Marketing back to basics: The five fundamental steps you need to nail first

I want to go back to basics today. I’m a marketing mentor for the Digital Solutions program here in Tasmania, which is a program that’s funded by the federal government and I get to mentor quite a range of businesses. I really love this role and at the moment it’s giving me a lot of material for this podcast. 

So let’s go back to basics, and look at our marketing activities to see what’s working and what is not. I think it’s something that we should regularly review to make sure that we have our fundamentals covered and we’re not trying to get too far ahead of ourselves with advanced marketing strategies. 

Let’s be frank. Advanced strategies aren’t going to work if your basic ones aren’t in place. 

It’s very important to have your foundations in place to build up your business, to grow it and then scale it. Without a strong foundation your business will collapse and you’ll be starting again. This isn’t always a bad thing, because you’ll have data to look back at so that you can make better decisions next time but how much better is it when you’re not starting all over again? 

So, the basics of marketing start by understanding what marketing is and what the main point of it is for your business. For most businesses this is to identify, attract and retain customers. 

With that in mind, let’s look at the 5 key steps you need to nail before you try anything more advanced.

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Transcript

Welcome to the new School of Marketing podcast, the place for smart, simple strategies that will amplify your business results. Sharing practical tips, insider knowledge and actionable advice. Because marketing is something that every business owner can do. Now let's get started. Introducing your host, Bianca McKenzie, mum, lover of snow sports, camping, horse riding and in demand launch strategist and Facebook advertising Knowledge bank.

Hey there. Welcome back to the new School of Marketing podcast. As always, I am so grateful to you for tuning in. And before we dive into this episode, I would love to pay my respect and acknowledgement to the Palawa people of Lutruwita who are the traditional owners of the land on which my business operates. And I pay my respects to their elders, past, present and emerging. All right, I hope you are well. We are in the middle of our school holidays here in Tasmania, which is actually much later than the rest of the country, which has its advantages and it also has its disadvantages. It makes it much harder to connect with interstate family. But the upside of it is that things tend to be a bit cheaper in parts of the country that have already had their holidays, which is kind of good for when you want to go on holiday. Anyway, I want to go back to basics today, so I am actually a marketing mentor for the digital solutions program here in Tasmania, which is a program that is funded by the federal government and I get to mentor quite a range of businesses and it is so much fun. I really love this role and it's actually giving me quite a bit of material for this podcast. So keep tuning in. So let's go back to basics. Let's look at our marketing activities to see what's working and what is not. And I think it's something that we should regularly review to make sure that we have all of our fundamentals covered and we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves with like advanced marketing strategies. You know, the basics need to work first. So let's be frank. Advanced strategies aren't going to work if your basic ones are not already in place. It is very, very important to have your foundations in place, to build up your business, to grow it and then scale it. Without a strong foundation, your business will collapse and you'll just have to start again. And this isn't always a bad thing because you'll have data to look back at so that you can make better decisions next time. But really, how much better is it when you are not starting all over again? Right? So the basics of marketing, start by understanding what marketing is first and what the main point of it is for your business. And for most businesses, it is to identify, attract and retain customers. So if you have a pen handy, write that down to identify, attract and retain customers. With that in mind, let's look at five key steps you need to nail before you try anything more advanced. The first one is to get really clear on your brand identity. What is your business, and more importantly, who is your business. Think about what your mission is, what your values are, and how do you want to be perceived by, you know, the public, especially your potential customers. Also think about what your message is and how are you going to consistently communicate it. Think about how you are different from your competitors. So your brand identity is not, it's not a logo, it's not just that. It's the whole spectrum. It's literally who you are as a business, what your mission is, what your values are, what do you stand for? How do you want other people to see you? Because you might have one idea, but from the outside in, you might be perceived a different way. How are you different from others that do the same thing? And, you know, what makes you stand out and what makes you different, but also what makes you be perceived as different? Because, you know, sometimes two businesses look the same from the outside. The only thing is the label is different. Okay, the logo is different, but there might be little nuances under, you know, like when you dive deeper. How, how are you different? So get really clear on your brand identity. The next one, number two is who is your audience? And in my opinion, this is the most important, most important part of marketing. You really need to know who your, your audience is, get super, super clear on who it is that purchases your products or services and know why they do this. So, like, when you get clear on it, you need to know where they live, what they do, what they love, and get really, really deep on this. Not just it's a, you know, families between, I don't know, like 25 and 35 years old. It's not just that. It's the people that go. They've got two kids, both parents are working. They struggle to get out on the weekend. They really need help with XYZ. Like, you really, really need to know who your ideal client is. Think about what is their pain point, what are their challenges? Or maybe, like, your product might not satisfy pain point or a challenge, but it might satisfy a desire. Um, so what are their desires? How do you meet that with your product or your service? So really think about who is that particular person? Why do they buy your products? Or why would they want to buy your products, what does it do for them? Really think about who is this person then? Number three is you need to set strategic goals. I know that a lot of people just start, you know, posting on social media, but they don't really have a goal. So before you start posting on social media or send out emails or any kind of marketing thing, really take some time to think about your goals. And your goals should kind of be in alignment with your overall business goals, which generally include income goals. So looking at your income goals and looking at how many clients you need or how many sales you need to make to get to that income goal, think about how your marketing is going to support this. How many people do you need to speak to or attract to be able to get the number of clients that you want and think about. Not everyone is going to become a client. So you need to talk to more people than you need often. Make your goals smart. And that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. And I will pop some resources in the show notes about this because yeah, we talk about a lot about smart goals in marketing, but the main thing is that they need to be specific. You need to be able to measure them. They need to be achievable. Know, if your goal is to sell like to 100 people in a week, but your time and all of that only allows for like 50 people, then obviously it's not achievable. So like, they need to be, you know, specific, measurable, achievable. They also need to be relevant and time bound. I'll pop some links in the show notes so that you can do some more research on that. And also remember to track your progress. So create a way so that you can track your progress. Look at setting some benchmarks and KPI's key performance indicators to measure your success. I know it sounds like, oh, it's like I've got a job now. But if this is going to be your livelihood, or if this is your livelihood, you need to know, you need to, you need to know your goals and then you need to be able to measure the progress to that. Like I said, if you want 100 sales in a week, but you can only do 50, then track that. And then once you get to 50 and you do that multiple times, then it might be time to hire someone else. So you can get to that hundred. Anyway, you need to be tracking your goals. Then the next one, number four is you need to nail your messaging. Simply posting what you offer on social media is not going to cut it you really need to work out what your messaging is, and you also need to know who you're talking to so that you can create a message that resonates with them. And I know it can be a little bit tricky. It can feel a little bit like, what is messaging? What do I do? The best example or the best kind of way to look at it is if you've ever felt spoken to or called out by reading an article or a webpage. It means that that brand had their messaging dialed in and they knew exactly who they were talking to, what their pain points or desires were. So look at what other people are doing in terms of how it makes you feel when you read something. Like, you know, when you read something on a sales page and you go, oh, my God, yes, I feel like that. Oh, yes, that's my life. Those are the people that know who they're talking to. They've got their messaging dialed in. This is why you need to really, really know your ideal client so well, so that you can speak to them. And a lot of the times it will be in, in a way that you say, have you ever, and then you know, or is this you? And you literally illustrate how that ideal client's life is and then how your product or your service can help them so really nail your messaging. It's so, so important because, yeah, simply just putting up on social media what you offer without context, without illustrating the, like, the scene that is not going to cut it. Then number five is your marketing channels. You know, like, this is like the end of the line. I know this is where a lot of people start. They're like, oh, social media, I'll just get on it. Social media is amazing, but it is not the only marketing channel. And you definitely need to explore other options. Do not, and I'm saying this here, do not rely on social media only for your business. Marketing channels. Like, there's so many options and they're so diverse, they're important, and you need to not have all your eggs in one basket. So go back to who your audience is, go back to where they spend time. And that could be social media, but it would not be only social media. So think about, do you need to invest in a website? And I definitely recommend that people do, even if it is just to hold a lot of information and a lot of information about questions that people may have. If you are constantly answering the same questions, you need to have an easy way to answer that. And a website is really good for that. Plus, a website is your real estate in a way, you own it and it can't be hacked. You don't have to rely on algorithms, things like that. Well, obviously it can be hacked, but you could get it back, whereas with Facebook, you can't always get it back. So do you need to invest in a website? Would email marketing be a good strategy? How about traditional marketing, like print, radio, tv? Like think about it, there's so many marketing channels and I definitely don't recommend being on all of them. But I think a good mix of some, something that you own, aka your website, your email marketing, and a little bit of, you know, that rendered land where people spend, spend their time, which is social media. I think a combination is really good for that. Don't rely just on social media. That's the only thing I want to say. So marketing channels is another thing that you need to look at, not just social media. So once you have taken the time to build your foundations, that's when you can look at which platforms will work best for your business based on where your audience spends their time, but also where you feel like you'll be able to create content consistently. So you might come across mentors that say you must do blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but as a business owner, you actually don't feel comfortable. You might hate it. If that is the case, revisit that because you don't want to be pushed into something that you really don't like doing. Maybe you don't believe in it, it's just not, it doesn't feel right. And if it doesn't feel right, you're not going to be doing it. So revisit that. Then, you know, do something that does feel right with you. It's super important to establish a strong marketing foundation before you then try to build up on that and build your marketing home. You really need to have that slab down first. And I see so many people who start a business because of something they love, like they love doing it or because they're doing something that they're really good at, but they don't necessarily take the time to think about what they want their brand to stand for or how they want their customers to see them and perceive them. And they also don't really think about who their customer is. And let me tell you, it is not everyone. Like, if you have an accommodation, if you're an accommodation provider and you have a tiny home where like, that's best for couples, then not everyone's your client. You will not market to families and you cannot talk in a way that will then markets to families. So really be really, really clear on who your ideal client is so that you can talk to them in the right way. And I've said this before, simply posting on social media about the products or services that you have, that you have available, that's just not going to get you very far. You really need to think about your actual messaging and who your ideal client is and how you speak to them and then build that marketing foundation. And if you already have some customers, if you already sold to some people, get in touch with them and ask them what made them buy from you, what made you different from others that offer the same thing, what selling point made them buy from you. It could be like your presentation, how you are in a way perceived. You got to think about this. You got to ask this. It could be the way you like you as a person presented yourself that made them trust you. Like if I go to a market, it's kind of interesting. Like you don't necessarily think about it, but you're attracted and you're drawn to certain things, not just the products generally. Also the branding, the vibe, the person in the market stall behind them, the table. There's just something about it. So it could be all, all of those things. It could be like examples that you have shown or have given to people, samples, examples. You really want to know what makes people buy from you so that you can focus on those particular points. So the main parts of your marketing foundations are getting to know your audience, knowing who you are, what you offer and how you can connect the two. There's you on one side, there's your buyer on the other. You need to know both. And then what connects the two? If this is something that you really struggle with, look at the brands that you buy from. Dive deeper into why you purchase from them. So what is it about a particular brand that you might be loyal to? Is it maybe their, you know, australian made status? It's quite a big thing, especially in Tasmania. Tasmanian made is very big. Do you buy it because it is trendy and, you know, you want to keep up with the trends? Do you buy it because of their values, what they stand for? Maybe they make donations. Maybe they are really big on environmental practices. What is it that makes you decide to buy from a specific brand? Look at your own buying habits and look at your own reasons for being attracted to a brand and then flip it upside down and try to dissect it from your audience's perspective in terms of buying from you. And you might not be communicating some of your values, you might not be communicating some of the things that you really want to be known for, that you really want to stand for. So think about this, because we know ourselves mostly, and we know what we stand for, but we don't always communicate this outside of, you know, to me, some things seem obvious from my perspective, but from someone else looking into my business, it might not be as obvious. So sit down and think about how do you want people to perceive your brand? What do you want to be known for apart from the, the things that you offer? And yeah, find out how, how people are purchasing from you in terms of like, what is their reasoning, why, what makes it stand out. So grab a notebook, sit down, get a cup of tea, and spend some time really thinking about your customer, thinking about your business, thinking about your direction and getting some clarity will make a massive difference to your marketing results because you will be able to really know your messaging. You'll be able to much better articulate who you are as a business, what you offer, why you offer it, and that can make a really big difference to your marketing. So a quick recap. Number one is getting clear on your brand identity, like who are you? Who's your business. Number two is who's your audience? You know, who are you talking to? Number three is setting strategic goals. So don't just put something up on social media. Think about why you're doing it. Number four is nail your messaging. This is so important. So really think about speaking to that specific person that you've identified is your ideal client. And then number five is marketing channels. So not just social media, there are other marketing channels out there. Which ones are going to be working best for your business? Where does your ideal client hang out? All right, well, that's a little bit of homework. Go back to basics. Do this, I don't know, every three to six months, just quick review once you've done it, like, really well, because sometimes we kind of change direction in our business and we forget to do this again and things might fall apart a little bit. So sit down like a, like I said, with a cuppa notebook and do a bit of a review. Go back to basics. Who are you really talking to and what are you really telling them? Thank you so much again for joining me on this episode of the new School of Marketing podcast. I hope it was helpful. I love going back to basics. It's so important we don't do it enough. And I can't wait to share more marketing tips with you next week. Remember, if you are ready to take your business to the next level with Facebook and Instagram advertising. Make sure that you visit newschoolofmarketing.com to download practical, free resources, plus subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. I can't wait to go on this journey with you. Until next time, take care and market your business every day.