness and demand in products that people previously had no idea about include traditional advertising such as: TV Radio Newspapers Product samples; and Direct mail in your letterbox. And, Digital marketing levers which include: advertising to your e-database Display advertising on websites; and Facebook paid advertising. Pulling these kinds of levers is all about creating awareness and demand so that customers who had not previously thought of your products/services, now have an interest and desire to buy your product. The reason why Google Adwords or SEO will not be effective here is because how do you search for something you don t know about?

7 Effective marketing is all about knowing which lever to pull and when. 2. Nurturing the Customer While Demand Builds Content Marketing As we can see from the above sales funnel diagram, most customers are in the research and comparison phases in fact, a staggering 98%! So, what are you doing to nurture these customers until they are ready to buy from you or a competitor? The key here is content marketing. Your online marketing should have content marketing at its cornerstone. Content marketing creates the opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge, likeability, and trustworthiness in a way which is compelling and totally relevant for the Information Age that we are now in. People want information to make good buying decisions. If you provide them with valuable content you are well on your way to completing the know, like, trust buy process. Marketing Levers To Pull High quality downloadable content from your website that offers information or content so valuable that people would even consider paying for it. Whilst it might seem counter-intuitive to give away your IP you will find that your generosity is rewarded as the information searcher becomes highly enamored with your business.

8 Nurture The Leads It is imperative that prospective customers give you their address in exchange for this valuable content so that you can begin the customer journey with them. E-newsletters which are soft sell and continue to provide more valuable content and further develop a prospective customer s capacity to know and like your business; and Social media marketing across a range of different platforms which you think are relevant to your business. Our advice is to stick to the bigger platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest and do a good, consistent job of managing these platforms, rather than to dilute your impact or suffer from inconsistent output. 3. Fulfilling Demand So, the customer has completed the journey through the research and comparing phases and they are ready to buy it s just a question of from whom they buy. By this stage you have either stimulated some awareness and demand that was previously there, or you have developed in the mind of the customer a likeability and trustworthiness through your content marketing and now it is time to make a purchase. Alternatively, the customer might very well have known exactly what it was they wanted and are ready to make a purchase and hence they are searching online for a place to buy.

9 Marketing Levers to Pull: Search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure that you have a page 1 ranking for a broad range of keywords which are relevant for your business. SEO drives unpaid traffic to your website and appears in the following manner. SEO takes some time and constant vigilance so you need to keep that in mind. If you need a fast result and need to appear at the top of 1 page for your relevant keywords, the silver bullet is Google Adwords. Google Adwords is fast and effective. You can be at the top of page 1 within days, if you pay the right bid and your account is structured in a methodical, tactical manner. Adwords can be complex to set up and we recommend using an expert (like us!) who works with Google Adwords every day. Google Adwords works by people clicking on your ad and then they go direct to your website this is why it is called Pay-Per-Click advertising as you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. However, you pay every time someone clicks on your ad and if your campaign is not set up properly, this can result in a lot of wasted clicks and a budget explosion. So, there you have the right marketing levers to pull and at the right time. A good marketing plan will take into account the three levers and will have them operating simultaneously, as not all customers are in the same place in the buying cycle at the same time. One last thing before go. Whilst much has changed in advertising ideas and marketing strategies, some things never change, so please take note of this list. Proven Advertising Techniques You still need a great offer You still need to a call-to-action You can still benefit from urgency and limited offers ; and You still need good sales people who give good customer service.

10 Strategic Marketing Proposal Grow Your Sales NOW If you would like to know what marketing strategies will work best for your business and need some help in determining which levers to pull and when, then book a free consultation now and we will be only too happy to help you. FREE Consultation Here is to your sales growth and business success! info@marketingcatalyst.com.au marketingcatalyst.com.au