The number 5 comes up in marketing quite a lot and as we head into 2019, if like me you are looking at what you want to achieve in the next 12 months, then 5 is the number you should be using to help you. (We’re not talking about the late 90’s boy band trying to ‘rock you’, just incase you were wondering).
What are the 5 steps in the evolution of marketing?
I use this analogy quite a bit when determining where a potential client sits in this journey and where I can help them the most. From the start up to the largest SME the steps are the same. The only difference is the time versus growth equation which, of course, can work both ways. I’m working with a 30 year old company who are on the same step as a 2 year old fledgeling. As a consultant and a full marketing service we at The Soapy Group are most effective between steps 3 and 4, but we work with all 5 steps in different ways. Explaining the full 5 steps in detail is another conversation for another time or presentation I’ll see you at in 2019. I’m always up for a 1-2-1, so get in touch.
5% per year
This is the amount you should be calculating into your budget for marketing in the next 12 months. You may want to lift this somewhere between 5 – 10% depending on how aggressive you want your growth to be. The key thing is to create this budget and then stick to it. The biggest faux pas SME’s have is not having a tight enough grip on marketing spend, and this tends to follow a similar patten. Not having a coherent marketing strategy in place is the most common practice followed very closely with being reactive and impulsive to media sales executives who land at your door with a deal too good to be true. If you have a good marketing plan in place you would have allowed for this possibility of course.
The 5 Pillars of Marketing
When planning your strategy I recommend doing this around 5 different areas or pillars that will help you to get your marketing house in order. Every business has slightly different audiences but starting with website, networking, social media, SEO and local print would get you going down the right track. By using your pillars individually and cross promotion between them will really give you a solid foundation. Using Facebook to drive your audience to your website, getting them to sign up to your latest offers emails immediately crosses 3 of your 5 pillars.
But like all building blocks, your pillars of marketing need constant attention and maintenance. The more you neglect your marketing activity the more chance people will forget about you and your services. This really is a bar brawl that you need to be in and throwing the punches.
So in 2019 its time to look at the power of five and be bold no matter what is happening in the UK socially and politically. The businesses that prospered in the last sales slump of 2009 used this opportunity to market their services harder than before. Whatever unfolds as we leave the European Union (or not as this post is written) people and businesses will still need your services, you will just have to keep shouting about yourselves whatever the outcome.
