To the Established Company Wanting an Updated Marketing Strategy

Marketing a new business is easy compared to changing a well-established marketing routine. In a company that’s been around the block a few times, the leader has done some experimenting, tried different strategies, and found some they like. Now it’s outdated but deeply integrated with how the business runs. How do you find a new marketing strategy without upending the rhythm of the business?

When I’m brought into a company to help with anything marketing – usually writing their blogs, newsletter or social media, they’re usually wanting something fresh. Fresh content is great, but it’s not usually a standalone fix. Adding new tools, asking the team to engage more on social media, or setting up Salesforce won’t do it either. No single tactic will suddenly make everything successful.

Marketing is an end-to-end process and each piece has to work within the bigger picture of your company.

If your marketing isn’t cutting it for you any longer, consider taking some time to review your full marketing strategy before changing things up. Many business leaders find that their process got muddled over time, so you’ll want to know what’s going on before applying changes. Here are areas to review:

• Do your Mission, Vision & Values align with your current internal and external marketing?
• What are your current sales cycle & process? Is it working for you and your customers?
• Who’s actively involved in your marketing? Now, who interacts with your customers (because they count, too!), and are they trained to go above-and-beyond, troubleshoot, or upsell?
• Do your marketing and sales people collaborate?
• Is your website optimized for SEO and set up with Google Analytics or similar analytics service?
• Is your website user friendly?
• Where do your perfect customers learn about you?
• What platforms do you use to connect with your audience?
• What were your most successful campaigns and why? Least successful?
• How are you tracking progress from marketing efforts?

This bird’s-eye view of your marketing gives you a more holistic perspective as you make changes. Now I want you to imagine a “perfect customer experience” with your company and use that to guide your next decisions. Include all stakeholders in the conversation, sharing your goals and plans and taking action on their feedback.

Remember that we’re not trying to rock the boat, though! We don’t want everything you’ve built to come crashing down with too much “fixing” happening at once. First, get rid of anything that wasn’t working. Reallocate resources to start one change or one new campaign executed with the new approach. Make sure it holds up on everyone’s ends – the customers’, the staff’s, the website, sales, etc. Once that change works, implement the next one or start applying your new approach to more of your marketing efforts.

As always, review and revise as you experiment.