Marketing Services
Effective marketing planning and implementation for small and medium-sized businesses who want to grow but don’t have the time, resources or desire to market their business in-house.Planning & Measurement
Copywriting & Content
Digital Marketing
Traditional Marketing
How much easier would your working life become if you knew you could leave your marketing to someone else and see great results?
Marketing is essential for every business. But that doesn’t mean it always gets the attention it deserves.
Most of the time, it is not because business owners don’t want to market their business, but rather because they don’t have the time to do it themselves or have the skills in-house to do it properly.
If you’re thinking, “Yup, that’s exactly why I don’t do enough marketing”, you are not alone. I have worked with businesses of varying sizes who have come across this exact problem. The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone.
I work with you to build or refine your marketing so that it’s tailored to your business – not just following what others do.
I make sure that you know where you are going, what you are going to do to get there, and help you implement it to achieve the results you seek.
Explore how we can work together
PLAN & MEASURE RESULTS
The saying goes, “Fail to plan, and you plan to fail”. This is as true for marketing as it is anything else.
Unfortunately, I have seen many businesses launch headfirst into marketing without a real plan behind them which make achieving a goal really difficult. In fact, many of them find it difficult to articulate what marketing success looks like beyond more sales.
For example, one business may want to grow their sales as it believes that there is room to gain market share or that there are more customers out there needing their products or services. Another business may feel that they are happy with the number of clients they have but want to increase the proft they derive from each sale from their existing clients. These two businesses have very different marketing goals and will need very different marketing plans.
To help you plan your marketing and measure the results, I focus on four strategic actions that help you form a robust, relevant marketing programme.
Identifying your ideal clients
A common mistake businesses make is trying to be everything to every one. It simply doesn’t work.
No matter how wonderful your product or service is, it is near impossible that every single person in the world needs it and is willing to pay for it.
Successful businesses identify which people or companies will be best served by their product or service. They make a concious choice to focus on those people alone, and ignore the rest.
This is not a naural space for many business owners. Often I am met with the comment that the owner wants to reach as many people as possible. This approach is simply not an effective, or efficient, way to do business. The money that will be required to reach a wider audience that may be vaguely interested in your product is better spent on promoting it to those with a specific need or desire to have it.
I help you to identify your ideal client by matching your services and products to potential market segments, asking the questions that are not immediately visible from the inside and pushing you to go further to find the best fit for your business.
Value proposition and message creation
For you to accurately communicate what your business is, why your product or services are relevant to your ideal market, you first need to be able to arcticulate what it is and why it is different from others.
The big question: What value does your business bring to your ideal target market?
In other words, what’s in it for them?
I work with you to define your value proposition so that it aligns with your business and its goals. We will also hone your core messaging to keep your marketing focused on the messages that matter.
Measuring marketing success
Measuring your marketing success doesn’t have to be complicated. What is required though, is that you have a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that let you know how effective your marketing (and business) is and helps guide your decision-making going forward.
I work with you to help build out a marketing reporting suite that is easy-to-use and
Marketing planning
Many business owners find creating a marketing plan overwhelming. I have been told by clients that they don’t want to spend ages creating huge planning documents, they don’t see the value in them.
The good news is, I don’t believe in huge marketing plans either. But I do believe that planning your marketing is an essential part of your business. I also believe you can do it on a single piece of page.
I will help you develop your marketing plan so that you have a clear vision and point of reference for all of your marketing efforts.
Have a read through my blog on developing your marketing plan for more information
COPYWRITING & CONTENT
Content is more important than ever in marketing. But there is a difference between delivering lots of content and delivering good-quality content.
Customers are bombarded with content and information all the time. You want to be a company that creates and delivers interesting and relevant content to them. Equally, it shouldn’t always be about the sale. Your focus should first be on delivering value to your customers and those who want to engage with you.
Content takes many forms and your content strategy should include a mix to reach your audience in the most effective way.
I can help you craft your content strategy as well as create engaging content that suits your brand including;
Website copy
Your website has become a potential customer’s first port of call when looking at your business. The copy on your site should tell a story, educate your visitor or inspire those reading it. It also plays a significant role in improving your organic search results with the likes of Google, Bing and other search engines.
I create engaging copy for your website that not only speaks to your audience but is SEO-friendly too.
Blog writing
I write blogs on your behalf that bring value to your audience. Whether through sharing industry news or getting customers excited about a new product, your blog is the ideal platform to drive traffic to and begin to build brand awareness and trust.
Whitepaper
I write whitepapers to help you build your brand as a thought leader within your industry. Whitepapers give you the opportunity to explore topics that are relevant to your market while also incorporating your business opinions. These papers are ideal for B2B companies.
Articles
Articles give you the chance to illustrate a complicated concept through a long-form communication online or in print. These articles may be placed in external publications such as industry magazines or your own website or social channels such as LinkedIn. The purpose of articles is to showcase your knowledge of a subject and build brand trust.
Brochures
Brochures are the ideal choice for showcasing products and services, particularly if imagery plays a significant role in supporting your message. Travel companies, for example, still utilise brochures to promote their destinations and packages to good effect.
Brochures are now available online and offline.
DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital marketing encompasses a multitude of marketing channels. From display advertising and email marketing to social media marketing and retargeting.
Together, we will work through the digital marketing opportunities that are right for your business. We will test both the medium and the creative to optimise your results, and focus on those that generate the most rewarding leads for your business.
Email marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing tools available to small businesses. It is cost-effective and gives you full control over your message and timings. There are few places where you can deliver your marketing message directly to your customer in such an intimate way.
It is effective at both direct sales and, more importantly, building long-term relationships with your clients.
Pay Per Click Advertising
PPC, as it is more commonly known, is a highly effective marketing tactic that let’s you get your brand and products in front of people who are actively looking for it.
Every time you search online on Google or the like, you are presented with PPC ads from businesses that offer an answer to your search. By putting your business in front of people who are actively seeking it, you improve your chances of them viewing your website and purchasing from you.
One of the most appealing aspects of PPC advertising is that you can dial it up or down depending on your budget or current needs. It is quick to set up and you will begin to see results in a short period of time.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is more than creating a Facebook business page and posting your news. In fact, for some businesses, that approach may not be successful at all.
Social media marketing involves both organic (non-paid for) and paid for marketing on social media channels including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.
Organic social media marketing is often considered to be free, but the truth is it takes a lot of time to build up an effective social media platform for your business, regardless of which one you choose. More importantly, gathering ‘likes’ or ‘follows’ doesn’t necessarily result in any purchases of your products or services. This type of social media marketing can be effective for some businesses, and a waste of time for others.
Paid Social Media Marketing involves advertising on various social channels where your ideal target market is found. The targeting abilities of these platforms are phenomenal which allows you to be very selective about who you send your advertising to. This targeted approach leads to more effective marketing with lower costs per acquisition and a more profitable business.
I will help you decide whether social media is the right place to be promoting your business and if so, whether you should be using organic or paid tactics, or both.
Online display advertising
Online display advertising is also known as banner advertising. You will recognise these adverts as the ads you see all around the websites you visit.
From a business perspective, you sometimes have the choice of how you pay for these adverts. You could choose to pay for a set number of impressions (the number of times website visitors have the opportunity to see your ads) or on a cost per click basis (this is where you only pay if a web visitor clicks on your advert). Not all websites or advertising platforms offer both, but it is good to know the difference when you are exploring your options.
You can also use targeting effectively with online display adverts. For example, if your business only services one geographic areas, you don’t need or want to advertise to people on the other side of the country, so you would select areas close to your homebase. You can also choose the types of websites you want to appear on that are aligned to or compliment your business.
I will help you decide where you want to advertise, how best to target your audience and create your ads.
Web development and management
For many small businesses, your website is your showroom. It is one of the first places a potential client will visit to explore your products and services, and learn about your business.
Not all websites are built the same. For some, a simple, single page website does the trick while other businesses may need to incorporate membership areas or e-commerce platforms.
Together, we will explore the possibilities and define what will work best for your business.
Traditional Marketing
While there has been a significant leap in the effeciveness and availability of digital marketing channels, traditional marketing still plays an important role in the marketing mix. Effective marketing involves multiple touch-points which can be a combination of online (digital) and offline (traditional) marketing activities.
Your ideal target audience will dictate which traditional marketing mediums are most suited to your business.
Print advertising
Print advertising gives you the opportunity to showcase your products and services creatively in publications that suit your ideal audience. Depending on whether you run a B2C or B2B business, you can place your print advert in trade or retail publications such a newspapers and magainzes.
You can combine imagery and copy to make your brand jump off the page. This type of advertising is good for both brand building and direct sales.
Direct marketing
Direct marketing is a highly-effective and personalised way to market to your ideal audience. You can choose to craft bespoke paper-based direct mail or incoporate merchandising to really make your message stand out.
Research has shown that direct mail and merchandising has a long shelf life with customers and as such helps to keep your brand front of mind.
Direct mail can be as simple as a personalised postcard to your existing clients or a more in-depth brochure delivered directly to their front door or desk.
It is an ideal opportunity to get creative and stand out from the crowd.
Brochure creation
Brochures bring your product or services into your customers hands. They are a popular choice for companies where their product selling price is higher or the buying process is more complex.
Think about fitting a new kitchen in your home. Chances are you will be quite drawn towards grabbing a cup of coffee and browsing through a few kitchen brochures for ideas and inspiration. The same applies for a luxury holiday.
You are unlikely, however, to want to page through brochures for everyday household items.
Brochures offer you full control of your imagery, content and distribution.
I will help you plan, create and publish your brochures. We can also explore the options of bringing partners onboard to advertise within your brochure too.
Advertorials
Advertorials are a combination of an advert and editorial. You benefit from being able to incorporate your core messages into an editorial that is written by the publication itself, lending your business credibility with its readers.
Editorials can be placed in both newspapers and magaiznes (as well as online!).
What others say about working with me
“Shannon listens, responds, makes action happen and delivers on what she says she will. Not only that but she is one of those people you want to work with and have on your side. I can’t recommend Shannon highly enough.”
” Shannon is one of the brightest, most dynamic and most driven people I have ever had the pleasure to work with. You are guaranteed 100% loyalty and commitment from start to finish. Crucially, however, she is also one of the most personable, and I would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending her.”
“Shannon has an outstanding attitude and aptitude for effecting positive change in business strategy. She has exceptional knowledge and experience in marketing and is most effective when in charge of a project and/or outcome.”
Let's work together!
Contact me for an obligation-free chat about what you want to achieve from your marketing and how we can work together to achieve it.
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