Benefits of Hiring a Marketing Agency (And 7 Things to Look for in One)
Staying on top of your company's digital marketing can be challenging. From managing your social media presence to optimizing your search engine rankings,...
No matter what industry you’re in, you have some potential clients out there who aren’t even aware of your brand or services. These customers may not even know that they have a need for the products and/or services you have to offer. At least, not yet. Still, this doesn’t mean you should overlook this group with your marketing plans. The key is knowing how to reach out to new customers—even when they don’t realize they need you.
By making this audience aware of your brand and what you have to offer, there’s a better chance that your business will be the first one they turn to when they do need your products or services. In this sense, a little proactive marketing now can make all the difference when it comes to your brand’s long-term success!
Perhaps the most challenging step in the process of reaching these new potential customers is simply figuring out who they are. After all, it’s hard to develop an effective marketing plan for a buyer segment you don’t understand.
So, where do you begin when it comes to identifying this audience? You’ll need to figure out what works best for your business, but you may have some success with looking at your website’s current visitor demographics and social media demographics. This will give you a better feel for the segments that are most engaged with your brand, as well as the segments that are least engaged.
You may notice, for example, that a particular age group is lacking awareness or interaction with your brand. This could very well help you identify a potential buyer segment that you’ve been missing.
Once you have a better idea of where your brand awareness is lacking, you’ll want to sit down with your marketing team and create an actual buyer persona for that audience. Specifically, a buyer persona is a fictional representation of somebody in a particular part of your audience. This persona should have:
Once you have a buyer persona for your target audience, you’ll have a much easier time marketing to them effectively.
More than likely, you’ve already spent a lot of time figuring out ways to market to your current customers. However, you can’t rely on that same marketing plan to reach your new audience of customers who don’t know they need your services. After all, if that approach were effective, you wouldn’t be having this problem in the first place.
Based on the buyer persona you’ve created, and what kind of marketing is most effective for those demographics, it’s time to create a new and unique marketing plan to reach this untapped audience. Not sure where to begin while staying within your desired marketing budget? We’ve got some ideas below.
Keep in mind that depending on your audience, not all of these marketing ideas may be suitable. However, these are some potentially very effective marketing techniques that can bring in new clients without breaking your budget.
Who doesn’t love a good contest or giveaway? These can be a great way to spread awareness of your brand far beyond your “typical” audience. And you don’t necessarily have to give away free services or other costly/substantial prizes. A discount on a product/service or even recognition on your social media page may be enough to generate buzz and interest, so get creative with it!
Some examples of popular social media contest ideas include:
Whatever you decide to do, consider requiring your participants to “share” your post to enter the contest; this will help spread the word about your brand and generate even more interest!
Your email list can be one of the most cost-effective marketing tools on your belt, especially when bringing in new clients. Did you know that email marketing has an average return on investment of $38 for every dollar spent?
If you’re not already focusing your marketing dollars and efforts on growing your email list, now is the time to get serious about it.
Starting (and updating) a business blog can also be a great way to spread your brand awareness while also establishing your company as an authority within the industry. This, in turn, can lead to more conversions of your target audience.
Yes, blogging can be time-consuming, but it can pay off many times over in terms of new customers and improved search engine rankings. Take some time to research the kinds of topics that your target audience is most interested in, and then try to craft some blog posts around those topics. Be sure to share your posts to your social media pages, too, as this will encourage sharing.
Referrals from your current customers are among the best tools for bringing in new clients, so don’t hesitate to ask. You could send out emails to existing customers or even reach out directly via phone call or text. You might be surprised at how willing your happy customers are to refer a couple of potential leads to you. Even if they don’t know of anybody who may need your services right now, they’ll be sure to keep you in mind if the opportunity arises later on.
Taking your business to the next level means reaching your full potential and a growing customer base. Our team at Strategic Growth Advisors is here to help make that happen. Reach out today to find out more about what we can do for you!
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