For any aspiring entrepreneur or established business, a well-thought-out marketing strategy can be the driving force behind achieving your goals. Based on some of our experiences at Spoke, I’ll share with you my take on the significance of this positive pairing and offer insights about how I believe you can achieve this synergy.
Seeing clearly with the power of defined vision.
Entrepreneurial results begin with a clear vision. It's the blueprint that guides your decisions, inspires your team, and defines your company's purpose. We’ve found that our vision statement should touch on fundamental issues, such as what problems we are trying to solve, the value we provide, and the positive impact we aspire to make. As a company Running on EOS®, we can point to important elements of these answers in our V/TO – a North Star that is the guiding light for our operational and marketing efforts. And we apply these same principles when helping our clients achieve their marketing goals, as well.
Getting to know your brand, for the first time or all over again.
One of the exciting things about running a company on EOS® is that there is an opportunity to continually rethink the way you do business, no matter how old your brand. I remember coming across a quote attributed to Confucius that really resonated with me (although I did not know him personally): “The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute; the man who does not is a fool for life.” This “to know-is-to-grow” approach welcomes new thinking and bolder ideas. This can be a time of rediscovery. And yes, an opportunity to get to know your brand for the first time or all over again. We constantly ask questions and periodically adjust our V/TO to ensure that it matches up with where we are now, and (probably even more importantly) where we want to be.
Getting to know your (sometimes moving) target audience.
Now comes the part where you may have to do some extra homework. Before you can align your marketing strategies with your entrepreneurial vision, you must first understand your target audience (or, if you are expanding your existing business, finding new audiences). Who are these people? What are their pains, what makes them tick, and what motivates them? And ultimately, how can you reach and connect with them in a meaningful way? The better you understand your audience, the more effectively you can tailor your marketing efforts to address their specific concerns and desires. When you do this correctly, prospects become customers, and customers become brand advocates. (And hey, we can all admit, that’s a beautiful thing.)
Bridging the gap with marketing strategies.
At Spoke we live and breathe marketing. From our experiences, with our own company and working with our clients, we believe that this critical element serves as the bridge between your vision and your target market. It’s a handshake with your audience and the way you communicate your brand message, showcase your products or services, and convert prospects into customers. Now here’s the thing: When your marketing strategies align with your entrepreneurial vision, you're more likely to engage with your audience on a deeper level. And we’ve found that this is the difference between connecting with people in an authentic and meaningful way versus just putting words and graphics on a website and hoping for the best. Oh, and one more detail: make sure you know how to tell your story.
Crafting a compelling story your customers will want to tell.
At Spoke, we take pride in brand storytelling – and we feel that it is one the “uniques” that we offer our clients and distinguishes us as a brand. Like us, your company has a great story as well, just waiting to be unearthed, or dusted off and enhanced. When told correctly, your story will be the thing that goes from the heart to the head and back again. What I mean by that is most customers buy on emotion then justify their purchase with logic. And when they feel really good about your story, they have that long-term emotional feel-good experience that makes them proud to be a loyal follower of your brand. When telling our story, we lean on our V/TO to guide our vision and the visual and narrative aspects of our marketing campaigns. And we’ve found success applying the same storytelling approach for our clients.
Measuring engagement and adjusting your strategies as necessary.
I believe one of the greatest benefits of aligning marketing strategies with entrepreneurial vision is the excitement and accountability it brings. When everyone is on the same page, team members are all in, and dedicated to the success of every campaign and initiative. After all, a great story is only great when people hear it, read it, and (especially) tell it. So how will you know when things are happening, positively or negatively? Regularly measuring the performance of your marketing efforts is crucial to alignment. Metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, customer feedback, and sales data can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your strategies. Don't be afraid to adapt and refine your approach based on these insights.
Of course, there’s much more to the story. But you’ve made it this far and hopefully have gained some insights from my experiences over the past few decades (what?!), or should I say, years. So trust your entrepreneurial vision, but remember it’s okay if it refocuses from time to time for new challenges and opportunities. When this happens be sure to adjust your marketing strategies, too. Because when your entrepreneurial vision and marketing strategies are in alignment, the sun shines brighter, the birds sing louder, and the world is a better place. Or at least, I like to think so.
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