Your message is a key part of your marketing communications plan.
Marketing communications is a subset of the marketing umbrella; the way in which you promote your business or organization. It is an important tool in generating business and expanding your market. While the number of people you reach with your marketing methods is an important factor in how much business you may be rewarded with, just as important is the way in which your service offerings are communicated. You can probably do a number of things to improve your overall marketing communications to ensure greater success.
Instructions
Build a Marketing Plan
1. Develop a message. Regardless of what kind of business or organization you operate, your message is the most important part of your communications strategy. It is what most people will remember about you if it's effective and it will help ensure they don't remember you if it's not. Think about your target audience and what they would like about your services. Consider the best features of your services and come up with ways to package those features in a few sentences. This is your basic message, similar to the elevator pitch, simple and direct, but explanatory. For best results, your literature should consistently convey your message.
2. Develop a logo and slogan. Logos and slogans tend to create the most-lasting impression of a business and are used to convey certain characteristics of the company. When you are devising a logo, it is best to try to capture the essence of your services. If you are an accountant, you may want a logo that conveys a serious tone about your work. You may, however, want to consider being more creative. For example, if you are a computer repair technician, you might eschew a serious tone in favor of something lighter, such as a smiling computer.
3. Brainstorm communications methods. Like every other part of your business, your marketing communications should be planned out. Regardless of where you are in terms of your marketing, it may be a good idea to map out your future communications. This doesn't mean you can't alter a plan once it's in place, but it will be helpful to know in what direction you are going. Start by asking yourself questions about your business, such as who the target audience is, and then list some of the best ways to reach that audience.
Implementing Your Plan
4. Develop materials. Once you have your message and logo, it's time to start creating materials that incorporate them. Web sites, business cards and brochures are the more basic communications materials. You also may want to consider developing a newsletter that is distributed either in print or by email. This will remind the target audience regularly of your services and also is an opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in the field. Additionally, mailing fliers gives your customers and potential customers a fresh reminder of your services and allows you to provide special offers that generate new and repeat business. A common strategy is to make the fliers over-sized to help them stand out from regular mail.
5. Monitor your success. Keeping track of your success will help you determine what methods work and which ones do not. By placing marketing codes on different fliers and other materials, you can ask your customer for the code when they first contact you and see which fliers produce the best results. Alternatively, offer 5 percent discounts if people mention a certain advertisement or flier.
6. Review your strategy. Marketing communication is a dynamic process and avails itself to constant improvement. When you determine what is working, try to figure out why and build on that success. If something isn't working, you may need to change the method, the target audience or the material. Be ready to revise or rewrite materials to be clearer, address your target audience's interests in using your services and sufficiently motivate them to contact you.
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