The Importance of an Effective Marketing Strategy to Achieve Your Business Goals

Marketing is one of the most important aspects of a business, but it’s often underestimated, especially in the startup world. Most startups lack resources and often want to get straight into sales. Although this is a standard and understandable action, it can waste a lot of time and money.

Most salespeople face the burden of finding leads and converting them. However, having the right tools and the right support can dramatically increase their chances of closing a deal. As important as a sales team is to an organization, an experienced marketer can effectively impact a business in several ways.

While marketing may not directly close business, when done right, it’s the most powerful tool a brand can use to present its image and engage with consumers. This leads to supporting the sales team by attracting qualified leads and helping to close deals.

Five benefits of a solid marketing strategy:

Research consistently shows that familiarity breeds a taste for human-to-human interactions. There’s something about seeing someone multiple times that makes them likable and trustworthy. The same can be applied to brands and businesses today.

Brand awareness

Brand awareness is a goal that almost every business wants to achieve. After all, Edelman’s survey results show that 81% of consumers need to be able to trust a brand before buying from it. So how can brands build familiarity and trust with their audience to ensure their sales teams are equipped with the right tools to convert potential buyers?

An effective marketing strategy can take your brand from unfamiliar to familiar and ultimately well-known. But that’s certainly not the only benefit of marketing.

A marketing strategy has a domino effect. Once a brand starts marketing to its target audience, the foundation of your business is formed. Your sales team will then have a solid foundation and the right tools to help convert leads through the sales funnel.

Consumer Engagement

With approximately 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide, there is no doubt that the web is a valuable tool that can open your business up to the world of consumers. The best thing about it is that it is free and you have unlimited access to the digital world.

By marketing through various online distribution channels, you have the power to connect with your audience and get them engaged. Through content such as blogs and social media posts, news web pages, email campaigns, newsletters, chats, videos on various platforms and much more, you will be able to reach your target audience. at many touchpoints.

Moreover, the digital world is a platform that encourages the participation of all. Consumers are more likely to engage with topics, images, and videos that resonate with them, giving your brand a powerful way to interact with consumers, continuously engage them, and build trust with them.

Related: How companies can rethink customer engagement

Authenticity and Trust

All businesses start with at least one person with a passionate vision and idea of ​​how their product or service will have an impact. How will your customers know that you have the best solution for them? Also, how can you convince your audience that your brand is unique?

Consumers are more wary of brands and advertising than ever before. Nearly 70% of consumers don’t trust ads and 71% are wary of brands. It’s no wonder that more than 81% of consumers said trust in the brand was the key decision whether or not to buy from a company.

Marketing allows you to establish authenticity and trust with your consumers. By appearing across multiple communication channels, consistently outlining your brand’s vision and goals, engaging with your audience, being present and responsive, and empathizing with your customer’s pain points, you will be perceived as authentic and build trust with your audience. The result? When your sales representative contacts a potential consumer who has engaged with your brand, they are more likely to close a deal.

Related: Skip to user profile photo content

Earned Media

One of the oldest and cheapest forms of marketing is word of mouth. Yet nearly half (48%) of businesses worldwide rely on the power of loyal customers to drive awareness of their products or services.

Word of mouth is an effective form of marketing because it spreads quickly and easily, it’s free, and it’s backed by trust. Ninety percent of people, even strangers, are more likely to trust a brand recommended by someone else. By comparison, over 26% of people will ultimately avoid a brand if they hear a negative story.

In today’s digitalized world, word of mouth can translate into earned media. Earned media is when another person, company, establishment, social presence, etc., promotes a brand.

Earned media includes:

• Promotion of a brand’s website.
• Repost a social image.
• Share a post on social media (either publicly or privately).
• Tag the brand in a post.

Establishing an online presence, engaging with consumers, and building trust with your audience will put your brand front and center where others will “talk” about your business. A powerful marketing strategy can bring all of these benefits together so that each point leads to the next.

Related: 6 Strategies to Maximize Earned Media for Your Brand

Sales Support

Customers keep your business running and growing, which is why your sales team is essential to the success of your business. Your sales staff will attract new customers, but carrying the burden of prospecting potential buyers and converting them can be exhausting.

Marketing can support and empower your sales staff by attracting qualified leads. Strategies that address a customer’s pain points will help engage consumers, relay brand messaging, and build trust, moving prospects down the sales funnel.

Additionally, marketing efforts can reveal specific pain points by seeing how the consumer has interacted with the brand. The valuable insights marketing can provide can help sales staff develop a personalized strategy for approaching each prospect.