The key to a successful marketing campaign is setting clear objectives. Most companies know they should conduct marketing, but are unsure which direction they should head towards.
Setting clear, realistic, and measurable goals is the first step to marketing stardom, but the work doesn’t stop there.
Once you’ve defined your objectives you need a marketing strategy that will push you towards your milestones.
To help you on this journey we’ve compiled a list of common marketing goals and objectives, and their corresponding strategies
Navigate the goals using the links below, or start with ‘build your brand’ if you’re unsure which path to take.
1. Build your brand
2. Generate white hot leads
3. Educate the market on what you offer
4. Upsell existing customers
5. All of the above
1. Building your brand
Brand building often comes down to familiarity. In social psychology, the mere exposure theory posits that people tend to develop preferences for things they are familiar with. Decades of research has established that the more we are exposed to something the more positively we feel towards it. This theory is often used in advertising, allowing brands to improve the way they are perceived by customers.
If your objective is to build your brand you want your potential customer to see your message as many times and in as many mediums as possible. Reaching your target market in print, through digital media, and on social media platforms is the key to creating a lasting impression.
2. Generate white hot leads
Actionable leads don’t come for free. Our inboxes are being stuffed with discount codes, company updates and special promotions, which is making us more selective about who we share our personal data with. This means that if we want a lead to give over their contact details we must offer something valuable in return (and no, a free pen doesn’t cut it nowadays I’m afraid).
Whitepapers and eBooks are a great way to use your industry-specific knowledge to create valuable content. Potential customers are often willing to exchange their email addresses, phone numbers and more for a high-quality piece of free content.
3. Educate the market on what you offer
Communicating the purpose and value of your product is particularly important when you’ve just launched something new, if there are industry leaders with inferior products but a majority market share, or if your business provides an alternative to the status quo. However, to woo a potential customer takes more than just a product description. A company may have a need for your product, but are unaware your solution is out there. Simply telling your customer ‘we’re here’ can have also have little impact on your target market.
There is no better way to demonstrate value and establish a relationship with your target market than with a solid content strategy. Think: ‘What problem is my potential customer trying to solve and what would they Google to solve it?’. Then, aim to produce content around that topic.
4. Upsell existing customers
Congratulations! You’ve won a customer. You have additional products that you think are a good fit for their business, but you don’t want to spoil a good relationship by pushing too hard on the sales front. Fear not, there are some great techniques available for showcasing your other products without coming across as too ‘salesly’.
Firstly, ads and content can help. Serving ads to your existing customers across different websites is a great way to demonstrate the range of products you offer. If you want a more natural approach, try some sponsored content with a very subtle call to action. Secondly, assuming you’ve taken down their email address, you can put them on a nurture campaign – either on its own or through a company newsletter. A newsletter is a great way to keep current customers informed about what you’re up to and communicate ideas and solutions that might be relevant to them.
5. All of the above
If you have big ambitions on the marketing front you should choose to execute an integrated campaign. This means reaching out to potential and existing customers through ads and expertise-driven content across print, digital and social platforms.
We find that the majority of companies we partner with get the best results from an integrated campaign. This approach allows them to build their brand, generate leads, educate the market and upsell existing customers. If you’ve skipped to this section of the article try reading parts 1 through 4 to get an idea of what all the moving parts of an integrated campaign might look like.
How Utility can help
No matter what your goals are, the most important thing is that you put your message in front of the right people. That’s where Utility can help. We’ve built a powerful audience of utility industry leaders and decision makers, at all water and energy utilities and councils, as well as contractors and consulting engineers. We’ve got the data on these people, we know if they’re reading the magazine, opening the newsletter, or following us on social media.
Now that you’ve set your marketing goals, we can design a high-impact, cost effective campaign to help you get your message to the right people at the right time and help you achieve your objectives.
Many of the utility sector’s most successful companies have used Utility to build their profile and reputation and move their business to the front of the line.
We have a renewal rate of over 87% with our annual advertisers, because they can see the results they get year after year.
Download the media kit below to see what Utility can do for you and your marketing goals.
