Innovation may give birth to a business, yet marketing is what keeps it thriving and underpins its growth. Some companies believe that marketing is a mere add-on or optional extra, which is something that will have to wait until later. Some business owners even perceive it as an investment that perhaps they can’t afford. The truth is, they could not be wrong.
But here’s the thing: building a business from scratch or launching a brand new product without establishing brand awareness, identifying your ideal customers, and effectively communicating with them is like trying to catch fish by throwing stones into the ocean. Let’s be plain and simple: it’s not going to work.
Therefore, even if your budget is tight, you want to make investing in marketing your top priority for your business. It is the pivotal activity that provides you with early feedback on your market, build reputation and brand awareness, and, most importantly, retains paying customers: the very lifeblood of your business. If you’re not investing in marketing today, you are already out of business. Here’s why:
Having no marketing plan in place means you’re being outranked!
Search engine optimization (SEO) involves many moving parts ranging from keyword targeting to optimizing content. The bottom line is that without investing in this critical function, your business could easily fall off the search radar and hurt your digital visibility.
A survey reveals that over half of the most effective marketers have laid out a marketing strategy in advance, while 40% of the least effective ones have no documented marketing strategy in place. Furthermore, not having a marketing plan causes you to be outranked by your competitors in search results. When you find your business being overshadowed by competitors in search engines, this can also mean that they are investing more of their marketing dollars into their SEO efforts.
Most businesses today have blogs linked to their websites. This indicates that marketing ought to be more of a focus. However, blogs aren’t the only factor that requires constant care and attention. You have an entire marketing plan to focus on, which lays out a roadmap for your content and helps you witness more tangible returns on your investments.
Our two cents: A lack of a marketing plan is a surefire sign of a business with an underdeveloped roadmap. And without a sense of direction, a company can easily be swayed in many directions and be more prone to failure.
You have no active social media presence.
We could take a whole day discussing the importance of social media for businesses today, but we’ll spare you the tangent. The main point here is that without maximizing the use of social media, you are missing out on a large chunk of the market. Of 3.4 billion internet users worldwide, 67% are active social media users. This platform can help you connect to a hefty chunk of your target audience. And thus, reach your goals for your business in no time.
Tracking and analyzing data is a must!
The rapid advancement of technology in marketing means that every business can access data tracking and analysis as they are no longer limited to large corporations alone. For instance, small business owners can use Google Analytics and easily track their marketing efforts’ successes and failures.
Additionally, observing your business’s bounce rates and impressions is crucial since you may leverage this information to fortify your marketing efforts further. Otherwise, companies that aren’t already performing this are doing themselves an injustice. Without tracking and analyzing critical data, marketing becomes a shot in the dark, particularly in modern marketing. Don’t fall behind the pack, as your competitors might already be doing this!
Invest in nothing less than effective marketing
Once you have fully grasped the absolute necessity of investing in marketing, it’s essential to ensure you invest your money where it will be most effective and return-bearing. Unfortunately, due to limited marketing experience or expertise, some businesses often use scattergun marketing strategies that consume valuable time, resources, and budget while yielding poor results. A more efficient marketing approach is to create a focused system that will build brand awareness, reach prospects cost-efficiently, and allow you to grow your customer base rapidly.