3 Basic Rules For A Successful Marketing Strategy

The biggest misconception when it comes to marketing is that there is one thing that works better than anything else.  The holy grail of marketing that you can perform and then sit back and wait for your ROI (return on investment). Unfortunately there are plenty who have tried this and learnt the reality pretty quickly. The most common line I hear is “Oh no, we tried a radio/social media/TV/print campaign and it was a waste of money”.

The reality is, all advertising mediums work.

The important thing is that you choose the right ones for your business goals and you execute a strategy. Why spend all the money on buying the advert space and then throw in an image that was done by the receptionist a couple of years ago. Every single dollar you spend, whether it be local magazines, branding for your business, flyers, sponsorship etc. should be part of a clear strategy that works towards set business goals.

Successful marketing isn’t complex, it is simply doing all the small things right. This is something that the entire AusGarage team believes in and it is how we approach new campaigns and consistently deliver fantastic results. We run on a very simple strategy:

There are 3 key goals you want to achieve with the majority of marketing:

Trust, Reach and Engagement. All three aspects are equally as important and each one can be earned in a variety of different ways.

1. Trust – Show what your brand is made of
Trust is that warm and fuzzy feeling you get from a business – where you honestly believe that the business will do everything they can to help you in your purchase. It is what builds loyalty to a brand and what makes you recommend it to your friends. Inevitably trust is what allows millions of people every day to purchase items and services sight unseen from websites and over the phone.

From a marketing point, your brand builds trust through multiple areas. Your physical premises, whether it be a workshop, parts warehouse or an office. How your physical location presents does a lot for consumer confidence. Just as important is your website. Even if your business is not based online, your website is the virtual face of your business and needs to be at or above the standard of the rest of your branding.

Best Mediums for Trust: Branded premises, Website, Consistent Branding

2. Reach – Hit your target audience
Reach is generally the first thought when business owners look at advertising their product/service – “How many people are going to see the ad?”. It is also one of the most misunderstood areas when it comes to marketing and advertising.  Reach is crucial to any successful campaign. You could have the Prime Minister sinking a beer while endorsing your brand and it wouldn’t matter if it doesn’t reach the right audience. Reach however only matters if you have the right content and sales funnel to engage your audience and deliver a clear brand message. While a video going “viral” is great, you can’t just stick your brand and the end of a funny cat video and expect that to drive viewers to purchase your product. (unless your business sells funny cat videos, in that case disregard the last comment).

There are two main ways to achieve reach. One is paid media, you purchase a magazine page, radio spots, promoted social media posts. You are paying to use the reach of that particular medium. That is why publications sell advertising based on number of visitors, readers, subscribers etc.

The other is earned media. This is the tricky one, the one that every business owner wants to achieve. It offers the prospect of a massive audience for little outlay in purchasing advertising space. This can definitely be achieved, it is however not a game of certainty. Importance needs to be placed on generating exciting genuine and entertaining content. If that ad is then put in the hands of those who operate your large blogs, social media pages and websites, with a little luck it can deliver amazing results. This really comes down to the agency you use and their ability to create amazing content and utilise their contact list for distribution.

Best Mediums for Reach: Social Media, Print Adverts, Sponsorship, Radio/TV, Google Adwords

3. Engagement – Get to know your brand

Engagement takes reach to the next level. Once your message is in front of your audience you want them to react. Engagement helps your business sell products, learn from your audience and build your customer base. There is nothing stronger than brand recommendations from someone the consumer trusts. Testimonials have always been the tried and tested way to show this recommendation.

With the current dominance of social media there are numerous new and effective ways to achieve this. Every time someone comments, likes or shares something relating to your brand they are in effect recommending it to their friends. The more a consumer interacts with your brand, the more brand loyalty they are likely to build and this plays a major part when it comes to the point of purchase.

Lastly, it is always a great idea to get out and in front of new potential clientele at trade and exhibition events. Events provide a perfect opportunity for people to get to know the business outside of the office/garage, and allows for a concentrated and targeted audience to discover your brand or product.

Best Mediums for Engagement: Consistent Social Media Posts, Trade Displays, Competitions

Whatever your marketing style, if you are consistently addressing all 3 aspects of the Successful Marketing Triangle then you can rest assured your brand will continue to grow and reap in the benefits of effective marketing.

Need help developing an effective marketing strategy? Do not hesitate to contact AusGarage and organise a meeting with us today.