If it ain’t broke, you can still fix it
At the time of writing, we’re two weeks into the new year and we’ve most certainly hit the ground running after the festive break. Isn’t Christmas just the best holiday from work that you get during the year? Because pretty much everyone else is off too - so coming back is made a little easier as you tend not to have an overflowing inbox. January comes with mixed emotions though. You’re surrounded by positive messages and affirmations, a desire to be fitter/healthier/more present, the list is endless. This can mean it can be a time when things can feel quite pressured, in a post-Christmas slump when you might not be feeling the most positive – there’s a reason why ‘Blue Monday’ falls on the second working Monday in January!
For us Marketeers, the new year provides us with an excellent opportunity to revitalise and reinvigorate customer campaigns and put in place new strategies and plans for the year ahead. Of course, if it isn’t broke, there’s not always the need to fix it and we can take forward some of the successes of the previous year, but ensuring the marketing continues to align with the overall business strategy is fundamental to its success.
Tips for keeping your marketing fresh in 2024
Reassess your target market. What led you to success in the past won’t necessarily continue to do so going forward. Rethink your marketing strategies and keep an eye on new trends, and audience changes.
The days of sending mass emails without personalisation are in the past. Instead of taking a blanket approach across your entire customer base, think about breaking things down and grouping together customers together into smaller lists with similarities and target the messages. This drives a much higher engagement and is worth the time it takes to create.
Diversify your content. Think outside of the box! Social media posts are a prime example of where things can get stale, because the frequency of the messaging is much higher. Try and mix it up without just rehashing the same content – you could go live for example and actually engage in real time with your followers. Are there any events or exhibitions relating to the work you do coming up where you could suggest meeting up? Competitions or requests for images of completed works also prove popular and allow you to really engage with your followers.
Use the latest tools, wisely. AI is a perfect example of where you might think using the latest marketing tools are the most effective marketing strategy. But, like with everything, it’s the way you use it that matters most. AI isn’t a way of producing copywriting on the cheap, it’s best placed for market research, data organisation and review. It’s still important to keep things personal, which is something AI can’t do.
Work as a combined sales and marketing team. For so many years we have pushed the importance of any marketing campaign aligning with the sales team goals – we attend sales team meetings for this very reason. It sounds an obvious one and of course driving sales isn’t the only requirement of the marketing team, but it still amazes us how many businesses have regular sales team meetings and don’t have their marketing teams involved. Having the two disciplines working to support each other is a lot more effective.
We hope the new year is off to a great start for you and you’ve been able to take forward all that worked for you in 2023, as well as come up with something fresh to add into the mix for 2024. If you’re still not quite there yet and need some support, contact Brouha. As specialists in marketing and PR for the built environment, we’d be happy to help.
Call us: 01672 514947 or email us: hello@brouhamarketing.com