Why Marketing is Important for your Business: The Value of Marketing
By Catharyn Pilch
Marketing is the face you give to your company to let clients know who you are, what you do, and why you do it. A question asked at all meet-and-greets is the ubiquitous, “What do you do?” This is a make-or-break question, whether you are a business owner or not.
The good news is, if you have thought about external marketing (the marketing efforts that are visible to potential clients) and internal marketing (honing how you care for your current clients), you will have an answer to that question. You will also have a space to send your inquirers to find out more about your business. In today’s world, utilizing the internet and a business website as this space as part of your external marketing efforts has become a vital part of business growth. Creating a well-oiled marketing machine for your business is not a small task. In fact, marketing agencies spend hours perfecting marketing plans for their clients, helping to relieve the stress of small businesses who lack the team to implement a full marketing plan.
Regardless, marketing plans are imperative for your business, even when your business is doing well. Keep reading after the jump to find out why marketing is important and vital to grow and sustain your business.
Reach Your Goals for Business Growth
The main goal of professional marketing is to grow your business through an authentic, cohesive, and understandable image. Marketing agencies work with you to build and sustain that image, as well as use tactics that ensure your business has optimized visibility for your potential clients. One of those tactics includes Search Engine Optimization (SEO), a digital aspect of marketing. For example, let’s pretend you own a landscaping business. Usually, without a reference already in mind, a person will use Google or another search engine to search for a landscaping business in Indiana, PA. With a strong marketing strategy, your business could be at the top of your potential client’s search list! This is important for your business because, well, when was the last time you went to the second page of your internet search? This visibility maintains a steady customer flow for your business.
Marketing also showcases your business concept to potential clients. Your current clients understand what your business is capable of, that’s why they hired you; something like Google searches does not. This is what marketing is about! A strong image and concept of your business, easily available for potential clients to see, will lead to substantial growth in your business.
Get Ahead of Future Competition
If you’re feeling comfortable with your client load currently, you may not be considering marketing services. Unfortunately, realizing you’re in need of marketing too late in the game could cost you business. Even worse, it could cost you business to your competitor. Because marketing professionals know how to present your business to your potential clients, they can help you get ahead of the competition before it crops up.
Again, imagine you’re a landscaper in our lovely town, Indiana, PA. Word of mouth and features on local business websites have worked wonderfully for your business so far: you’ve reached a client load that provides you with a sustainable income. However, a new landscaper has recently moved to Indiana, and is hired by one of your dream customers. After researching, you realize that the new landscaper has their own website, provides clear branding of their services, and an easy way to book appointments online. These are all services that your business could have been utilizing if you were using professional marketing; unfortunately, it was a lesson learned after that dream customer was lost to a competitor with better branding. Think of professional marketing as an ever-recurring payday for your business – though it costs money to pay an agency for your marketing needs, the efforts will continue to profit your business long after you’ve written the check.
Achieve a Professional Image Online
While professional marketing optimizes your visibility both online and offline for potential clients, it also ensures that your image is professional. Actual professional photos are an important piece of the marketing puzzle. A professional headshot or photograph for your potential clients would be highly beneficial to associate you with. In fact, a headshot is capable of turning your potential clients into actual clients. If you would like to know more about why headshots are important for your professional image, read our earlier blog post here!
What If I’m Satisfied With Where I Am, or I Don’t Want More Customers Right Now?
If you’re not in the market for new clients, that does not mean that you don’t need professional marketing. Rather, this is your chance to focus on internal marketing. The goal of internal marketing is to keep your current clients and customers happy so they continue with your services. So, if growth isn’t your current objective, marketing services can make sure you keep your current clients – thus, your current level of income – where it is. Internal marketing also creates an atmosphere that motivates your perfect employees – or the employees who share your vision and execution of your services – to provide excellent customer service. By working hard to keep your clients and employees at maximum satisfaction, you’re also projecting an image of deep caring and approachability, which is an image that will lead to growth if in the future you’re looking to increase your number of customers.
Planful knows how to optimize your internal marketing, which includes a lot of ins and outs that you, as a business owner, probably don’t have time to focus on. We provide you with the way to increase your customer satisfaction, which you and your employees will focus on carrying out the plan.
Summary
The value of marketing reaches beyond landing new clients. While it does help your business reach new growth, marketing also helps you get ahead of future competition, achieve a professional image online, and keep your current customers and employees happy with your services. Thus, marketing is invaluable to executing your business goals, whether they revolve around expansion or perfecting your process. For an example of both external and internal marketing, see the work Planful completed for the Indiana Country Club.
For more information on the services Planful provides, including digital marketing, check out our Services page!
