Dec 4, 2024
Marketing can be a big, overwhelming topic that has sometimes been looked at as the “Achilles Heel” of many founders. Do you go all out with flashy billboards (spoiler: your budget might say “hard pass”) or set up a Facebook page that gathers digital dust because you never know what to post? Should you keep it strictly about your products or sprinkle in some personal stories (but, hey, this isn’t your therapy corner)? Decisions, decisions!
Ah, the daily dilemmas of a founder: how to tackle the great marketing puzzle and figure out what to prioritize. Here’s the thing—maybe it’s time to shift how you think about marketing. Instead of treating it like another “department” on your never-ending to-do list, why not see it as your trusty sidekick? Think of marketing as your all-in-one handyman—ready to roll up its sleeves, fix the leaks, and build the foundation for your brand’s success. It’s not just another task; it’s the secret sauce to getting the job done right!
With an outburst of content, gurus, templates and words like “Analytical Dashboards” and “ROAS” being thrown around all the time, it can get a bit confusing to understand what marketing is and how you should be planning for it within your company. So thereby – I urge you to dig deeper instead and start by trying to articulate what the ultimate goal of your business is. It could be just to get more people to try those delicious brownies you make or perhaps it could be to help transform the lives of many in your community with a brilliant invention. Either way, all founders share one thing in common – we all need to formulate goals exactly the same way, regardless of where the destination is.
Now that you know where you’re going, you can work backwards to figure out where to start. Marketing got its big moment with the invention of the Marketing Funnel. It’s a simple tool that maps out the journey a customer takes when buying something. The best part? You and I behave similarly as customers, so it’s not too hard to understand!
Let’s assume your goal is to become a well known household name for those famous brownies all across Bangalore. We’re going to break down your marketing journey into 3 stages.
STAGE 1: AWARENESS
Does the customer know my brand exists?
The first step to dominating the baking scene might be to become known to your target customers. Start by setting up your online channels—have a website or contact page where they can reach you. Offline, you can participate in events, hand out flyers, and create posters to spread the word. For content, focus on sharing your brand story, products, and services.
Marketing Goals to consider during the Awareness phase:
- Build Social Media Presence
- Generate Traffic to Website/ store
- Increase Local Awareness
- Increase Brand Recognition
STAGE 2: CONSIDERATION
How do I showcase my USP to the customer?
Now that people know who you are, it’s time to show them why they should order from you. There are many bakers out there, so highlight what makes you unique—maybe you use organic ingredients or create innovative brownie recipes. Focus on your community and building trust with your first customers.
Content should now emphasize what sets you apart and include customer testimonials. These can help convince potential customers and turn them into buyers.
Marketing Goals to consider during the Consideration phase:
- Engagement (Comments, Likes, Shares)
- Create Offers, Discounts and Samples
- Collect Testimonials
- Partnerships to increase your credibility
STAGE 3: CONVERSION
How do I ensure my product sells?
The final stage is the toughest, as you need to show the value of your product. For a home baker, word of mouth is powerful, but you can speed things up by highlighting your work. Create videos and posts about past orders, and show how you can cater to large groups or customize for special events. Offline, you can host events to showcase your products.
Content should now focus on detailed videos, client photos, and positive reviews from trusted sources.
Marketing Goals to consider during the Conversion phase:
- Increase sales
- Increase online orders
- Upsell and Cross-sell other products
- Increase Referrals
- Increase repeat purchase
This framework applies across the board and can help you regardless of which industry you are in to identify which stage of the funnel your business is and help you define what your priorities should be.
Having identified which stage of the funnel you are in, it is also crucial that you now create a solid plan of action. An additional step to defining marketing goals is to set timelines to these goals. A good way to benchmark your journey milestones is to look at goals as short-term or long term.
Short term goals are like the fuel in the car, that keeps you moving towards your destination and can be completed within 1- 6 months.
Eg: Increase my following by 20% on Instagram
Long term goals are those rest-stops you are aiming to reach along the way to your final destination and will typically take slightly longer to achieve (1-3 years)
Eg: Be amongst the top 5 Home Baker brands on Instagram
With clear goals in place, collaborate with your team to develop actionable tasks. We put together a simple marketing checklist that has helped our clients better navigate through their marketing journey.
Stay focused and keep checking in on your goals—they’ll lead you to success! 🙂
If you have further questions, feel free to drop us a note here and we would be happy to help!