Twelve questions to get you thinking !

Is your marketing working?

Are you measuring the effectiveness of your current marketing activity? It’s not always easy and a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures need to be put in place to track and adjust activities. There is hardly ever one single answer, but only by gauging what is / isn’t working can you allocate resources effectively.

 Do you stand out from the pack?

In most sectors brands cluster together and it can be hard to tell what distinguishes one from the other. Leadership brands however have strong differentiation and communicate these points of difference to their target audiences – often in novel, non traditional ways. Take a good look at your own brand. What makes you special and different from the rest? Are these attributes critical to your customers? Are they well communicated and understood by your customers?

Do you live your core values?

Defining a company’s core values is an extremely critical task as, if used properly, these core values will underpin and influence everything a business does. From a recruitment perspective cultural “fit” with the organisation is critical to long term success of that employee, and that fit is determined by an alignment of values between the person and the company. So the start point is to ensure that the core values are well communicated and understood, and then top management actively “live” those values, setting an example to the staff who themselves have an expectation to support these values. Failure to “walk the talk” by management will cause conflict and friction within the organization.

 

Whats your brand personality?

It is vital to define the personality of your brand and to have this at the core of your brand strategy. Your brand personality is closely aligned to your core values and these need to be articulated and expressed within your business so that your staff also know, support and “live” these values.

 

Have you built valuable alignments?

Linking in with complimentary businesses is a perfect way to create leverage for a small business. It requires trust and openness to succeed but by sharing databases and pooling ideas and resources all parties can benefit. This runs deeper than simply business networking and you need to be prepared for some set-backs, but the rewards are worth the effort.

 

Are your marketing and business strategies integrated?

Too often we see a disconnect between the business strategy and the marketing strategy. The marketing strategy should be created to help deliver the business strategy and key performance measures put in place to track and check progress.

  

Do you think outside the box?

The old rules of doing business no longer apply. It is time to think outside the square when it comes to all aspects of your business in order to get ahead of the competition. From a marketing perspective, traditional media is nowhere near as effective as it used to be. Only 16% of tv commercials are trusted and more and more it’s what our friends and tribe members tell us that influences what we buy / eat / watch / listen to.

 

Is the team with you?

To deliver on your business strategies you have to ensure that your team understand and buy-in to your vision. Make sure that there are open lines of communication and mechanisms to get feedback from your staff. When was the last time you had a company meeting to paint a picture of where you are going as a business, what is important to you, and the role that everyone in the organization plays in achieving success.

 

Do you walk in your customers shoes?

In a tough economic climate it is more important than ever to understand what the motivators and drivers are of your customers – whether you are in retail, insurance or IT, getting under the skin of your customers will ensure you are tailoring your offer to their specific needs. Last year in the UK a leading supermarket chain ran a promotion “feed the family for a fiver” which struck a chord with the tight economic climate and saw the supermarket pull away from its nearest competitor.

 

Have you defined your tribe?

2010 was the year of the tribe  - that is the segmenting and defining of communities and target marketing to them. A UK company, SAGA, is aimed at the over 50’s and introduced a social networking site within their main site for this specific audience, selecting and targeting products and services for that tribe. The tribal members communicate and refer  / advocate products between themselves and to other tribes and this word of mouth is one of the best ways to grow your business.

 

Are you loving your customers enough?

It is six times easier to sell additional products and services to existing customers than it is to win a new customer. In these tougher economic times it really pays to focus in on your existing customer base and ensure they feel nurtured and wanted – from here it is an easier step to sell in other products and services.

 

What are your competitors doing?

Often business owners and managers are so focused on the day to day operational issues that they fail to take time to step back and look at what is happening in their market. This can be a huge mistake as the competitive environment is constantly changing and at an increasingly faster rate. Leaders need to be “ahead of the curve” in order to keep that leadership position. Understanding the trends in your sector locally, regionally and globally can help define strategies to break away from your competitive set.

Call Tim on 09 447 3871 to see how we can help!