Cindy has owned a successful flower shop on Chicago’s North side for over 10 years. For the most part, Cindy has been lucky that a good location and normal word of mouth have consistently driven customers to her shop eager to use her flower arrangement services. Lately though, Cindy has seen a significant drop in customers and can’t quite figure out what to do to keep sales up. Because Cindy has never had to do much to bring customers in, she’s at a loss for what to do next.
Too many businesses find themselves in the predicament that Cindy’s flower shop is in. The reality is that the world of commerce is changing rapidly, and to keep up, it’s important to change with the industry. Even if you, like Cindy, have gotten away without a well planned marketing strategy in the past, the future needs to be planned if you want to have any chance at success. At AlphaGraphics Chicago North, we really believe that there is no better time than now to start strategizing about your next move in marketing.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Identify your audience
“Isn’t my audience everyone?”, you say. Well, actually no. And the truth is that it can’t be. Any business that tells you that their target demographic is everyone, likely doesn’t have a successful marketing plan. Usually these folks are spending countless unnecessary dollars chasing after people who will never purchase their products or services. Another pitfall to not identifying your target audience is you end up with a “one-size fits none” marketing approach. Identifying the target first helps you hone in to potential customers that are most likely to use your products and services (tip: if you are having trouble with this step ask yourself “what are my current customers like?” 99% of the time, these are one in the same).
To use Cindy as an example, we decided her audience primarily consisted of young engaged couples, because of her fantastic wedding flower arrangements and interior decorators because so many interior design businesses were in her neighborhood. These two demographics accounted for 90% of her business. Determining this really helped us figure out the kind of messaging we wanted to send out to market Cindy’s business.
2. Let’s talk budget
Ugh. Do we have to? The reality is that many things are likely out of range. The truth is, that’s really okay. Having a clear picture about how much you have in your marketing budget can help you and your marketing team make crucial decisions about what to do next. They say that necessity breeds innovation, and that’s one of the reasons you see some of the best marketing campaigns operating on shoestring budgets. On the other end of the spectrum, having a clear idea of dollar amount can really open up possibilities and increase the number of channels you have with potential customers.
3. Don’t be an imitator, be an innovator
The lesson here is that marketing is rarely a simple answer. What works for one business or industry may not work for another. While learning from the successes and failures of others is certainly a skill of many great leaders, flat out imitation usually leads to eventual stagnation. That’s why we say innovation is the key. We believe marketing should be done on your toes, and your strategy should be constantly evolving to fit the specific needs of your business. Letting go of the copy cat mentality means allowing yourself to create a perfectly catered marketing strategy that’s right for you.
At AlphaGraphics Chicago North, our passion is seeing businesses grow. With a full range of marketing services to work alongside industry standard printing, we give Chicago businesses access to the total marketing package. We’d love to get started on a marketing strategy that works for your business. Get in touch today to get started.