Can I pick your brain? I’ve got a great product and great service, but no one has heard of it
So, you’ve got a great product and you’ve plenty of customers out there who will agree with you. But it’s not that simple. Getting your brand or business noticed, listed and on the lips of customers isn’t as simple as it seems. In fact, you will be facing some pretty tough challenges just to get from A to B. Whether your business is B2C or B2B, the principals of good marketing are the same.
Someone asked me only recently “Hey, can I pick your brain for 5 mins about marketing my shop, I see you’ve done a great job of yours, and I’d like to know what the magic is!”.
Well, there isn’t any magic. It doesn’t just happen, and it doesn’t work without taking a consistent, joined up, frequent approach to your sales and marketing strategy.
If I was to have my brain picked for 5 mins, this is what it would look like.
Brand Awareness & Brand Identity
In a nutshell this is ensuring that trade and consumers have heard of you and recognise you.
Identifying what is special about your brand, products and service needs bringing it to life, so that when people see you – they remember you, and they feel compelled to buy from you. A memorable brand message is essential, especially on a limited budget, because every time you put out your message it will resonate with your audience, and hopefully cause some action.
Distribution & Sales
Whether it’s getting deeper distribution in multiple retailers, independents or wholesalers, or direct sales with customers, wider distribution and increased sales is the ultimate goal for any marketer, and they go hand in hand, there’s little point in securing wholesale listings if end consumers don’t buy from them. The circle of marketing is infinite.
There is also little point in promoting your product to consumers if they can’t find it on the shelves or your website doesn’t provide a good customer journey or deliver the promise. So it’s not just about getting the message and image right either, there may be fundamentals to fix or put in place before we even start with our communications.
Your customers
You need to talk their language and answer their needs, not beat your own drum talking about yourself (although we can do that too, so it’s about finding the right balance). Putting yourself in your customers shoes is fundamentally important, what are their pain points and how can your offering solve their problem? Have they even got a problem, not if your product or service is lifestyle driven and a nice to have. If it’s consumers, then your own behaviour, tonally and visually, can have a huge bearing on how they perceive you and whether or not they will choose to buy from you.
Gaining and retaining customer trust is vital. There’s lots of ways to achieve this.
Consistency
There’s no point being a one trip pony, we live in a world where we are inundated with communications, and we are all easily distracted! So finding a consistent, affordable approach is a must. We need to always be on.
The right agency
The right agency should be an extension of your business, knowing as much about your brand and objectives as you do by getting under the skin of your business and adding real value to your marketing strategy through developing the right plan and executing the right work.
An integrated approach
An agency with a ‘fully integrated approach’ will make sure that all your communications are ‘joined up’, and your brand is promoted in the right way, saying the right things at the right time to the right audience.
Why House?
Getting the right marketing partner to help you with all of this is crucial, which is why House just might be the home for you. We are a full-service marketing agency with the skills to deliver all your marketing and creative solutions, from brand identity, websites and packaging to online and offline deliverables including advertising, ecommerce, digital and social campaigns, ensuring that everything fits together.
Christine Colbert