In an ever-changing and highly competitive market, business owners must always look for new and innovative ways to take their business’ marketing to the next level, so that they can increase their market share. While there are many strategies you can employ, you must focus on engaging your customers, adding value to your brand in a way that will build you a loyal customer base and get you the maximum return on your marketing Rand.
Here are three ways that can help you steer your business in the direction you are aiming for.
Exploring new ways to promote and sell your products or services
One effective way to diversify your brand and increase your customer base is to identify new sales channels and new markets for your product. For example, an offline business that sells solely through its brick and mortar store may decide to establish its website online and use digital marketing to explore new markets and gain more customers. It may look at new market segments to promote its products. A health and beauty business which sells through its retail stores may decide to expand its sales to salons, fitness centres and spas. A business that sells directly to the market may decide to switch to a distributor network to capture new markets and increase its sales.
Increase product range to add value to the customer
Creating new products or add-ons that complement or add value to an existing product is an effective way to engage customers and grow sales. A company that sells coffee-makers might decide to introduce its own flavoured blends and mixes to use with the equipment. Another example is the classic McDonald’s “would you like fries with that?” with their basic products. Each time a customer orders a food item, the sales rep automatically asks if they want fries with that. The customer says yes without thinking, usually. A company that manufactures shampoos may decide to expand its products to offer a complete range of hair care products to include conditioners, hair strengthening products, hair gels and more. Loyal customers are usually ready to try and recommend new products from a brand they trust.
Organise your business for success
To grow your brand, engage your customers and realise your marketing return on investment, it is important to ensure that your business structure and staff are organised for sales and customer service. Traditional methods do have a degree of success, but when you decide to explore new markets and expand your product line, you may need to revamp the way you operate. For example, if you have decided to sell through a distributor network, your focus shifts to logistics and product quality rather than hiring more sales people to cold-call and sell your products. You may want to now concentrate on building brand awareness using online marketing strategies and social media marketing to engage your customers and get to know them better.
Taking your business to the next level takes vision and planning, understanding your market and your customers, knowing what you want and implementing your plan successfully.