The first thing many people will do when they decide to launch a new business is to hire a highly reputable marketing firm like SearchBloom. While this is a great way to ensure you do everything possible to attract the right clients, there are a few things you should do first to make the entire process easier and more effective.
Define Your Brand
Defining your brand may seem simple upon first consideration but it is deceptively complex if done properly. It is necessary to begin with your core values and what you want to accomplish personally. If you want to have the ability to travel around the world as part of your work it doesn’t make sense to have a local service based business. If you want the freedom to work with only a few clients, that means your price point will need to be higher than if you wanted to work with hundreds or thousands of people at a time. Defining what you want personally allows you to then more competently define your brand.
Once you have the initial framework, it is time to outline what services or products you will be offering. This needs to be something that is personally sustainable for you and also something that can be scaled up over time. This is also the time to identify the way you want your brand to look so all marketing endeavors from website design to social media posts will be designed to create a cohesive brand image and message that will resonate with your client base.
Identify Your Client
Identifying your client base is the next important step in launching a successful business. It isn’t enough to know who you are and what you want to offer, you must also know how to reach your customers and appeal to them on a personal level. This may mean adjusting what you offer or your price point for your offerings a little as you clarify exactly who you want to work with. For example, if your ideal client is a stay at home mother you may not be able to command the same price as if you are targeting female senior executives. They may have similar needs but the ways in which they will express those needs and search for solutions will differ dramatically.
It is especially helpful to create a customer avatar that has been fully fleshed out like a character in a novel or movie. You should know their job, marital status, hobbies, and what they like to do for fun with their friends and on the nights they feel like staying in.
Market Effectively
Once you’ve identified your ideal client it will then be possible to ascertain where they are most likely to be found. If you know your demographic is very active on Snapchat but hasn’t even bothered to install Twitter on their phone then you also know where to expend your marketing efforts. If you simply begin blasting all social media channels and hope for the best you will spend far more time than necessary which ultimately means you are also spending too much money. This is especially true if you approach a marketing company for assistance and tell them to create social media campaigns with no additional parameters.
The creation of the customer avatar will make it easier to communicate with them in a truly authentic way. It will also give you the ability to identify exactly what drives them to make a purchase and specifically how to direct them to make a purchase from you. Knowing this makes it possible to talk to them like a friend and make them feel personally valued. As anyone who has ever received a mass email from a company that was completely irrelevant to them can tell you, a personal touch goes a long way towards garnering the interest and respect of prospective clients.
When you decide to launch a new business, it can be tempting to jump in and work on the fun stuff without creating a solid foundation on which to build and grow. By taking the time to thoughtfully consider how you want to be known and with whom you wish to connect, it is infinitely easier to create an effective marketing plan that fills the precise need of your target customer base.
