When we pl
anned and launched The Little Space we always wanted it to be much more than just desk and chairs and a wifi connection – (although having said that our desk and chairs are lovely and our wifi is very fast!)
But seriously, a space to work is the core of what everyone needs to get a business up and running, or to grow an existing venture into something much bigger but beyond that we wanted to create a platform for businesses to show case what they have to offer, to share knowledge and professional expertise and to build a vibrant local business community.
This Thursday morning (19th March), we are pleased to host Lindi Glass from Sharper Marketing for the first of a series of workshops focussed on marketing for small to medium businesses. Lindi has over 20 years marketing experience from advising mid sized firms to in house and consulting roles with international organisations and large companies here in Australia.
This is not an event to sit back and just take notes. Participants will be actively engaged in identifying and planning a marketing strategy f
or the year and will be able to go back to the office with a clear agenda of what needs to be done.
Lindi and I sat down this week to have a chat about marketing challenges for businesses. Here’s a little of our conversation.
Liz:
I am from a professional services background and I think that for many professionals trained in accounting, law or health services, the idea of a dedicated and planned approach to marketing is a little daunting.
Why is marketing important for these sorts of businesses, or for any small business operating without a proper strategy in place?
Sharper Marketing The essence of ‘marketing’ goes deep into understanding the ‘customer’ and this
How do we go about creating a marketing plan?
A marketing plan starts with a solid understanding of your customer – the people who you are planning to communicate with in the market. On a simplistic level, consider your business vision & objectives, and specifically the product or service you are looking to promote.
Many businesses struggle with the next stage, looking to find the opportunity in the market, and how a product or service can solve a highly desired ‘customer need’. Sharper Marketing have created a series of tools and methods to assist business’s reveal this opportunity through our 1-1 Workshop process. Following our Workshop session, we quickly can identify a strategy and communication plan that will leverage this opportunity and talk to customers with this ‘customer need.
How often should we review our plan?
As business and the market is constantly evolving, a Marketing plan should also be constantly evolving. However a good rule of thumb is to create a marketing plan annually and reflect upon the plan throughout the year, ideally each quarter. Diarise these quarterly reviews with a business partner, mentor or marketing professional and check how your marketing objectives and goals are performing against your plan. Definitely consider revising your plans if there are significant market and business shifts. Also, prioritise your annual marketing reviews to ensure the business continues to grow and stay on track.
4. What is the benefit of outsourcing marketing to a marketing professional?
A marketing professional will bring an objective perspective to your business and your challenges. At Sharper Marketing we work in collaboration with our clients, where we start from a position of learning and understanding the market nuances, and then apply and share simple tools and methodologies, to create perspective and insight that can change the way our clients look at their business and market.
5. Everyone loves top tips – what are your top 3 marketing tips for small businesses?
* Understand your best clients’, and why they have a strong relationship with your business.
* Find a highly desired ‘customer need’ in your market, and then work backwards to define how you can solve this problem.
* The better the problem the stronger the opportunity to communicate an interesting solution.