Before you make any steps towards opening or growing your self-employment business, one of the first things you must do is create a marketing strategy. Marketing is all about communicating the value of your business to customers. In order to do this, every business needs to create a strategy that communicates their message clearly and consistently across several channels which complement each other. For many, especially those with no marketing experience, this can be a challenge. It doesn’t have to be as complicated as it seems, however. Follow these six simple steps to create a marketing strategy that works for your self-employment business:
- Define your mission | Every business has a mission. Your mission is the essence of what your business’s overall goals are and the values behind them. Before you can start bringing together your marketing strategy, you must understand and define your business’s mission. This is the basis for the marketing message you will create and spread across all channels. In order for that messaging to be consistent, you need to have a clear understanding of who you are and what you are trying to accomplish.
- Set your goals | Once you have identified your mission, you can set specific marketing goals to aim for. What is it that you want to accomplish with your marketing strategy? Do you want to increase sales? Build awareness? Create a brand personality? These goals should always be measurable and in some way quantifiable so that you can determine if you are on track to attaining them.
- Identify what you are selling | Create a list of products and services you are selling and what price you are selling them for. This is important to determining the value of each offering and identifying which targets and channels different messages will be directed to.
- Target who you are selling to and why | After you identify what you are selling, you must determine who you are selling it to. Do your research and test the market. Your target customers are those that find the most value out of what you are trying to sell. Your marketing message should be tailored to communicate to these individuals based on their interests, values, and needs.
- Outline how you are going to reach them | Not all marketing communication strategies are created equal. How effective your marketing messaging is depends largely on how well you understand the market. When developing your marketing strategy, think carefully if the techniques you choose are the best for reaching your target customer and that the channels you pick are appropriate. For example, a self-employed accountant targeting middle-aged men probably wouldn’t use Pinterest.
- Track and Measure | One of the most important steps in creating a marketing strategy is to create a plan for tracking and measuring your success. Success is not a destination, but a path. In order to stay on that path, you need to continuously be tracking your progress and making adjustments along the way. The more effective you are at measuring your success, the better the results of your marketing strategy will be.