If you’re one to make business resolutions for the new year, you’ve likely already named your growth goals for 2017.
Now, do you have a system in place to reach those goals?
We had the pleasure of chatting with Aaron Montgomery and Terry Combs on the 2 Regular Guys Podcast. The topic? How garment decorators can get serious about marketing in 2017 to grow their businesses. The result is 4 marketing resolutions all decorators should consider adopting in the new year.
Below we’ve shared some of the highlights. Want to hear the whole thing? Listen to the full podcast here!
Resolution #1: Commit to a marketing budget
How many times have you heard about a marketing technique and thought, “You know, I should really do that for my business,” yet it never happened?
This year, set aside some money just for marketing. Establish a budget that you must spend every month, whether it’s a fixed amount or percentage of sales. Not sure what to do with the money? Try getting started with Facebook ads. There are lots of free resources online to help you begin (here’s one).
Zero time to learn how to do ads? Seek out a specialist””a freelance marketer or consultant, or even a new team member. Marketing is what brings in new customers. When you invest well in marketing, it pays.
Resolution #2: Get into content and social media marketing the RIGHT way
So many business owners find social media impossible because it seems like a huge undertaking. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn””how is someone supposed to be active on all of them at once?
The reality is that you don’t need to be on all of them. In fact, you’re going to be far more effective if you focus in on just one or two.
Find a platform that works for you. If you’re looking for a recommendation, Facebook and Instagram are the go-to these days. Both of them have powerful paid advertising options (which are necessary to reach your followers effectively), and they’re both mainstream””meaning they’re widely recognized, used, and supported.
Now, when you post, focus on value. If someone’s following you, they already know who you are. Don’t sell to them 24/7! Instead, share useful articles, articles from your blog, videos, tips, and inspiration. Keep them entertained, and then you’ll earn the right to talk about your products.
Resolution #3: Understand and implement SEO
Here’s the bottom line: If someone is trying to sell you SEO that’ll land you on the front page of Google quickly, they’re either lying, or they don’t know what they’re talking about.
SEO is a long game. Google’s gotten rid of the loopholes and tricks that used to allow marketers to game the algorithm. Today, SEO is about focused, well-written content, and inbound links. That means if you want to get serious about SEO, it’s time to start crafting blog articles that your ideal audience would be interested in. Not a good writer? Add a specialist to your team, or try a different marketing technique altogether. Remember: You have to do what makes sense for you.
Resolution #4: Build up a rock-solid web presence
Your website is your identity. To the potential customer who comes upon it online, it’s all they have to go off of as they make the decision whether or not to buy from you.
So, is your website good?
There are two approaches that garment decorators tend to have when it comes to creating an online presence. The first is reactive””it’s a basic site that you put in place to fill the void. It might have an about page and FAQ, product list, and map to your physical location. It might even generate leads for you. But at the end of the day, it’s basically a business listing for the purpose of moving customers to the end destination: Your physical store.
In the other perspective, your website is the end destination. This is because it has the full capabilities to work as a sales tool, then process the sales and help you manage the orders.
Which one is yours?
In January, we’re launching an all-new InkSoft web store platform to make it even easier to create and maintain a solid, sales-oriented web presence. InkSoft is designed to help you sell and manage orders, and the new system will make it even easier. Curious what it’ll look like? Check out our sneak peek page!
