TARGET YOUR MARKET

Tony McDonagh, Director Sales, Ulster Bank Corporate Markets

Marketing is about delivering your product or service to the market and ultimately to the end user, your customer. Tony Mcdonagh, director of sales at Ulster Bank provides a synopsis of practical marketing tactics to help you keep your brand on the customer’s agenda

Observe the entire journey that your customer experiences from the moment they first become aware of your business to the day they buy and beyond. From your stationery, letterhead to the name plate over your door; from how your team takes a customer call to the quality of your invoices; from product or service quality to after sales service; all these “touch points” contribute to how the customer sees your business.

Marketing is everywhere and everyone working in your company has a role to play. A practical approach to marketing can have a significant impact on sales and repeat business.

GET YOUR BUSINESS KNOWN

Great brands are not just about great image, great logos, great advertising or even great product or service. Businesses with a great brand perform. They deliver on what they promise. They innovate and reinvent themselves with creativity and flair. Think about what your brand stands for. Think about how it is represented in the market – at every “touch point” with all your customers. Think about how your company’s brand will look, act and communicate in the future.

PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

There are many slick, inexpensive and practical ways to market your business.

Your website maybe the first point of contact for potential customers looking for products or services. The simpler to use, the more practical and the faster the download, the more people will use your site. If you are running a promotional campaign, you can pay Google to place your website in the top five in a category of your choice for a period of time, to draw traffic.

National press can be expensive. However, local press, local radio and other local publications can be highly successful in getting your message to the right target audience. Consider who you wish to speak to in your advertisement. Make your message compelling. Getting professional advice from an agency will help you maximise your spend in the long run and there are many who will work with small businesses, for a reasonable fee.

Newspapers thrive on interesting stories so send them useful items. Look out for papers running features on your particular area of business – Christmas shopping ideas; home refurbishment; great dining experiences; or green energy efficiency hints are just some examples of topical features.

A great way to generate positive publicity for your company and your team is sponsorship. Sponsorship varies from sponsoring a race night or a golf event to paying for a local business dinner or putting up an award. Make sure the sponsorship opportunity appeals to prospects in your sphere and gets your brand name exposed. As part of your sponsorship agreement negotiate branding on event literature, information packs and on signage at the event. Consider giving a gift to people attending or running a competition, to get prospect names. Look for a speaking opportunity as a way of thanking your guests and very briefly explaining your company’s activity.

CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS

It’s worth repeating that every piece of communication with your customer is marketing. Review your stationary, your brochures, your invoices, your advertisements, your signage and as you do, consider what message each piece conveys to customers. Is the message one of professionalism and consistency or do each of the communication pieces send a different message? It is an old marketing adage that a broken sign above the door might lead a potential customer to question whether the company is capable of delivering for them, if they can’t maintain their own signage.

DIRECT MAIL

When writing to potential customers using direct mail, you want a response. The action required from the prospect must be clear and easy to follow, for example:

These ‘calls to action’ aim to illicit a response from the prospect and lead ultimately to them becoming warm leads or customers.

SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE

This is not an exhaustive list of marketing tactics, but it does highlight useful areas. In marketing, innovation and opportunism are key. The best marketing is simple and effective. Look at your customer’s journey, from the first moment they observe your business name right through to when they become valued customers. Whether you deliver leaflets through doors or put a note in a local store; put an information leaflet in your invoice statement or make a customer service call; give the customer an unexpected discount or sponsor a local event, all will give you the opportunity to display your brand proudly and positively. Seek to create a marketing led operation and ultimately increase the success of your business.

Author: Tony McDonagh, Director Sales, Ulster Bank Corporate Markets. If you would like to talk to Ulster Bank about your options for expanding your business why not drop into one of our local branches and talk to an Enterprise Advisor or call us on 1850 314151

Published in the December 2007 / January 2008 Issue of Irish Entrepreneur