We’ve almost reached the end of Q1 2024, and most companies have a plan for the year that should include their marketing operations as well. So, as an SMB, let’s review the list of marketing tactics that will help make your brand stand out and generate business.
The first order of business is to have clear goals on how you want to scale your company. What is your projected revenue? How many customers do you want to end the year with? What is the Y-o-Y growth target? Once you have answered these questions, you can formulate a marketing strategy and monitor performance with relevant metrics.
Let’s Talk Basic
Let’s get down to the marketing plan for 2024. That starts with a deeper look at four basic elements—tech, people, strategy, and budget.
Tech
Tech is the easiest of all the goals. Most companies employ tech stacks to help with basic digital marketing. However, you must implement tools that help oversee your marketing efforts to see overall progress. By that, I mean your tech stack should work with one another for the most part, and you should ideally have one place to monitor all your progress.
A basic suite of tools for any SMB should have design software, a social media business manager, a CRM, an SEO analytics tool, and your website. I can’t stress enough the importance of CRM. Most SMBs do not invest in a CRM early on, and when they grow, they spend too much time doing catch-up. Platforms like HubSpot offer a free plan with limited features that work best for SMBs to try out before they are ready to invest. Now, when it comes to your website, the cost varies with the platform you use, the plugins you need to run for your company, and the agency you use to build your website. There is no prescriptive approach to this, and it all depends on the designer or agency you choose.
People
Moving to people, most SMBs have a mix of freelancers, employees, and contractors. Do not take a shortcut when you are looking to build your team. Your marketing efforts will only be as good as the people you hire. At the very least, you need someone to write relevant content for you (NOT ONLY AI), a designer for your creatives and website, and a marketing generalist who manages your marketing operations and monitors progress.
Strategy
Marketing strategy is the one aspect that is almost always overlooked. Most founders have a limited knowledge of marketing beyond social and digital performance. Let me put it this way: the fundamental definition of Marketing, defined by dictionary.com, is “the activity or business of promoting and selling products and services, including market research and advertising”. Here is an interesting article on the HubSpot blog that gives a quick overview of marketing.
Let us not confuse Marketing Strategy with Marketing Plans. Marketing Strategy will define all the plans you create over a period of time to achieve your goals. A marketing plan is a tactical framework designed to meet the objectives of your marketing strategy. A marketing strategy should have the following components,
- Know Your Audience – Target, Segment and Position
- Marketing Mix – Define your channels
- Marketing Goals – Identify your goals
- Marketing Budget – How much can you spend?
- Competitor Research – How is your competition doing?
- Messaging – Strategize your content
- KPIs – Measure your performance
Creating a comprehensive marketing strategy involves doing the research and identifying achievable goals to set for your company. Having a CMO or strategist on board makes this task easy. As the founder or CXO of a brand, your marketing strategist will be your best friend. He or she will be the person who weaves a compelling story around your brand, speak your language, and translate your ideas for your audience.
Budget
It’s time we address the elephant in the room – the budget. If we look at the news, we often hear of sky-high marketing budgets and companies that have gone under despite the extra-large marketing spend. Let me say this simply: investing 50% of your revenue in marketing does not guarantee the success of your brand. Investing 0% will probably lead to failure as well. A middle path is needed where companies spend time ideating what they want to achieve, and marketing teams implement intelligent programs to hit those targets.
As the founder or CXO of an SMB, you need to explore avenues and set goals for all your teams, marketing included. It is also your responsibility to empower your teams to achieve those goals.
Your marketing team’s budget should encompass expenses for your tech stack, personnel, and digital presence. While you might manage with a modest investment in your tech tools (even resorting to spreadsheets for a low-tech approach), it’s important not to skimp on people. Expenses tied to digital initiatives such as advertising vary based on your chosen platforms. Prioritize thorough market research to devise an effective strategy, and ensure you have capable individuals to implement and oversee your campaigns. The precise number for your budget hinges on factors such as your objectives, industry, target demographic, and more. There’s no universal guideline in this regard.
Getting Started
This blog only scratches the surface of everything marketing should do for you. I recommend exploring all the avenues available to you before you invest. There are a lot of recommendations, blogs, articles, and courses out there that talk about the different aspects of marketing.
It is easier still to hire a Fractional CMO or a strategist to help you get off the ground quickly. At Awama, we value strategy, and we understand the importance of creating a compelling narrative around a brand. Drop us a note if you want to level up your marketing game this year.
