Food for thought

Still, today, many businesses look at marketing as a need for when things ‘go wrong’ or when the customer barrel is running dry.

By Charles Cox, TLMG.

As we look forward to 2015, consider this for a moment; marketing is ‘food’ for your company, it creates business, it nourishes and feeds you with work; and keeps it coming. Don’t realise this too late and start what you should have been doing a long time ago.

• Always consider your target market – Your business is no doubt constantly evolving and improving, so be sure not to leave your target market behind. Keep them at the forefront of your marketing strategy, after all these are the people that can help to keep your business going

• Keep up with the times – Don’t get left behind with out of date marketing activity. As you evolve so should your marketing

• Try something new – Put the time and effort into trying new opportunities in the market place. You don’t know if something will work unless you try it

• Dare to be different – Although you may have had campaigns that have worked in the past, the reality is views and habits change. Test your marketplace, be diverse and maybe even controversial with discussions. Stand by your company ethics and personality and remember to be noticed sometimes you need to be different

• The future of your marketing – Ongoing marketing can secure your company’s future. You may have a lot going on right now, but what about in six months? A year? Three years? Don’t leave your company’s future up to chance

• Shape and define your reputation – There are many online marketing channels available, effectively leaving businesses under threat of scrutiny. Use these channels to help you monitor and react to your clients. The opportunity is out there for you to shape and define your company’s reputation, so don’t leave it to the last minute and wait until it’s hopelessly out of sync with your competition • Don’t expect results over night – Results from marketing can take a while to come into fruition. Ensure that you have a varied marketing strategy that involves, short, medium and long term campaigns to keep your business in the forefront of the clients mind