When we first start working with clients or sending out a proposal, there’s so much involved in the marketing, there are a million questions that come in. These videos are intended to help break down some of that info in a format people could even share with others. Today we’re talking about the principle of “What Affects What,” and how Consistency is vital to any marketing plan.
Everything is Interconnected
Often, business owners take a piecemeal approach to their branding and marketing: one company to create their logo, another to handle their marketing, another to build their website. These clients will often come to us and say, “just do this for me” – just the logo, just the website, just the social media, etc. But there’s really no such thing as “just do this for me.”
In business, everything is interconnected. When you try to piecemeal things, you’ll end up with inefficient processes, higher expenses, and unclear messaging, which means your target audience won’t understand what you’re trying to say.
So two things we focus on with clients are (1) education, and (2) interconnectivity… or “What Affects What.”
A client’s logo, for example, is much bigger than a logo for us. Where is it going to be used? Who are you trying to target? Where’s it going to go—billboard, apparel, business card? What is your plan for your business, and will this logo work long-term? All those factors affect the needs of the design.
What about 5, 10, 15 years in the future? What about when your business has however many employees? Will the personality of the company have changed? Will your branding have changed? Do you know where you’re planning to go, and do you have a plan in place to adapt for that over time?
The Definition of Business
A business is a profitable, scaleable, sellable entity that can run without you. As a small business owner, you should be thinking about that from day one: How do I get to profit? Can I scale it? Can I sell it? Can it run without me? That should always be the goal. The key is to start thinking down the line, and surround yourself with partners and organizations who can get you there.
We think of ourselves as partners with our clients. As a marketing and branding agency, we love when clients want to talk about their five-year plans with us! Now we know where you’re trying to go, what you’re trying to achieve, and the reputation you’re trying to build as you grow in that direction. All of this affects the overall strategy, the content curation, and even where the budget should go.
Building a Foundation through Reputation
Having a plan for what you’re trying to build – and therefore how to divide up your budget – is vital. Advertising without investing in content curation alongside it can mean you get visibility, but not a trusted brand reputation, and therefore sales may get bottle-necked. It’s important to build trust through curated content that educates your clients on who you are and what you do.
As a small business, you may have a limited budget, but make sure you’re partnered with people who at least understand how to give you a good foundation. Just like when you’re building a house, you may not be able to put in the best cabinets, or the best floors – but as long as the house has a good foundation, you can upgrade the rest as you go. You may not be able to do all the video, all the marketing you want to do right up front, but at least make sure you’re on the right platforms, in the right spaces, and that your creative has the right messaging, the right look and feel for who you’re trying to talk to.
That’s where we set ourselves apart. We focus on making sure our clients have the right foundation, so they can grow from there.
The Importance of Consistency
A content strategy needs to be far more than just throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks.
You do not have to post constantly, but you do have to be consistent and meet the expectations you’ve set. If you set the expectation that you’re going to post on Wednesdays, make sure you post on Wednesdays. If you know clients expect a certain type of content from you regularly, then make sure you do that. If you add value to your clients over a consistent period of time at a fair price, you will continue to grow your business.
Providing Content of Value
Be sure you’re putting out content that is valuable to your target clients, so they will continue to look for it over time. If you can do that, you gain clients’ trust, and that’s what will grow your business.
But you’ve got to have the plan first.
At CCS Marketing, we drink our own Kool-Aid. Our business has survived through two economic downturns. We believe one key that helped us survive was that no matter what was going on outside the business, we continued to try to add value to our customers, employees, and community. Those are the things we can control. We can’t control COVID. We can’t control the economy. But we can control what we do, how we treat people, and the value that we provide.
The things we’re talking about here are things we do ourselves to try to help grow our business and help our clients as well.
If you’d like help growing your business, contact us! We are a creative marketing and branding agency in Tampa, FL, and we’d love to help you make a plan to move your business forward.
