Confused About What To Prioritize For Your Marketing? Try This Simple 3-Step Formula To Find Out What To Focus On Next

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Are you tired of hearing about another new marketing trend or platform that people say you have to use to grow your business?

It’s nearly impossible to keep up with all the different marketing tactics when you run your own business. You want to save any time wasted, and you often wonder which tactic actually works for your business and which ones will help you reach your target audience best.

If you’re just starting out in your business or if you are running a small team with limited resources, how do you prioritize your marketing efforts? How do you know what you should focus on?

Every business is different and unique in its own way, including its target customers. This is why there is no one marketing tactic or strategy that works the best for all businesses. By copying what works for another business does not guarantee success in your business and vice versa. However,  there is a formula that you follow to figure out what tactics are suitable for your business.

It’s time we do a bit of reverse engineering. Here’s a foolproof and simple formula that helps you figure out where to best focus your energy and resources on for your marketing:

STEP 1

Make a list of all the platforms and tactics you’re using and spending energy on for marketing. This includes tactics such as Instagram, Facebook Page, Facebook ads, Google ads, Tiktok, Twitter, Youtube, blogging, podcast, email marketing, PR, offline marketing, trade shows, etc.

STEP 2

Make another list of all the places where your target customers are showing up, the tools they are using, and the platforms where they are going for information. Think through what a day in the life of your target customer looks like and how and where they consume information, both online and offline.

Consider beyond what you do and how other businesses in your industry are running marketing. For example, let’s say that you are in real estate which may lead you to list real estate magazines as where your target audience goes for information at this step. However, it’s possible that only other real estate agents read these magazines, and your target audience actually reaches more for specific golf, cooking, or parenting magazines more. So, think about how they actually go about their days and lifestyle.

STEP 3

Compare the two lists you wrote down, and spot any differences.

For the ones that are on the first but not on the second list, consider re-prioritizing them. If your target customers aren’t using these platforms and showing up there, there is no point in focusing your resources on running these specific marketing tactics. Remove or postpone these tactics for now. You are better off saving your time and energy for more important things in your business.

As for the ones that are on the second but not on the first list, start strategizing on how you can best utilize these tactics. This is your opportunity to start new marketing tactics that align better with where your target customers are. 

When starting a new marketing effort, remember to set your goals, create a timeline and schedule you will commit to testing this tactic for the next three months, and set a plan to start showing up with content that your target customers will find valuable.

To save time on creating content, don’t forget to repurpose your content across different platforms and also reuse any old but high-performing content!

If you’re looking for ways to take your marketing to the next level, check out this never-fail formula to build your winning marketing strategy and the 5-part framework to build a killer marketing funnel that works every time!

Not seeing marketing results? Here are the 7 big mistakes you might be making that are holding you back from marketing success.

Also, take a look at this post to learn the difference between brand vs. product marketing (advertising), which one do you need now to achieve next-level growth!

Feeling confused about how much to spend on marketing? Here's a foolproof method to budget effectively to keep growing your business.

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