Have you put together a marketing strategy or marketing plan for your small business? If you haven’t why not? Perhaps you think it’s not relevant for a small business such as yours? Perhaps you just haven’t had the time? Or perhaps you don’t know where to start.

If you think a marketing strategy isn’t relevant for your small business then think again because it most definitely is! A marketing strategy is relevant to ALL businesses whether you are a solopreneur, a small business or a multi-national corporation. After all, if you don’t market your business, how are your ideal clients going to find you?

What is a marketing strategy?

To give a basic overview… A marketing strategy is a document shaped by a company’s business goals. It’s the WHAT, WHO and WHY surrounding your business. You need to know these areas first in order to define how you are going to market your small business.

Is a marketing strategy the same as a marketing plan?

Most definitely not. Simply put, your marketing strategy focuses on WHAT you want to achieve in your business and a marketing plan details HOW you’ll achieve those goals.

So why do I need a marketing strategy?

As mentioned above, in order to attract your ideal clients and therefore grow your business, you need a marketing strategy. Your marketing strategy can be as basic or as detailed as you like but it should contain some important elements…

Firstly, WHY you’re in business. What are your business goals?

Secondly, WHAT are your packages and pricing? One of the most common issues freelancers face is how to package and price their services. I have an entire lesson along with worksheets helping you work out your packages and pricing for your small business.

Lastly, WHO is your ideal client? Hopefully if you have a business that is up and running, you are spending some time on marketing activity for your business. However, do you know if it’s working? Are you attracting the right type of clients? Are you attracting any clients at all? With social media at everyone’s fingertips these days, it’s easy to set-up a Twitter account, a Facebook page and an Instagram profile but then how do you know what content to post? How do you know how frequently you need to post? How do you know that your ideal clients are even on the social media platforms that you are on and if they are, how do you know if you are reaching them.

This brings me to my next question, do you know who your ideal client is? Do you have a profile in mind of the type of clients you want to target?