Marketing is a vital element of any SME’s operation—especially if you’re just starting out.
Marketing is a way to get your name out there, reel in new customers, convert browsers to buyers, and build a core of loyal customers who will sustain your business through thick and thin.
All in all, marketing is worth doing—and it’s worth doing well. But of course, marketing comes with its fair share of challenges, not least the fact that it can be expensive.
Many SME owners are willing to grit their teeth and pay top dollar for great marketing. After all,, marketing campaigns can have fantastic ROI in terms of profit generated. That said, if you’re concerned about cash flow, it’s worth trying to make your marketing as cost-effective as possible.
With the right marketing strategies and the best software to back you up, it’s possible to make your campaigns more efficient without spending too much. You can generate significant campaign results for relatively little outlay through clever, targeted tactics and consistent engagement with your user base.
How? Let’s take a look.
Partner with Influencers & Brand Ambassadors
In terms of marketing efficiency, influencer marketing has a massive advantage over branded posts. Why? Influencers have incredible reach and committed followers who trust their recommendations.
The best influencers are also adept at digital storytelling, enabling them to create compelling, engaging content that resonates with audiences.
That said, it’s essential that you approach the right influencer to be your brand ambassador. Pick someone likely to appeal to your target customers.
To do this, dig into your customer metrics and establish what (and who) your customers will likely find engaging, informative, or simply entertaining. Go through your marketing data, CRM, and customer service records to better understand who your customers are and what they want.
It’s also worth investing in an ERP system, as this can connect all your data repositories, making it significantly easier to collect, collate, and understand your customer’s activity in a meaningful way. You can then use what you’ve learned to pinpoint the perfect influencer for your brand and which products they should focus on.
Encourage Training & Upskilling
Your staff is your best resource—and a more efficient marketing team means more efficient marketing.
Training and upskilling may seem expensive, but it’s worth the investment. A talented, well-trained marketing team can exponentially boost your marketing ROI.
Conducting training shouldn’t be a one-off, either. Marketing is constantly evolving. So marketers need to have their fingers firmly pressed on the pulse of industry trends and events.
Regular retraining and upskilling will keep your marketers up-to-date with current marketing trends. This, in turn, will enable them to work at the cutting edge of their industry.
Focus on SEO
SEO is a highly efficient, cost-effective way to boost your business’s online presence. You can get to the top of Google’s search rankings with relative ease by using an effective SEO strategy.
It’s a simple equation: as Google is often the first place people turn to when looking for a product or service, the more Googlable your business is, the more leads you will bring in.
To boost your SEO, you need to think about the following:
- Producing high-quality content
- Engaging with online audiences
- Having a solid, reputable online presence
- Keeping your social media updated
- Using keywords in your online content
- Staying on top of algorithm changes and SEO trends
Partner with Complementary Businesses
Building a network is a fantastic way to establish your brand without chewing into your marketing budget.
If you can find a business that complements your own, partnering with them for content campaigns and other messages could be a win-win situation.
For example, let’s say you’re in the business of selling cookware. A company that produces or sells cooking ingredients could be a fantastic partner. Together, you could produce recipe blog posts, video tutorials, and culinary tips featuring your cookware and their ingredients, all for relatively little cost.
You can then post this content across your brand’s platforms and theirs, doubling your reach in a single stroke.
Again, businesses you partner with must be relevant to your own. For example, if your cookware company partners with an art supplies store, customers will struggle to see the connection between the two. After all, art enthusiasts aren’t heading to a creative blog for cooking tips, nor will your customers expect to find painting tutorials on your social media channels!
With that in mind, look for businesses with a customer base likely to be interested in your products and vice versa.
Foster User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) can make a big impact.
A good UGC campaign can simultaneously send engagement levels through the roof, boost brand/customer relationships, and vastly increase your reach.
Let’s take a look at a simple, but very successful, example.
In 2022, Shakira released a track with the Black Eyed Peas. Having been out of the mainstream eye for a while and wanting to make a huge comeback, Shakira generated a buzz about this new track by calling on fans old and new.
Her #girllikeme challenge invited TikTokkers to recreate the complex dance from the ‘Girl Like Me’ music video. Unable to resist, TikTok exploded with dance videos. In response, Shakira posted compilations of the best, most inventive, most amusing, and most relatable on her Instagram account.
The upshot was that the track gained a huge boost in plays and popularity. In addition, the hashtag had nearly 500 million views, and Shakira was catapulted back into the mainstream media.
You may not be Shakira, but you can still create a memorable, wide-reaching marketing campaign by encouraging UGC challenges, hashtags, and so on.
Think about how you can challenge customers to get creative with your products and share the results, whether it’s fun ways to reuse packaging or funny photos of pets using your product.
Contests are also a great way of incentivizing users to create content. The price of awarding a prize is worth the ROI of a successful UGC campaign.
Repurpose or Update Old Campaigns
You don’t want to churn out the same old ideas. But at the same time, there is little point in changing a winning formula just for the sake of it.
If an ongoing campaign is working well, keep using it. If a particular message or campaign worked well in the past, freshen it up and reuse it.
Even if you can’t recycle them, old campaigns are a great resource. Historic campaign data can offer useful insights about what does and doesn’t resonate with your customers.
If you want to be thorough, you should compare your campaign data with historical customer and sales data. This will give you a more in-depth analysis and help you to pinpoint why specific campaigns were successful.
To do this, make use of tools like cloud ERP software. This will give you access to the data you need, but also, as it’s a cloud-based solution, it will allow anyone on the team to access data from anywhere.
In this way, the marketing team can easily cross-reference campaign data with metrics like customer satisfaction, conversion rate, and complaints. It’s also beneficial for collaborating with other departments in real-time, so you can access historical data to make better decisions, even if you’re on the go.
But, it is important to be proactive about this. Simply churning out the same old campaigns because they worked once isn’t going to cut it.
Customer tastes change quickly. So, even if you feel that a campaign is still as relevant and engaging as before, it’s still essential that you update it for today’s market.
Utilize Referral Marketing
This is often confused with word-of-mouth marketing and UGC marketing. While there is some overlap between the three, referral marketing is different enough to deserve its own category.
Referral marketing directly incentivizes the customer to bring in new customers. In a typical example, a brand will offer customers a reward—often cashback, a gift card, discount, or free gift—if they persuade a friend to sign up for your service.
It’s worth noting that referral marketing is more common for businesses offering services rather than selling products. These businesses need customers to actively sign up for an ongoing brand/customer relationship rather than simply purchasing a new product whenever needed. However, it can work for product vendors as well.
To make sure customers are properly rewarded for referrals, set up a referral link system. When someone signs up using a customer’s referral link, your ERP software or other system will automatically note the details so everyone gets their referral bonus.
Efficient marketing campaigns don’t have to be expensive. Through careful planning, clear customer insights, an effective ERP system, and clever strategizing, you can run great campaigns with brilliant ROI, for very little initial outlay.
Digital channels offer huge opportunities to leverage your network and engage your customer base in brand-building ways without breaking the bank.
Sure, you get what you pay for in terms of staff, graphics, and so on. But marketing efficiency is more about knowing where and when to deploy that money. It’s about being strategic and insightful, rather than hoping that money will talk.
With the right approach, you can achieve a high degree of marketing efficiency and fantastic ROI—and you don’t have to increase marketing spend to do it.
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The post How SMEs Can Improve Marketing Efficiency within Budget appeared first on DigitalMarketer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the five important factors of motivation in entrepreneur?
Motivation is the key to success. It is the key to success. We wouldn't exist without it.
Motivational psychology is the study and analysis of human behavior when motivated. Motivation can make us do amazing things. It is also evident that our motivation is limited.
These five motivational factors are essential:
- Autonomy - The freedom to choose
- Mastery is the ability or capability to master certain skills
- Purpose - the sense of purpose
- Relatedness - the feeling of belonging
- Reciprocity, the desire to give and receive
These motivators might seem to be applicable to your business. However, each perspective is a little different about why people do what they do.
A person may desire autonomy because he wants freedom and control over his life. Or he might want to mastery because he wants more skill at his job.
So on. These are just a few of the possible motivations. There are countless others. What are the most appropriate for your particular situation? It all depends on you.
I would recommend writing down three words that describe your ideal job environment to help you determine this. Then take those same words and apply them to your current working conditions.
If you find it difficult to think of ideas, try asking yourself this question: "Why are I doing this?" You will find your goals when you know the answer.
Once you understand what you want, then you can figure out where your current position is. And this knowledge can help to decide whether you should make changes.
If you don't want to change anything, then it's time to evaluate your options.
If you want to make changes, you need to think of ways to motivate you.
Which motivator will be most effective? It's hard to say. Instead of focusing on one factor, try focusing on all five.
This will enable you to reach your ultimate goal: being a successful entrepreneur.
How do entrepreneurs motivate their employees?
Motivation can come from any source. Motivation can come from anywhere. Motivation is important for every business, regardless of whether it's a stick or carrot approach.
The more motivated employees feel, the better they will perform. If you want a team that performs better, give them the tools to feel empowered and engaged.
It is important to make sure they feel valued. They should feel encouraged to grow and learn. A place where they can freely share their ideas without fear of punishment.
A company culture that allows them to thrive and succeed. That's how you keep your most talented employees happy, satisfied, and productive.
You need to recognize the behaviors that make you successful in order to maintain a culture. This means bonuses when goals are met, offering training opportunities, increasing pay raises, and providing perks such as health insurance.
You also need to provide clear direction and communication. Ensure everyone knows what's expected of them and why.
Make sure your policies and procedures are written down and communicated. Assure that there is someone who can ensure they are adhered to.
Communication is key. Make sure your team is informed about the latest happenings in the company. Let them know what's happening and what's next.
Communication is vital. Looking after your team is the best way for you to stay ahead of the game. They will take great care of you.
If you don't build a strong relationship with your employees, it could be costly. Research shows that employees who are engaged with their work have higher productivity and profitability than those who struggle for top performers.
It's important that employees understand that they don't all want to work at the exact same pace. Some people prefer to work alone, while others enjoy working in teams. Each person can be motivated in different ways, so it is up to you which one works for you.
Some may be more inclined to accept recognition than others. Whatever works for your company, ensure that it is consistent with its goals.
As the leader, you are responsible for setting the tone. Open-mindedness is key. Listen to the team. Don't forget to listen.
Why is motivation important for an entrepreneur?
When we feel lost or stuck, motivation is what propels us forward. Motivation gives us the courage to face our fears, and makes decisions that may seem impossible or risky.
Motivation is also key to success. When we lack motivation, we become lazy, unmotivated, unproductive, and ultimately unsuccessful.
The key to unlocking your potential is to find ways to motivate yourself. You need to find a way of staying motivated every day.
Think of it as a muscle. The harder you exercise it the stronger it gets. It starts to weaken and atrophy if it isn’t exercised.
Entrepreneurs who are self-motivated are some of the most successful. They set goals, plan how they'll achieve them, then follow through.
But there are times when you may need help staying motivated. These three steps will keep you motivated.
Step 1) Get inspired. Find an example of someone who inspires. Someone who is already achieving the things you dream of.
Step 2: Establish small goals. Make sure that each goal is reachable. Focus on the next step rather than the ultimate result. You can reach big goals quicker by breaking them into smaller pieces.
Step 3. Reward yourself. Give yourself rewards when you've completed your goals. You don't need a reward to be material. It could be as simple as taking the time to do something that you enjoy.
Motivation is a choice. Choose to be happy, choose to be successful, choose to live life abundantly.
So if you want to change your life, start today. Start by deciding to change. The next step is to take action. Get started now on your journey to living the life you desire.
Which 6 questions are most motivating for entrepreneurs?
For any business, motivation is key. You can't motivate yourself to get out of bed each and every day. You'll have trouble completing projects without motivation. Without motivation, it's impossible to reach your goals. How do we find our inspiration?
You may wonder, "What motivates my mind?" It might surprise you to find out the answer. You may have been asking yourself the same question for years. You are missing one of the greatest rewards of life--the chance to discover your motivation.
Discovering why you are there is the best motivation. This is when you realize what drives your actions. You are more clear about your purpose and it becomes more meaningful. What is your purpose? You'll be more motivated if you can figure this out.
Look within to find your motivation. These questions will help you find your motivation.
- What am I passionate about?
- What makes my heart beat so fast?
- What's the thing that makes me happy?
- What gives me butterflies in my stomach?
- What makes me feel alive?
- What motivates you to come back to your work again and again.
Once you know the answers to your questions, you will be able identify your true motivations.
Motivation will be your strength through difficult times. It will give you strength when you need it. It will make you work harder. It will motivate you to succeed.
And if you're like me, you'll never stop wanting to know what your motivation is.
Take some time to reflect on what motivates you. You might be surprised by what you discover.
Which is your most motivating thing in life?
Do you want to know my top motivations? Let me tell you. It is the best motivator in my life to make people feel better. To make them feel amazing because they are. That they are worthy of love, because they are.
That they deserve happiness, because they do.
I'm here to remind people that there is nothing more important than feeling great about yourself. Nothing. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to find out how we can change our world for the better.
Feeling good about yourself makes us more open-minded, compassionate and kind to others. We stop judging each other based on superficiality and instead start seeing the person inside, which is really cool.
Showing someone that you already have everything you need is the best way for them to be motivated.
They may not have realized it yet, but that's why they've been struggling with something for so long. They knew that deep down they had the power within to heal themselves.
All they required was the right environment, the correct support system, and a positive mindset. But somehow they lost sight of that.
It's not hard to see why they lost it. Because they were too busy trying figure out what the problem was. They tried to fix it as fast as possible, not realizing they had all the tools necessary to do so.
They didn't realize they were the ones who had the answer.
So I am here to remind you that you have the ability to create an entirely new reality. It is easy to tap into your inner genius.
All will be well once you do that. It will be a joy to realize your dreams.
You see, I believe that every single human being has access to their own unique superpower.
Only we have to know how to use it.
What motivates entrepreneurs?
Passion drives us. However, we are driven by passion and a strong desire to create meaningful things that make a real difference. To make a significant difference in our lives and the lives of those we love.
To give back. To help others. To leave a mark.
We love it. Because we feel called to live life fully, and have success in the things that matter most.
We are driven by a sense of purpose and mission that can never be fulfilled through money alone.
This is where the key lies in combining business with pleasure. Entrepreneurship becomes more than a job.
Entrepreneur success is what I am passionately interested in. My goal is for them to be financially free and have a lasting impact in the world.
I'm living proof of the fact that creating value is the best. Sharing your knowledge and expertise with others.
It's more than enough to make a product or service great. First, you must understand your customers. What they are looking for.
It will make you a better marketer and help you improve your product. And therefore, you'll always provide more value.
If you can offer more value, customers will come back. And if you gain more customers, you will sell more products and services. Plus, you'll generate more revenue if your products and services are more popular. And if you generate more revenue, you will eventually become financially independent.
Money is not everything. It's just the means to an end. It's not the goal in and of itself.
It is not enough to focus on money if your goal is to live a full and happy life. You must also focus on making a positive impact. Contributing. Contributing. It is creating something of value. Something unique. You can add meaning to others' lives and your own.
Entrepreneurship requires risk-taking. But it doesn't mean having any rules. It is about being flexible. Adapting. Adjusting. Improving.
You can succeed as long as you remain true to yourself, uphold your values, and keep your integrity.
Entrepreneurship is a calling. A vocation. A chance to make a difference. To build wealth. To create history.
You will be your best self when you embrace all these aspects.
You will not be stopped.
Statistics
- I shifted my motivational point from something huge (and undefined) to improve by just 1% each day. (carolroth.com)
- “If you look to lead, invest at least 40% of your time managing yourself – your ethics, character, principles, purpose, motivation, and conduct. (americanexpress.com)
- “Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know. (americanexpress.com)
- “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” (oberlo.com)
- Invest at least 30% managing those with authority over you and 15% managing your peers.” (americanexpress.com)
External Links
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- This inspiring quote Jeff Bezos keeps in his fridge
- Billionaire Richard Branson: These are my top 10 tips for success
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How To
What are five motivational factors for entrepreneurs?
The main motivation for entrepreneurs is to achieve financial independence. Because they want control over their destiny, entrepreneurs are motivated to become financially independent. They want to be able to provide for their family and themselves.
They also feel motivated by the desire for helping others. Many people who run successful businesses don't do it to make a lot of money, but rather for charitable reasons.
Apart from these factors, there are many other motivations.
- Passion - To succeed, you must love what you do. If you don't enjoy what you do, why would anyone else?
- Vision – A vision represents a mental image of where you would like to be. When we dream, we imagine ourselves there. Dreaming can make us feel fulfilled because we know that our dreams are possible.
- Courage - Do not fear failure; face it head-on. While failure is inevitable, it doesn't mean you have to fail. Although success is not guaranteed, it is possible to achieve your goals if you keep moving forward.
- Belief – Believe in yourself. You can't allow doubt to stop you from achieving what you want. Fear is often the cause of doubt. Fear keeps us stuck in our comfort zone. So break out of your comfort zone and move towards your goals.
- Persistence - Keep going even though the odds seem stacked against you. Everyone fails sometimes. Keep trying, and eventually you'll reach your goal.
Did you miss our previous article...
https://consumernewsnetwork.com/technology-news/the-unbeatable-power-of-a-thriving-community-for-your-business
