17 years into the 21st century. Does your business marketing need to catch up?

Long ago, Peter Drucker, the father of business consulting, made a profound statement: “The two most important functions of a business are innovation and marketing.” Innovation is introducing new ideas, original and creative. Marketing is the action of promoting or selling. Both of these functions speak to adding value and I believe both are timeless.

What do you suppose Drucker’s statement means for innovation or marketing, or for your brand or business, here at this moment, 17 years into the 21st century? I believe his words have stood the test of time. However, the tools and methods have changed and at this point, if you aren’t all aboard, you are at least shifting the sails so you can catch up and take control of the direction in which you want your business to grow.

Let’s keep it simple and start with the basics. Here are three key areas you can focus on right now to gain momentum in your marketing plan:

#1. Your brand. 
Word of mouth marketing is best — without a doubt. But, effective branding is a compelling factor for success. If consistent and strong, it can build your reputation, assuring you stand out from your competition.

#2. Web presence.
Having an effective website is the single most inexpensive way to add credibility and reach customers and prospective leads. It’s a fact that 87% of millennials have a smartphone at their side day and night and over 80% of people use mobile devices to search for information regularly. A website assists in building brand awareness acts as a learning tool for your audience (and for you if you follow the analytics). Mobile-friendly websites optimize the user experience by being quick to load and having options for concentrated content and informative calls to action.

#3. Social media.
Today we are confident when buying into a stranger’s 1, 2 or 5-star rating, assuring us their experience on where to eat or shop is accurate and concrete. It doesn’t matter how much advertising you do, the review — positive or negative — holds merit. With that said, I encourage all business owners to take advantage of social media networks. It helps you gain visibility on Google and other search engines and credibility with your customers or potential clients. It’s also a way of bringing like-minded people — your customers and you — together, sometimes into a conversation. There are so many ways to do this which I will explore further in a future post — but to keep it simple, you can start by posting announcements or contests, and get ready for content marketing, to achieve great results.

There are no quick tricks or gimmicks to grow a business. There is no such thing as social media magic or the ultimate campaign that is guaranteed to go viral. The true magic lies in the vision (innovation) and the actions you take to follow through to the sale (marketing).

Let’s think about Graphic a la Design’s mission for a moment, “Improve customer success by delivering creative (innovative) solutions for branding and promotion (marketing).” With our creative team of professionals, we have captured all of the above to help our clients grow their business, meet, and even exceed their goals.

Now ask yourself, is your marketing strategy leading your business to succeed in the 21st century?
For more business inspiration or help in building your marketing plan, contact Graphic a la Design at lori@graphicaladesign.ca or 905-441-4235.

Lori Thompson, Creative Director
Graphic a la Design
graphicaladesign.com