Top 6 things that should be in your 2023 marketing strategy

 

Let’s start by saying we know you’ve probably seen lots of companies providing you with advice on what your marketing strategy should be. We get it. However, what we want to do in this blog is talk about what 6 things we know will work for businesses like the ones based here at St James’ Business Centre. There are many other things you can do to as part of your marketing strategy of course, but we think these are the main points to consider as we reach the end of 2022.

So, if you’re a small business owner, why not give our tips a try? And let us know how you get on afterwards.

 

1. Find your audience (and stick with them)

How many times have you heard business owners say ‘everyone’ when asked who their potential customers are? The truth is, it’s almost impossible to appeal to ‘everyone’¬! A better and more focused approach is to look at who your existing customers are and why they’ve chosen you. Once you understand that, you can then understand how to attract more customers. And one way to do this is by creating a buyer persona.

Buyer personas can help you speak to customers in a personalised way, and streamline your marketing and sales process, so you’re only spending time on the leads most likely to convert.

Take a look at the template below and follow the steps to create your buyer persona.

 

2. Stay focused

When thinking about marketing campaigns, it’s sometimes easy to get distracted and try to do too many things at once. The problem with this is that you can lose focus on what actually works and brings you the best results.

This means testing, testing and testing again. You need to do your research and look back at which campaigns have worked for you and which haven’t worked so well. Once you’ve created your buyer persona, you’ll be able to see exactly where your target audience spends their time and then focus on campaigns which will reach them directly.

Competitor research also helps. Look at what your competitors do well and where they can improve.  Let them do all the hard work for you, so all you have to do is take what works and make it relevant to you.

 

3. Data is king

Capturing information about your customers – and potential customers – is perhaps the most important thing you can do for your business. So, when someone visits your website, make sure you have some way of collecting their name and email address. This allows you to target people who’ve previously visited your website and re-engage with your audience.

All you need to do is figure out what you can offer to prospects, so they’re willing to give up their email address to have it. Simple, right?

 

4. Optimise for mobile

You know yourself how easy it is to just pick up your smartphone when you want to search for a product or service. Your customers like that convenience too, so make sure your website looks and works as well as it can on mobile devices. Google will appreciate it too and rank your site higher as a result.

 

5. Advertise everywhere you can

There are so many ways to advertise you small business nowadays, from a Google My Business profile to sponsoring products on ecommerce sites, like Amazon and Etsy. Other options are pay-per-click (PPC) and Facebook or Instagram ads. Also consider advertising with your local Chamber of Commerce if you have one, as you can usually benefit from great online and social media coverage. And, for a small fee, they often offer lots of networking opportunities with other local businesses.

 

6. Plan, plan, and plan some more

It seems obvious, but this is something that isn’t considered at all or not until the last minute. This doesn’t just mean choosing a few dates in your calendar and calling it a day. You should start to plan your business and work events early, so you know exactly when you need to get your marketing campaigns ready.

 

You’ve defined your target audience. You know which platforms to reach them with. And you know your valuable offering. Now it’s time to plan. By thinking about this in advance, you can plan your 2023 content calendar, for example, so you know what you’ll write about and what keywords you’ll target.

Whatever you do, you must plan ahead. If you want your 2023 small business marketing to be bigger and better, you must think about it now and work on it before the new year arrives, so start building your marketing strategy today.

 

St James Business Centre is an 80,000 sq. ft. building offering serviced, conventional, and virtual office space to rent in Warrington town centre, close to train stations and with extensive on-site parking. We also offer co-working space for anyone needing flexible working without the demands of permanent office space.

Our meeting and conferencing facilities, plus spacious internal courtyards in Warrington means your business has access to everything it needs under one roof. Contact us for more information.