Last month we learnt that the secret to marketing plans that work is the science of what makes your customers buy.

Successful marketing meets your customer at every step of the buying process so that you retain as many prospects as possible, capture your customers and generate sales. The best marketing plans create strategies to make sure customers notice you, like you, trust you, try you, buy you and then love you.

The first essential step to creating a marketing plan that works is to get customers to notice you and become familiar with your brand.

How to Get Noticed

So let’s make this more scientific and break it down.

1.  You want to generate awareness

2.  You are targeting ‘potentials’ – your ideal clients who don’t currently know you

3.  Your task – is to be there

4.  Your strategy – is to become familiar

5.  Your desired outcome – is to get noticed!

Regardless of your budget, there are two key tactics that any business, irrespective of size, can do to increase awareness of their brand. 

TACTIC 1: BE IMPACTFUL

To get noticed, you have to strike an emotional chord with your potential buyer otherwise they will look right past you. Your branding must stand-out and it must be consistent. The words you use to describe your business must convey the very essence of your brand.

Tasks:

• Create a compelling emotional hook that gives your marketing impact and helps strike an emotional chord with potential buyers.
• Review all your current marketing collateral and advertising. Is it impactful or unexciting? Include your emotional hook so it connects with potential buyers on an emotional level.

TACTIC 2: THE 4Rs

The right information at the right time in the right format in the right places. If people see the same information about you in multiple places, they are more likely to believe it and act on it. By getting the foundations of your brand and messaging right at the beginning, you will be able to leverage every communication opportunity with your potential buyers.

Tasks:

• Create templates and consistent wording for all of your communications – consistency is key
• Identify where people are looking for info about your business and develop content that can be found in at least 4 of those places (not just once, but consistently all the time)
• Get online! With smart phones everywhere most companies are easily found online and utilise mobile responsive websites, SEO, Google Adwords, Blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook. These are the baseline marketing tools you need for your marketing to succeed.
• Use your assets – back to basics here, we’re talking about signage, sandwich boards, flags – make yourself visible and easy to find. 

By implementing these tactics consistently, people will notice you. The next step is to get them interested in you. In our next issue, we will talk about the tactics you can use to become relevant and attractive to your target market.

Follow our blog series for tips and advice on getting customers and keeping them.