If you own or manage an SME in the manufacturing sector, you'll know how difficult it can be to find time to work on your marketing plan.
It's a task that can easily slip down your "to do" list, particularly if you already have a host of customers, or you’re short of spare cash to spend on marketing. However, it's essential to spend time on your plan if you want your marketing activities to succeed. Dedicating time to creating and delivering your marketing plan could help you to:
1) Win More New Customers
The most obvious reason for developing and implementing a marketing plan is to attract new prospects, so your sales team can convert them into customers. It's crucial to keep doing this, even in busy periods, if you want your business to grow. What's more, ensuring that you have a constant stream of enquiries will make it simpler to replace any customers who decide to end their contracts with you.
2) Improve Your Customer Retention Rate
If you create and deliver an effective marketing plan, you could also keep more of your existing customers on board. Communicating with your customers regularly and reminding them of the advantages of working with you could tip the balance in your favour when they review their suppliers. You'll also be able to identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities when developing your marketing plan.
3) Add Breadth To Your Customers Base
When you spend time working on a marketing plan, you'll be better placed to spot opportunities for expansion. This could mean promoting your company to businesses in an entirely new industry, or you may also discover that there are companies in the sectors you're already targeting that could use your products or services in alternative ways.
4) Stay Ahead Of The Competition
It doesn't matter how good your products or services are if your target customers don't know about them. Therefore, if you don't develop a comprehensive marketing plan, you'll be putting your company at a disadvantage in terms of visibility and brand awareness.
5) Be Better Prepared For The Future
Finally, I always tell my clients that they need to think strategically and plan for the future, not just for today. Working on your marketing plan will help you focus on where you want your business to go, how to get there, and the potential challenges that you could face along the way. As a result, your company will be able to adapt to the changing environment more rapidly, keeping your business relevant to the current needs and challenges of your target market.
What Next?
To find out more about the benefits of marketing for manufacturers, please download a free copy of my eBook, "The 7 Classic Marketing Mistakes Made by Manufacturers & How To Avoid Them!".
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