The new year brings exciting new possibilities, and marketing is far from the least of these. To take advantage of the marketing opportunities, you must understand market trends and changing business climate.
For most industries at the start of 2021, this is largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic challenges resulting from this.
Continue to invest in digital
There’s good reason to remind yourself of digital marketing’s continuing value in our brave new world of daily videoconferencing and booming online shopping. It’s affordable and allows you to communicate with customers directly. In addition, it provides faster results and better tracking capabilities.
Consider or re-evaluate strategies such as regularly updating your search engine optimization so your website ranks highly in online searches and more people can find you. Adjust your use of email, text messages and social media to communicate with customers and prospects.
For instance, craft more dynamic messages to introduce new products or special events. Offer “flash sales” and Internet-only deals to test and tweak offers before making them via more expansive (and expensive) media.
Seek out better deals
During boom times, you may feel at the mercy of high advertising rates. In the current uncertain and gradually recovering economy, look for better deals. The good news is that there are many more marketing/advertising channels than there used to be and, therefore, much more competition among them. Paying less is often a matter of knowing where to look.
Track your marketing efforts carefully and dedicate time to exploring new options. For example, podcasts remain enormously popular. Could a marketing initiative that exploits their reach pay dividends? Another possibility is shifting to smaller, less expensive ads posted in a wider variety of outlets rather than engaging in one massive campaign.
Excel at public relations
When the pandemic hit last year, every business had to address current events in their marketing messaging. This stood in stark contrast to decades previous, when companies generally tended to steer clear of the news. Nowadays, public relations is a key component of marketing success. Your customers and prospects need to know that your business is aware of the current environment and adjusting to it.
Ask your marketing department to craft clear, concise but exciting press releases regarding your newest products or services. Then distribute these press releases via both traditional and online channels to complement your marketing efforts. In this manner, you can disseminate trustworthy information and maintain a strong reputation — all at a relatively low cost.
Strengthen ROI
It is just as important to examine the return on investment of your money spent on marketing as it is for the rest of your business expenses. Please contact your Rudler PSC advisor at 859-331-1717 for help in evaluating your ROI on your marketing expense, as well as suggestions for improving this number.
RUDLER'S TAX MANAGEMENT & PLANNING TEAM
This week's Rudler Review is presented by Becca Thorman, CPA and John Wood, CPA, CVA.
If you would like to discuss your particular tax situation, contact Becca or John at 859-331-1717.
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