I was recently talking with a new business coaching client who has struggled to scale their marketing efforts over the past few years. They have had some big wins and some losses, but for the most part they have remained rather stagnant. And they weren’t really sure what steps they should take to get to the next level. So, I shared with them some of my favorite questions to ask to find out where to spend your time and energy in the marketing department and what to leave behind. And today, I wanted to share those questions with you.
Having worked with business owners for the past 25 years, I can tell you that many times the business owner thinks that they know the answer to the questions below. They know the ins and outs of their business, and they think that they know the strengths and weaknesses. But often that comes with a healthy dose of bias. When you are so close to the situation, it is difficult to be impartial and look at things with a fresh set of eyes. Which is why hiring a business coach or having an outsider come in to interview your sales team as well as some of your upper managers is a great way to get an outsider perspective on the situation. You can then compile all the answers and put together a plan of attack to scale your marketing strategy.
Is it your referrals, your affiliate program, social media, Google ads? There are multiple ways that clients can initiate a relationship with you, and some are going to be better than others. As a business owner, you may be spending all your marketing time and money on Google ads because you think that they are the best way to get new clients, but your best sales might come from referrals or social media if you ask your sales team. And once you find that out, you may change the way you spend your marketing dollars and attention.
Once you identify what is working, you can focus on doing more of that. Instead of throwing money away on ad campaigns that don’t convert, or social media strategies that don’t get your customers attention, you may decide to scale your referrals with a formalized referral program. The key is to do more of what works and less of what isn’t.
Let’s say that social media is a big revenue driver for your business, and up to now you have been posting sporadically or whenever you find the time and energy to focus on the platform. After talking to your team, you realize that a large portion of your sales is coming from that platform and you want to scale. Set up a formalized calendar with clear dates and deliverables so that you can make it more of a priority. Since you have been able to free up energy and resources that were spent in other places, this should be more feasible as you grow.
Scaling marketing efforts and doing more of what is successful is always a worthwhile endeavor. By asking these three simple questions, you can get a better handle on just how to do that with your own business. Good luck!