Marketing is one of the most expanding sectors in the world. This is because companies are increasingly realizing about the benefits and results that they may earn if they invest in marketing services. That is why, in this article we would like to show you 6 basic steps you should follow if you are starting in the marketing world.
1. Analyse your market
Doesn’t matter if you have recently carried out a research, analysing your market is a task you should be doing frequently, since this is the first step in creating a business plan which builds a strong brand and increases your sales.
You can obtain an in-depth knowledge about the assets and limitations of your competitors and the initiatives they are undertaking; figure out the new trends in your industry- its challenges, pricing and outlook and acquire a detailed study about your target market and how to reach them.
These analyses will indeed give you some ideas about how to expand your business and make the most out of the mechanisms you might have. In order to do so, you can make use of tools like Google Analytics that provides thorough metrics on visitor behaviours, countries, sources, time spent on pages, bounce rates, and the number of new and existing visitors.
2. Evaluate your company
Although it is very important to analyse all that surrounds us, it is equally crucial to look inward and identify your strengths and weaknesses; what and where we can boost and expand. It is the only way to understand the opportunities and threats you might face, so that you can achieve and conduct a successful career planning.
3. Digitalize your marketing tools
- Web – A clear-cut, and easy-to-understand website is as important as having an appealing design. The customer experience of your website is vital for clients to be interested in your services, to be able to access them and to request more information if needed. Sometimes, your website is the first point of contact for your customers and hence making a good first impression is always helpful in building a professional and trustful image.
- Online brochure – The corporate identity or the brand image is of critical importance for the success of any business since it is the way the customers, partners and competitors distinguish an enterprise- its services, experiences, and overall accomplishments. That is why brochures have always been a very potent marketing instrument, facilitating companies to project a reputable and professional image while extending their outreach at the same time. Nevertheless, in a digitized world, printed brochures are losing popularity in favour of online ones and nowadays, it is indispensable to have at least one online brochure in pdf which could be sent by email or even by WhatsApp.
- Videos – According to Diode Digital, online video is a 600% more effective marketing tool than print and direct mail combined. In the shipping sector, there is nothing like a video to show potential clients the projects arranged by your company to catch their attention and promote its shareability. Additionally, if a video can be broadcasted live, it can prove to be an ideal tool in demonstrating your expertise and professionalism while augmenting your audience’s confidence in your work.
4. Email campaigns:
According to the DMA National Client Email Report 2015, email generates $38 for every $1 spent, which is an overwhelming 3,800% ROI, making it one of the most effective options. Additionally, Campaign Monitor, 2019 stated that Marketers who use segmented campaigns note as much as 760% increase in revenue, making email a tool not to be underestimated. By creating email campaigns, not only you will be able to assemble the customized content and measure the results of each campaign, but also be able to reach your targeted audience and increase leads.
5. Promote your successful shipments and services
Being visible is the starting point for every Sales and Marketing Department, since it will enhance awareness of your brand, and loyalty among your customers, partners, and potential clients.
- If your target is to increase and attract the qualified visitors to your website, then it is advisable to publish interesting contents– you could post innovative business articles about your achievements, launch of products and services, or industry-related articles either in a News Section or a Blog hosted on your site.
- Another effective technique to raise awareness of your brand among your audience is to offer appealing articles to Newspapers, magazines, or well-known blogs. Leverage your milestones and write about them. The more your companies’ reports are covered, the more business opportunities will come your way.
- Social Media: Although you might dislike it, deem it boring or assume it useless, you should abandon your idleness and get down to work. Try to find an attractive story to tell your target audience and post it. It´s all about making a move and getting started. Social media will give you the chance to connect with your clients, build closer relationships and increase the reach of your company.
6. Seo Strategy
With the passage of time, understanding Google’s search engines is getting more and more tricky even for Seo specialists, since Google experts are increasing the complexity of their search system to adapt to their users. That is why, all the companies wanting to build their online presence require a well-thought-out SEO strategy, so that they can stand out from their competitors. To accomplish this, there are two obvious steps that should be considered to develop the strategy plan:
- Figure out the keywords performed by your customers. Knowing the keywords typed by your clients in Google’s search will help you to design the actions to take in order to optimize your page.
- Publishing attractive content will not only drive traffic to your site and highlight your web in the searches but it will also draw the interest of your customers, who will access your website and are likely to turn into buyers.