Launching a new business requires a focused marketing strategy to reach your target audience. Here is a checklist of steps to consider when developing a marketing plan for your new company.
Marketing Strategy
Before you do anything, get a marketing strategy prepared! This helps you (and your partners) understand your marketing goals, audiences, tactics, budget, and competitors. It also ensures everyone involved is on the same page.
To develop a marketing strategy, answer these questions:
Your Company
- List your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- What is my Unique Selling Proposition?
- Define your company in a short, comprehensive paragraph. Use this like an elevator speech when people ask what you do.
Your Audience
- Who am I trying to reach?
- Identify who your ideal customers are and their demographics, interests, and needs.
- Where do these people spend time (on and offline)?
- What are their challenges?
- How do I solve those problems better than my competitors?
Your Tactics
- What are your marketing goals?
- Outline strategies / How will you meet your goals?
- What are the KPIs you will use to determine if you meet those goals?
- Outline processes / What are the smaller steps to meet those goals?
Competitor Research
- Who are your primary competitors?
- What are their strengths and weaknesses?
- How much do your competitors charge for the same products/services you offer?
- What marketing strategies do they use?
- Analyze their marketing efforts, including their advertising, social media, and content marketing.
- What opportunities or gaps in the market can you leverage?
Budget
- How much money can you allocate for marketing each month?
- Does that number fluctuate monthly, seasonally, etc.?
Develop a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
This is one of the first questions I ask new clients. How is your business different? We touched on this in the Marketing Strategy above. Define what sets your business apart from the competition and what value you provide to your target audience. This will make or break you. If you don’t know what makes you different or better, no one else will either.
This is easier for some businesses than others. If you own a cat cafe, that’s it. Easy peasy. People get to pet and adopt cats while drinking coffee. That’s what sets you apart from all other coffee shops in your area (most likely).
However, if you own a brewery or a restaurant, that USP might be harder to define. Maybe it’s the type of food you serve or the diversity of your beer list. Nail this down before you begin marketing or advertising.
Create a Brand Identity
Develop a brand identity that represents your business and appeals to your target audience. This is way more than a logo, although that plays a part. It’s the colors, the visual design, and the feeling someone gets when they see your branding.
Think about your favorite brands. You recognize them a mile away, right?
There’s a small business in my hometown that does a phenomenal job of this. The owner creates clay jewelry and I can spot her earrings anywhere. If I were in a different country and saw them, I’d still be confident that they’re hers.
THAT is what you’re looking to develop. When people see your merch, for example, they should know it’s yours without ever seeing your logo.
Set Up A Website
Establish an online presence by creating a website that showcases your products or services and provides information about your business, including your location, hours of operation, and contact information. Those details are very important!
I have the urge to write a whole blog post in this section about why you need a website, but I’ll refrain. Keep an eye out for that later.
Instead, I’ll tell you this:
Why a website is important:
- It makes you look professional.
- People can find you when using a search engine to learn about your services, products, events, etc.
- You get to control what people see and how they see it.
- You get to manage the messaging about your brand.
- It’s accessible when you’re not. 24/7. Which means you can be getting leads when you’re sleeping.
- Share reviews, even video reviews, without worrying about where they’re hosted.
I could go on. I won’t.
Please make a website for your new business.
Start A Blog
When people search for your type of service or product, a blog post is most likely to bring them to your website. If you have time for a few high-quality posts, do it. Link back to your main services/product pages. You won’t regret it.
Tips for starting a blog:
- Choose topics that relate to your brand/products/services.
- Answer questions customers frequently ask you.
- Write like you talk. Don’t try to be too formal.
- Use formatting like headlines, subheadlines, lists, etc. to ensure your post is skimmable.
- Use short sentences and paragraphs to make the content more digestible.
- Set up Google Analytics to track visitors.
- Use the language your customers use to talk about your industry, products/services.
- Plan your posts ahead of time and publish on a schedule.
Leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
There are so many reasons your business should be using SEO to reach customers. Here are a few:
- SEO is the most effective marketing channel
- Increase the visibility of your website
- Control brand PR (messaging and reputation)
- Establish your brand as an authority in your industry
- Improve user experience
- Boost leads and sales
- SEO is quantifiable, unlike traditional marketing efforts
- Meet customer expectations
- SEO is low-cost
Find an SEO professional or learn it and optimize your website. Without SEO, it’s unlikely that people will find your website in Google, Bing, or any other search engine. You’ll want to consider this especially if you work in a competitive industry.
Helpful tips to optimize your website:
- What words do you think people search for to find your business/offerings? Use those on your pages!
- Set up a Google Search Console account. This will help you find good keywords later.
- Why are people interested in your business/offerings? Showcase that.
- Organize information in a helpful manner so people can find it quickly.
- Add links from pages on your site to other helpful pages (internal or external).
Interested in learning more? Boost your website SEO without a professional.
Would you rather spend your time elsewhere? Get in touch about my SEO Services.
Use Social Media
Your audience is on at least one social network so, figure out what that is and use it to promote your brand, share relevant content, and engage with potential customers.
If you’re not sure where your people are hanging out, do a search for your offerings (generally speaking).
- If you own a cat cafe, look for cats. Instagram is the place for you.
- If you own a house cleaning service, Instagram and Pinterest are your focus.
Don’t just look to see if there’s content available. Look for conversations. If there’s no discussion happening, it might not be a good option.
Also, claim your social media handles! Build your follower base early so that when you launch, you have more than a handful.
TIP: Try to make your handles the same across all social platforms.
Local Directories
Businesses with a physical store need to be listed in local directories like Google, Bing, Yelp, etc.
Make sure you have accurate and consistent NAP (business name, address, phone number) info on all of these:
- Google My Business
- HotFrog
- Bing Places
- Yellow Pages
- Yahoo
- Yelp
- Spoke
- Foursquare
- Best of the Web (BOTW)
- Trip Advisor
Then look for your type of business in Google to find niche directories. We’ll stick with the cat cafe example. These are great options:
- Meow Around
- The Neighbor’s Cat
Order Merch
For your grand opening, you’re going to want merch! People love stickers, bags, t-shirts, mugs, etc. If you have nice branding, they’ll want it even more so make sure you pick a talented designer and don’t skimp on cost. This will also help with business promotion.
If your business ships anything, find a company that will make custom packaging for you. That includes boxes, tissue paper, thank you cards, etc.
Tip: Find a local company to work with; you’ll get your stuff faster and won’t pay for shipping!
Start An Email List
Email is one of the most cost-effective marketing channels available. When people sign up to hear from your business. you have an engaged audience with every email. You don’t have to fight for their attention like you do in search results or on social media. Take advantage of that, but don’t abuse the privilege. Send pertinent updates. Don’t spam.
Start an email list and collect contact info. You can use a service like MailChimp that offers 1 free list and up to 1,000 email sends per month for free! They’re a great option for a new business. Disclaimer: I’m not sponsored, just a fan.
Get Involved
If you’re opening a local business, this one will be helpful! Attend local events, sponsor local organizations, and participate in local charity events. Getting involved in your community and helping other businesses helps you spread the word.
Leverage Local Partnerships
This falls in line with the last one. Consider partnering with other local businesses or organizations to cross-promote your/their products or services. If you’re trying to get kittens adopted with your cat cafe, partner with a local bakery to provide pastries. They will promote that partnership too, which helps you even more.
Advertise
This one isn’t for everyone, but if you have the budget, consider advertising for a few months before and during the launch of your new business. This is incredibly helpful for several reasons:
- Builds buzz and anticipation: Advertising creates awareness and conversation around your business before it opens. This can help generate anticipation and excitement among your target audience, which can translate into higher levels of engagement and interest when your business is officially launched.
- Increases visibility and sales: Advertising can help you reach potential customers who might not be aware of your business, and create quick opportunities for leads and sales, especially if you promote pre-launch offers and early-bird specials.
- Gives you top-of-page rankings: If you run ads in a search engine like Google or Bing, your ad can bring your website to the top of the search results page with little effort. Don’t forget to bookmark my Google Ads Search Campaign Setup Checklist. It will ensure you never miss a setting when creating a new Search campaign.
- Provides valuable feedback: Advertising can provide valuable feedback on your early marketing strategies and messaging. By analyzing the performance of your ads, you can identify what’s working and what’s not, and adjust your general marketing approach accordingly.
- Establishes credibility: Advertising shows that you are serious about your business and have invested time and resources into promoting it, which can help build trust with potential customers and people in your community.
- Helps you stand out from competitors: Running ads can help you stand out from competitors who may not be advertising. By creating a strong brand identity and establishing a presence in your industry early on, you can position your business as a leader and attract more customers.
This can help set the stage and provide a solid foundation for future growth and success.
If you would rather spend your time launching your business and not on ad campaigns, get in touch about my advertising services.
Track Your Results
Create reports, analyze your data, and track your sales to make sure your marketing efforts are paying off, literally. Set up the following accounts:
- Google Analytics helps you understand how many people visit your website, which pages they’ve viewed, how they engage, etc. This is an essential marketing tool that costs $0.00 and can integrate with a ton of other tools.
- Google Search Console shares what customers are searching for when they find you organically (not through an ad or referral website) in Google Search. You can see how your pages rank, how many people clicked a specific page, etc. This is a free tool that I highly recommend to understand your SEO efforts. Learn to set up Search Console and link it to your Google Analytics account for more insights.
- Bing Webmaster Tools is just like Google Search Console, but for Microsoft’s search engine, Bing. You’ll want this free tool also.
- Google Data Studio/Looker Studio is the best free reporting tool I’ve found. I use it every day to review and report on progress for my SEO and advertising clients. Try starting with a report template from the gallery to save time.
By following this checklist, you can ensure that you are taking all of the necessary steps to reach your target audience, build your brand, and establish a strong local presence for your new business.
