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5 Ways to Get a Jump-Start on Your 2021 Marketing Strategy

1/5/2021 | admin

What’s your marketing strategy for 2021?

The past 12 months gave many New Bern businesses challenges that they did not expect. Mandatory social distancing, more people shopping online, and an economic shutdown threw a huge proverbial wrench into the 2020 marketing plans of many. Right now is the perfect time to intelligently create a marketing strategy that will prepare your business for whatever 2021 has in store. Read on to learn more about five ways that you can get a jump-start on your marketing plan for the next 12 months.

Apply Lessons Learned

Almost every business in New Bern was affected by the economic shutdown and pandemic of 2020. While it’s too early to say if things will calm down in 2021, it’s not too early to apply the lessons your learned last year. For example, take a good hard look at your branding and see if it still represents your company’s core values. Things changed rapidly over the past 12 months, and your business most likely had to adapt in one or more ways. If your current branding is off-mark, take a few to refresh it, which will help set the stage for the coming year.

Who’s Your Target Audience?

You might want to take another look at your target audience as it could have significantly changed. Many New Bern businesses shifted their focus to a more profitable or sustainable target audience during the pandemic. Take the mandatory social distancing rules in North Carolina, for example. Many local businesses substantially changed the way they did business. Online ordering became more prevalent, and so did curbside pickup. Look at the sales data over the past year to determine who your biggest target audience was, and then focus on marketing to them in 2021. Customize your marketing outreach by speaking to their interests and values, and you’ll instill brand trust and loyalty.

Find Ways to Build More Trust

The amount of customer loyalty your business has is based directly upon how well they trust your brand. Your company has most likely attracted new customers thanks in part to the challenges of 2020. Now is the time to start strengthening those relationships and building more trust as these are the customers who can safely see you through another year of economic unknowns. Content Marketing is a great way to build trust and instill brand loyalty into new, current, and longtime customers. To do so, simply give your audience what they’re looking for. While that may sound like it’s easier said than done, take a few to look at your best and biggest customers and what they value most. You can do so via a survey, social media poll, and looking at your website’s analytics.

Incorporate Print

As paid online advertising costs continue to rise exponentially, incorporating printed materials into your 2021 marketing plan can help even the playing field. Think about how many of your competitors are focusing solely on digital marketing—how many of them are performing direct mail outreach? Sales brochures, catalogs, and business cards are just three of many different printed marketing materials you can use to increase sales and awareness. Unlike digital advertisements, which disappear the second someone navigates away from a web page, printed marketing materials are tangible and offer a much more significant impact.

Stay Agile

While every New Bern business owner is hoping for a “return to normal” in 2021, there’s no telling what is in store. This is why you should remain as flexible as possible in your marketing efforts, so in case we enter into another economic shutdown, you can react swiftly and intelligently. You’ll need to adapt to any changes that occur, and that might mean revisiting your marketing plan at the start of every single month to ensure that you’re remaining on track in conjunction with the current economic conditions. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help—at AlphaGraphics of New Bern, we’ve helped many local businesses ride the tide of 2020 through our printing, marketing, and sign services.

Marketing Help in New Bern

Get a head start on the new year by taking a long hard look at your marketing plan for the next 12 months. Pay close attention to who your target audience is and work hard to build relationships and trust. This will allow you to ride the proverbial tide and land new clients or customers. If you’d like to learn more about the marketing services we can provide, give us a call. To learn more about how AlphaGraphics of New Bern can produce and design your next project, you may email us, request a quote, or call us at (252) 633-3199.

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