Kondo Would be Proud: Tidy Up Your Marketing Strategy
Let’s channel Marie Kondo for a moment. You know Marie, the world-famous author, and queen of decluttering and organizing. Her Netflix show is a huge hit. It’s probably safe to say that at the moment, her marketing efforts are doing just fine, thank you.
But not everyone’s marketing efforts are doing so well. April is the perfect time for some spring cleaning of your marketing strategy to ensure that your focus isn’t being distracted by unnecessary debris. Spring is time for renewal and time to revitalize your business. Here are some tips to help you tidy things up, with some Kondo quotes to inspire you!
“Visible mess helps distract us from the true source of the disorder.” – MK
CHECKLIST PLEASE!
The best spring-cleaning initiatives, whether they start in the basement, the bedroom closet or the boardroom, need a plan. Start with a checklist. Though you’ll be all excited to touch every program, resist that urge. List the marketing strategies you conduct. Then ask yourself: How can we do this better? Do I really need to do this?
Here’s a checklist that includes some possible marketing tools and some ways to use them more effectively:
CONTENT QUALITY
How is the writing on your website? In your brochures and email marketing pieces? Is it better than your competitors’? If it has been a while since you refreshed the copy on your site, closely review it to make sure it still reflects who you are and what you offer. If you don’t have writers on staff capable of engaging your audience, seek out an agency or freelancer who can deliver compelling content.
Do you give current or potential customers a reason to regularly visit your site? Why not introduce a blog or post white papers that you or other thought leaders produce? Good fresh content will bring customers back. You can repurpose that content through an email newsletter to your customers and others in your email list.
And in the spirit of spring cleaning, if you have blogs, emails or other content that no one reads and generate few leads, stop the madness. Kill the blog or revitalize it with a bold new voice, a dramatic new design, or both.
“Discard everything that does not spark joy.” – MK
BRAND CONSISTENCY
Are various iterations of your brand floating around on your printed materials, digital products and website. Trash them. Be consistent. You have one brand, not dozens of variations on a theme. And while we’re on the topic of websites … does your website reflect who you are and what you offer? If your business is the dynamic creature you believe it is, your website will no doubt reflect that. If it doesn’t, users will be turned off and go elsewhere.
If you have multiple brands for your company, how do the brands work together? Will customers and potential customers understand the relationships and how they might interact with your multiple brands? Spring is a great time to review your branch architecture.
SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
How strong is your social media presence? Are you on most major platforms? How do you measure effectiveness?
There are so many questions about social. A first question to answer is: Do you update frequently? If not, find the resources to provide regular updates. If you can only manage one post a week on Facebook, make it a good one. Keep to a schedule to build in expectations among readers. Three times a week is better than once, and daily is even better, but only if the content you share is interesting and relevant to your target audience.
What platforms are you on? If you haven’t tried Twitter (newsy), LinkedIn (business-y) or Instagram (photo-centric), take them for a test drive and see what kind of audience response you get.
Do you struggle with your updates? You might want to try out Hootsuite, a tool that will let you schedule your Twitter or Facebook posts a whole week ahead of time.
And be sure to react promptly to user comments. Engage with your audience and show them you are there, and you care.
“Tidy a little a day and you’ll be tidying forever.” – MK
IN SYNC WITH SEO
Does your marketing strategy emphasize Search Engine Optimization? If not, you are missing opportunities to have your content rise to the top of search results and give a boost to your brand.
COME ON DOWN!
Look at your products and services. What is making you a lot of money? What is holding you back? Make the hard decision to cut the cord on the non-performers and focus on the winners. Maximize their potential as you brainstorm to find you next killer concept. Check your inventory. Some products not moving? Sale time!
“You could say that tidying orders the mind while cleaning purifies it.” – MK
DETAILS IN DATA
If you aren’t using an analytical tool such as Google Analytics, how can you identify your problem areas? If you are sending out information on marketing channels that have little traffic, that’s wasted energy, time and money.
FOCUS ON THE 20%
You’ve heard of the business rule of thumb that says 80 percent of customers bring in 20 percent of sales, and 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of sales. Are you showing the 20 percent the love? You may be able to drive more sales by speaking more directly to that key customer instead of trying to be everything to all customers.
“Dispose of anything that does not fall into one of three categories: currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must keep indefinitely.” – MK
