Marketing Strategy: How to Expand Your Customer Base
If you want to expand your customer base, you have to attract attention — that much is certain. To achieve this, companies must rely on an effective marketing strategy. Because only in this way can they achieve that their services become public and that they can establish themselves on the market. After all, one thing is clear — if you want to be successful in the long run, you need a broad customer base that you are constantly expanding. Consequently, a well thought-out marketing strategy is the basis of a competitive company. But what exactly does this mean and what aspects should it include? But first…
What is a Marketing Strategy?
Basically, a marketing strategy is a long-term behavioural plan. It serves to achieve the marketing goals derived from the company’s objectives. Consequently, marketing strategies ensure that a company is market-oriented in the long term. In order to determine the individual goals of such a strategy, it is first necessary to compare the actual state with the target state. Market share, image, customer satisfaction and profitability are the main focus of this analysis. In order to achieve the target state, a company must formulate marketing goals and thus develop a suitable marketing strategy.
What are the components of a marketing strategy?
Ultimately, there are three questions you need to answer:
- Where do I currently stand?
2. How do I find my target group? And who is that actually?
3. How can I reach these people?
The perfect combination is essential
Do you also want to create a marketing strategy for your company and use it to expand your customer base? Then it is important that you do not limit yourself to offline or online marketing, but that you choose a media mix. Because that way you can reach a wider audience. It also makes sense to combine these two areas. For example, you can print not only your advertising message on flyers, but also a QR code that enables interested parties to access your website or social media presence with just a few clicks. In this way, you create a successful link between offline and online strategies.
In order to keep an overview of the individual areas, it is worthwhile to fall back on digital support. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are particularly well suited for this. These are all-in-one solutions that integrate the management of all business processes in one program. This allows you to maintain an overview of your marketing strategy. But before you decide on such a solution, you should take a good look at ERP. Only then can you make an informed choice.
If a company decides to cover several channels with its marketing strategy, this results in several advantages:
1. Achieving a broader mass
One thing is certain: If you decide to use different marketing channels for advertising, you will reach more potential customers. Because the advertising message is thus visible to more people. If, on the other hand, a company restricts itself to only one marketing channel, it cannot exploit its potential to the full. Especially if you want to reach different customer segments, a mix is essential. After all, the younger target group is mainly on social media platforms. You can reach them easily through these platforms. Older people, on the other hand, tend to rely primarily on classic print media — whether flyers, advertisements in newspapers or brochures.
2. Increase in sales
The more people you reach with your advertising, the greater the likelihood that your customer base and therefore your sales will grow. You can also build a closer relationship with your customers if you are present on different channels. Especially social media appearances or promotional items are suitable marketing instruments for this. Because you can use them to build trust and convey appreciation to your customers. This ultimately increases your turnover.
3. Optimal coverage of the market
If a company decides to operate via several channels at the same time, it can optimally cover the market with this marketing strategy. This is because it reaches more potential customers and can meet their needs. In addition, it is possible to check which of the channels used is most promising and in which areas there is a need for optimization. Of course, it is essential to question the marketing strategy regularly and to improve it on the basis of the results. Only by continuously adapting the individual aspects can you ensure that you always achieve the optimum.
If you really want to be successful with your marketing strategy, you should rely on a mix of offline and online measures. Because that way a broader mass can be reached. In the end, this leads to more success in expanding the customer base and thus also to greater sales.
