3 SECRETS TO SMALL BUSINESS

MARKETING SUCCESS Stop wasting money chasing

the wrong prospects down a rabbit hole

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CHEAT SHEET --------

THE 3 SECRETS REVEALED: Secret # 1: Segmentation

Secret # 2: Personas Secret # 3: Positioning

WHAT IS A BRAND-LED, MARKET INFORMED BUSINESS? A brand-led, market-informed business will always lead to more profitable results, hands-down. Rapidly changing technology and immediate connectivity have dramatically changed customer expectations and how they engage with brands and the companies behind them. People are now able to interact with brands in ways that suit them, when it suits them. They quickly form impressions and opinions of your brand, your business and your competitors, well before they’ve connected with you directly.

Customers also have a voice across their social networks. With the power and pervasiveness of social media, online opinions matter in deciding your brand’s real-world reality. So, how do brands cut-through all that clutter?

Building a brand-led, market-informed business is crucial in safeguarding your business’ future against constant change, increasing complexity and market turbulence.

However, these days, marketing for small business is not just about the look of the brand, – the logo, fonts, and colours that make up a brand’s visual identity. It’s not even about building a website or acquiring Facebook fans and Instagram followers. It’s also not about SEO, PPC, or the myriad other marketing channels, which can be used to promote your brand or generate traffic to your website.

In the face of limited resources and conflicting priorities, spending money on marketing is of limited value until you can build a rock-solid brand that helps to strengthen your return on marketing investment.

Because well-crafted brands that mean something to your target audience create loyal customers. These, in turn, generate higher revenue and a greater return on your marketing investment. This helps you focus your spend more cost-effectively on the right marketing programs, rather than wasting money chasing the wrong prospects down a rabbit hole.

There are no short cuts. But there are 3 secrets that you can apply RIGHT NOW to make positive difference to your small business marketing success.

The brand DNA is the lynchpin that translates these secrets into real world business success.

Simply put, the brand DNA comprises the building blocks that make up the brand. It’s a summary of what the brand stands for.

To build a winning brand DNA you must clearly identify and articulate your segmentation, personas and positioning. The brand DNA is an excellent navigational tool. It helps to guide actions within your business, and communications to your customers, ensuring they are aligned to deliver on what you promise.

BRAND DNA VISION

The core reason your business exists, the role and impact you want to have in the world (beyond making money)

TARGET AUDIENCE The situation or person for which

your brand is the best choice COMPETITORS

The alternative choices as perceived by your customers

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

The products or services you sell, and how you provide those products or

services in a way that meets your customer’s

needs and pain points

BENEFITS

These are key differentiators that motivate your buyers

to choose your brand over your competitors. Proves and supports your

point of difference

VALUE PROPOSITION Distils the brand’s essence into one clear thought. It should be

easy to recognise in every aspect and activity of the brand

POSITIONING A clear definition of how the brand will be perceived by

the target audience we wish to attract. The brand positioning must be important to your customers, credible from

the brand to claim, and different to competitors

VALUE

What the brand stands for

PERSONALITY

How the brand behaves

TONE OF VOICE

How the brand speaks

MISSION Describes the nature of the business you are in,

i.e. what you do and how you do it

SECRET # 1 SEGMENTATION

Segmentation Template A good segmentation means that you need to name the segments of interest to you, have an idea of the size of that segment, the kind of revenue the segment will provid you with and how to grow the segment i.e. what challenges does that segment have and how can your brand provide a solution?

SECRET # 2 PERSONAS

Persona Template Build your personas with your core team – product managers, sales, marketing even HR. Remember that a good persona is all about bringing a segment or audience to life so you can target them with products or services that fit their needs or solve their problems and ensure any marketing messages talk specifically to them.

SECRET # 3 POSITIONING

Positioning Statement Good positioning reflects sound strategic thinking. It succinctly expresses the way you want customers to think and feel about your brand. It’s the “perceptual spot” that you want to occupy in the customer’s mind relative to the competition.

Positioning is a clear definition of how the brand will be perceived by the target audience we wish to attract. The brand positioning must be important to your customers, credible for the brand to claim, and different to competitors. The format for the statement is important because it covers the four most important things that customers want to know about a brand.

TO… Description of target market (Who uses the brand?)

BRAND IS THE…

Competitive frame of reference (The group of products/ market segment that the brand is a part of)

THAT… Point of difference (What is unique about the brand that distinguishes it from its competition?)

BECAUSE… The proof substantiating your benefit (Why is it believable?)

PROTIPS 1. Targeting everyone “just in case” (FOMO) is a waste of effort and money.

2. You need to know how your customers think and behave, as well as where they live and how old they are – just because they might share the same age, gender, ethnicity, income or place of residence does NOT mean they will use the same kind of technology, drive the same car, eat the same food, or use the same kinds of health care products.

3. Don’t guess who your customers are. The single best investment you can make in terms of time and money is research.

4. Not uniquely claiming what sets your brand apart from the competition is a losing choice.

5. Your positioning should be quickly and easily understood by your target audience. Avoid overcomplicating your value proposition.

If you want the secrets of small business success applied to your business, but it seems like a lot of work and you don’t have the time or inclination, we understand. We love this stuff and we love helping businesses succeed! Get in touch and let’s talk. We would love to hear from you!

Ruby Cha Cha: info@rubychacha.com.au Lumiverse: hello@lumiverse.com.au