Choosing to stay the same in business often means you’re going backward.
Constantly engaging in the same marketing activities will eventually lead to lower returns. You’ll need to reinvigorate your approach. There are a few ways you can change up your marketing program.
- Look at others
Often the fastest way to change your approach is to look at what others are doing. You can start by studying your competitors. Start with their website and expand your competitor research from there. Also, industry associations such as the Financial Planning Association often hold conferences and workshops that give you a chance to investigate the best practices in the industry.
As my old business partner, Chris Walker, was fond of saying, “there’s no such thing as a new idea”. Don’t be too proud to borrow ideas. Try to take their ideas as inspiration and put your spin on them.
Also, look beyond your own industry. Check out what’s working in other sectors and see how you could spin it for financial planning.
- Leave your comfort zone
Sometimes you need to get out of the office to get your creative juices flowing. Following the same daily routines can make it easy to focus on the regular work, rather than looking critically at your marketing.
Take the team for an offsite. Even if it’s for just half a day, this will enable you to focus purely on your marketing. Set an agenda, and make sure you maximise the time spent looking at your strategy, what’s worked, what hasn’t and what you’re going to do to change it.
I’m also a big believer in involving people from around your business. Sometimes the best ideas come from people you would think least likely to provide them. This activity will engage your team and make them feel part of your marketing strategy.
Using an external facilitator to run the session is often sensible. An experienced facilitator can help with the planning, take notes, keep time, and ensure the meeting flows appropriately. They can make sure you stay on track and achieve your desired outcomes.
- Bring in an expert
If marketing is not your thing, then bring in someone who knows it well. Outsourced marketing is a big business in Australia, and it is an option if you don’t have time, expertise, or capacity to run your program.
There’s a range of consultants available, from digital marketers to strategy experts and everything in between. Outsourcing is a valuable way of bringing in skills that are different to what you employ internally. Make sure you set a reliable, workable scope to get the best results from your marketing consultant. Focus on having tangible goals and measurable outcomes.
