Every business owner knows that to move their business from concept to commercial viability they need customers. That means finding news ones and keeping the loyalty of your existing ones. No matter how much money you raise, brilliant ideas you have, or great talent on your team, you’re not going anywhere without clients or users.
However, a big challenge for business owners I speak to is finding the time to focus on the work that drives customer acquisition and retention. It often seems like a task that can be left for tomorrow, with another aspect of development or operations taking its place on the priority list. But that’s a false economy.
Marketing and PR play a critical role in your business success, so whether you handle yourself, outsource or delegate, it needs to stay on your priority list. Here’s five reasons why:
Customers can’t buy if they don’t know you exist
A ‘build it and they will come’ approach is never going to get onto a prospect’s radar. Sales rarely happen by chance, you need something to start feeding your pipeline so that you can keep growing. That’s one of the big roles that marketing and PR can play – telling customers the simple fact that you exist and can solve their business problems.
Test your ideas with real world data
Marketing is about more than just what you tell the world. It’s also a great platform to get market insight back into your business. It’s a tool for testing, listening and feeding findings back into how you operate as a business. Until you make that crucial first step into the market, you’re making decisions based on assumptions. Instead, gather data, get expert insights and testing ideas in the real world.
Find the next opportunity
For game changing businesses, missing out on the next opportunity could mean the end of the road. The lead investor for your next round? The first thousand signups, or first big contract? The talented hire the business needs? They are all watching the market, and if they can’t see you in it they’ll never be able to bring you new opportunities.
Build trust
~Business Game Changer Special Promotion~
People don’t buy from companies. They buy from people, and people they trust. Research has demonstrated the links between visible senior teams and brand trust, and trust is one of the biggest drivers for sales. Marketing and PR can help you champion the people and stories behind your company to give your customers and prospects a face to trust. This is particularly true in cutting edge or innovative businesses. There’s often a gap to bridge between the reality your customers experience and the vision you’re trying to build.
Cement a competitive advantage
There’s several approaches a business might take to creating a winning competitive advantage. Cost, technology or added- services for example, but there’s one that’s often the hardest for your customers to replicate – your brand. If you have a visible profile in the market, you stand out as a brand with opinions and a voice, then that’s tough to replicate.
By Sophie Marston
About the author
Sophie Marston is founder of Stretton Communications, which helps fast-growth businesses use marketing and communications to build credibility, stand out in the market and drive their growth.
