The Importance of Creating a Strategic Growth Marketing Plan
In today's digital age, it is more important than ever to have a strategic growth marketing plan to attract and retain customers. One of the most common mistakes that marketers make is not taking the time to set goals. This article will provide you with 6 steps for creating a successful marketing strategy so that you can grow your business online!
Any of the most successful big-name businesses you follow or buy from had a plan to follow for their growth.
As an independent business owner, it's essential to borrow from the big guys and follow a path to get you from where you are today to where you want your business to be in the future. Having a growth marketing plan in place can give you the security and confidence you need when things inevitably get tough or don't go as expected.
If you're an entrepreneur, there's a good chance that you are the one who is responsible for all of the marketing in your company. You may be operating as the marketer and salesperson too.
You know your business like no one else, and for you, growth marketing doesn't have to be complicated. Here's an outline of the basics you need in place to refer back to as a high-level road plan for your success.
1. Define your goals and objectives
What are your income and revenue goals, how many people do you want to serve, or units do you want to sell? What's the timeframe for these goals? Name it and draft the details in writing.
2. Determine the best marketing channels to use for your business
What are the best channels where your target demographic and ideal customer or clients are showing up daily? Pick one or two channels that ideally match your affinity. And if you don't prefer the channels where they show up, be ready to hire an expert who can help represent you, be your voice, and manage your contacts, exchanges, and leads. If you have a personal brand, it's best to show up yourself as often as you can.
3. Identify which customer segments you want to target
Is it primarily men or women? What age range, income, interests, and people do they follow? What common problem, desire, or challenge makes them a unique segment? Capture all of this in writing.
4. Create a content strategy that aligns with your marketing plan
5. Develop a compelling call-to-action (CTA) strategy
Have you ever gone to a blog or website, skimmed the content, and then left because there was no call-to-action? You're not alone.
In today's world of online marketing, your site must have a strong "call-to-action." A call-to-action (CTA) strategy can be as simple as adding an opt-in form on every page of your site so readers know when they are done reading. Or it could be something more complex, like developing an entire campaign around one powerful CTA with a series of CTAs throughout each month.
Whatever you decide, make sure that your audience knows what they should do next. Your growth marketing plan isn't a plan if you're not asking people to follow it.
6. Measure, measure, measure! Use analytics tools to track progress and make adjustments as needed
As a new entrepreneur, it is essential to track your progress and make adjustments as needed. Tracking your progress can be done using analytics tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, and more. These analytics tools will help you see how people are engaging with your content on social media channels and where they are coming from (i.e., search engines). Monitoring these metrics will give you an idea of what's working and what isn't to adjust accordingly. For example, if you notice most traffic is coming from organic search engine searches but not many people clicking through to your website - then perhaps it's time for some SEO optimization!
"It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan." ― Eleanor Roosevelt, former first lady of the United States
When you have a clear plan for growing your business, it is easier to execute the ideas that drive growth. For any marketing strategy or campaign to work well and be successful, there are six components every strategic growth marketing plan needs. Contact us today to learn more about what they are and how to incorporate them into your digital marketing efforts. With our help in guiding you through the process from start to finish, we can intentionally take all of the guesswork out of growing your business.
