I had a conversation with a new business owner this week that hit home for me as he was curious what he would need to focus on in terms of marketing a new business that he’s been putting a lot of time and money into.
First of all, starting a new business is hard. Actually, it’s beyond hard. It’s one of the most out of the ordinary, least secure things you can do with your life.
If you’re like me, there’s nothing that can stop you from doing it. Which is good, you’re exactly where you need to be. So, saddle up, be excited and get ready for the unforgettable road to come as an entrepreneur.
The question of what is needed when marketing a new business is an exciting one for me, because not only have I been there before, but with years of experience in marketing along with years of knowing what it takes to build and grow a consumer product brand in the hunting/outdoors industry – it let me put myself in his shoes as a new business owner again marketing a new business.
(Let me tell ya, this stage can be the most exciting, yet nerve wrecking time of your life.)
After we discussed all of the great things he had planned for the business, the products and his big picture goal with it all, we laid out the main areas in marketing that I’d focus on if I were in his shoes.
Below is an overview of what we discussed that I wanted to share with you today as the most critical marketing areas to focus on when marketing a new business:
Branding
Your brand is the most important part of it all. It sets the tone for the business, establishes a professional appearance and communicates who your company is if it were a person – which directly relates to how you will build connection and rapport with your customers. Building a brand is a complex task with a lot of moving parts. As an agency, we usually focus on your logo, colors, fonts, the way you communicate your messages to customers and the content that you use in your website. Taking this a step further, your brand will also come down to how you engage with customers at shows, on customer support calls, in emails, responses to messages on social media and much more.
When we build logos for our clients, we like to put together a branding guide that lays out everything that defines their brand so that it can be effectively communicated internally and externally. You can learn more about our logos & branding here; https://revbrandingindustries.com/branding/.
Website
Your website is the next most important part when marketing a new business, as this is your digital homebase or you can also think of it as your own virtual store. The website should drive home your branding, effectively communicate what your business does, how you can help your customers and is designed in a way that truly converts visitors into customers. You can learn more about our website services here: https://revbrandingindustries.com/websites/.
SEO
Let me tell you, SEO is often overlooked and underserved for many businesses. Depending on your marketing plan and strategy, SEO needs to be a part of it no matter how big or small of a piece it may play. Your SEO decides how your website will show up on search engines, along with what it will show up for in terms of what your potential customers will need to be searching for in order to find you. Good SEO isn’t searching for your business name and having it come up, it goes well beyond that. Good SEO is making sure your business pops up for an individual who has never actually heard of your company before, that is searching for terms that relate to your business and the products/services you sell. There’s different goals for SEO, but I’d recommend making sure your business is available on all major search engines and your branding is consistent across all of these.
We offer SEO services to clients in our Full Saddle Marketing Programs, you can learn more about this here; https://revbrandingindustries.com/team-integration/.
Not good, but great content.
Everyone and their brother thinks that they’re a photographer these days as long as they have the new iPhone and know when to turn it sideways. This can be helpful for social media later down the road, but when launching a new business, I always recommend investing in great content that can be used on your website, social media and any traditional marketing assets you’ll need too. Photos tell stories and videos can bring your brand vision to life within a 60 second cut. They elevate the professionalism of your website, social media and the business as a whole.
Digital Advertising
My favorite metaphor is “a great website without traffic is like a beautiful cruise ship without any people on it, it ain’t making any money”. This is the truest thing I can say for any new business. Granted, you may have plans to leverage organic social media, shows, cold calling or whatever fancies you, but a good digital advertising strategy can jump start your business in a way that the channels listed above couldn’t ever dream of. They will drive brand awareness of your company, drive new visitors to your website to see what you have to offer and can also be a powerful too in building up your social media channels. Google ads offers a wide variety of advertising types and allows for targeting based on what your customers are searching for, https://ads.google.com/home/.
That’s it. There’s no magic to it at all. Just hard work, creativity, faith, attention to the details and an overwhelming sense of perseverance. Every business is different, so what I laid out above may not relate to all when marketing a new business, but if you’re looking for guidance with marketing while you launch your new business – give us a shout. Good conversation is always free.
