At Klout 9 we have always stressed the importance of having a marketing strategy, but in the year 2021 it’s more important than ever before. The year 2020 threw everyone a curve ball and had a drastic impact on small businesses. Plans and strategies had to quickly evolve to meet new customer demands and neglecting to do so or the inability to do so made it difficult for some businesses to stay afloat. Brick and mortar stores had to become ecommerce overnight, dine in locations had to develop delivery and curbside services, marketing messages that had been set in place were thrown out the window to accommodate a change in audience demeanor, and more. This year brings some uncertainty and marketing strategies will need to continue to adjust as needed along the way. Below we explore some tips to developing your marketing strategy this year and our biggest recommendation is to take it quarter by quarter and quickly adjust where needed to stay ahead of the curve.
Tips for your 2021 Marketing Strategy
Define Objectives
As with any marketing strategy, you first need to define your objectives. Are you looking to recover and get back to normal business revenue? Growth? Stability? Consistency? Brand Recovery? Your objective is almost certain to look a bit different than it has in the past. Clearly defining your objective for the year is the first step.
Analyze Data
Data is the most powerful tool you have in your back pocket. Pull from every resource you have and evaluate. Data from CRM systems, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Review sources, etc. Your data resources should show you where your marketing dollars are being spent, what the return is on that spend in addition to providing you important information about your customers and their buying and searching behaviors. This data will give you key insights on what is working and what is not working in your existing strategy and allow you to make important decisions on where and what to shift your focus to moving forward. If you do not already have these data systems set in place, start with Google analytics and search console. These are two easy to use, free platforms that provide lots of useful information.
Competitor Analysis
A lot of companies mistakenly neglect viewing what competitors are doing. The term “Why reinvent the wheel” points to the usefulness of capitalizing on small things that other successful businesses within your industry are already doing. Take a deep look at those around you who do not seem phased or impacted by the effects of 2020 – what are they doing that you are not? How does their website compare to yours? Where are they advertising? Are they ranking for keywords you aren’t? What is their messaging? Etc. By no means do we recommend dropping everything you do and copying your neighbor but oftentimes there is a lot to find when you look closely and adding a few things or making some small adjustments to your focus can go a long way in elevating your visibility.
Define Your Audience
Understanding who your audience is and catering to them is the key to a successful marketing strategy. What is the average age of your customers, what is their income status, where do they live, what kind of music do they listen to, what tv stations do they watch, etc. The answers to these questions will dictate where you advertise, what message you send out, how you price out your products, and more. If you think you know who your audience is, do not skip this step for 2021 as audiences have changed and even if it hasn’t, their behavior and buying habits likely have.
Messaging & Channels
Your messaging should always align with your objectives and your audience’s buying behaviors. This year you will likely need to focus on heavy online pushes, digital convenience, and contactless experiences as that may linger around for quite a while. Your channels should also be in line with where your particular audience is spending their time.
Budget & Implementation
Set a marketing budget and create your plan of implementation. Who is going to build out content for the year, who will physically push that content out, who will maintain your website and who will continue to monitor your audience and notify you of changes in the market? If you do not already have people in place to manage all of these elements, Klout 9 would be happy to help! We offer everything from social media mentor programs to PPC, media buys, design & development, branding & more. Contact Klout 9 for your free consultation today!