Recently, we developed a new downloadable guide called Small Business Marketing Strategies by Industry in which we highlight the different approaches and MNG recommendations for six different business sectors. But the question remains: How do you determine what marketing channels are right for your business, in particular? After all, there are dozens of options, both online and offline. And unfortunately, there’s no single answer that will work for every single business. When you think about it, there are significant variables depending on the business’ budget, willingness for risk, strategy, industry, size and market share, and a lot more.

What can you do?

We would think through several questions about your business that we hope will help you find the right answers.

Question No. 1: Who Is My Buyer and How Do Those Individuals Make Buying Decisions in My Industry?

Understanding your audience is one of the first rules of marketing. But remember it’s not just knowing their challenges or pain points or even the basic demographics and titles. What’s important from a channel perspective is understanding how those individuals tend to become aware of companies and how they buy in your industry. For example, let’s say you’re a leadership development consultant. And your targeted audience is the HR department of a company that needs leadership development help. Running an ad in social media to get in front of an HR audience is fine but the HR people may not know you or your company and any ad is likely not going to have the same impact as speaking onstage at an HR conference, which is often a great channel. Why? Because that’s where HR folks hear new speakers and think: “I have to bring this person back to my company to speak.” 

On the flip side, if you’re an e-commerce company that sells goods that are visually appealing and affordable, let’s say, you probably can do an ad in social media that can get buyers immediately.

Question No. 2: What’s the Buyer Journey Look Like for My Business?

Another way of asking this: What does the marketing funnel look like for the products/services we provide? Do your audiences buy on impulse? How long is it generally between the time they become aware of you and pull the trigger on buying? The reason to ask this question is that the shorter the buyer journey (or the shallower the funnel), the more certain channels and approaches may make more sense such as paid social media advertising, video advertising, or even display and other forms of programmatic advertising. The longer the buyer journey, it may be worth looking at advertising too, but with a longer-term focus, and focusing on the ways you can nurture them – develop content, get them on an email list, send follow-up emails or mobile SMS alerts to stay in front of them.

Question No. 3: Are You Able to Detect the Buyers In-Market Right Now?  

The easiest way to tell if buyers are in-market (or potentially in-market soon) is to look at search. In particular, it’s worth doing some keyword research to find search volume in, say, Google. For example, if there is a high volume of searches for “home remodeler near me” in your geographic area and you’re a remodeling company, then you probably have a good idea of those individuals searching for solutions now.  Hence, the obvious channels include making sure you show up in organic search (by improving your SEO) and you consider paid search (Google Ads, etc.). But there are other options for you as well, including YouTube Ads (where you can key off searches done in Google as well).

One other way: If you have existing customers who can buy a product regularly (especially on a particular schedule), why not set up an email that will automatically trigger at a certain time after purchase – a kind of “buy it again” message that Amazon and other retailers do so well.

Question No. 4: How Much Does Established ‘Authority’ or Expertise Matter in Your Industry?

Establishing authority is certainly important in any industry, though, it may matter more in some sectors than in others. For example, in some industries, customers will buy without really knowing much about the company they’re buying from. In other words, the product or service they want matters most of all and the buyer doesn’t factor in much beyond that. In other industries, your authority on a particular topic or area will matter quite a bit. Take, for example, the consulting, coaching, and training industry that we work in quite a bit. Authority, in this case, is the one reason customers choose a business.

How do companies in this sector develop that authority? Typically, the channel they might choose is content – and all kinds of content – blogs, videos, e-books/whitepapers, webinars, etc. Anything where the company can demonstrate expertise.

Question No. 5: How Influential Are the Opinions of Others in Buyer Purchases?

Social proof – the idea that others use your products or services and like them – is a key aspect of any business. But like authority and expertise, it can matter a lot more in some industries than in others. Example: let’s say you’re a small to midsize business in the clothing/retail business. Having an influencer or celebrity visit your store and endorse you – either voluntarily or through some sort of partnership –can often be the critical path for audiences to become aware of you and buy from you as well. So, an influencer campaign – such as an ad campaign or paid promotion of some kind – makes sense here (and in many other B2C industries as well.)

Contrast that with many companies in the B2B space where a single influencer may not be well-known enough or influential enough to sway others. Typically, social proof here still matters, but it would be in the form of content development – testimonials, case studies, or just a list of companies who also have used your business.

Conclusion

Obviously, there are a lot more variables to determine different channels you could potentially use. Some channels, like email, are pretty universal regardless of the industry sector or business type. With other types of marketing, you may want to spend a bit more time delving into the core questions above. As always, if you need help, don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation.