Even though there are hundreds of thousands of ways to market your business, it doesn’t mean they are all right for you. Thank goodness, right? Because your marketing budget is not endless, and there isn’t enough time in the day for you, or your team, to do it all. The trick is figuring out how to make what you need to happen, happen.

Basics to hone your marketing focus

• Go where your audience is. Your buyers congregate in various places. What do they have in common? Draw logical lines. Follow they all the way through. Get involved.

Sample. marketing strategy
You sell an herbal tea. What makes you standout is the health benefits your drink brings to consumers. Your best buyer cares about their health. They are mostly outdoor enthusiasts. You should always “own your backyard;” meaning the area your business is based in. What is going on in your area that these people would be drawn to? Just so happens, there is a Warrior Dash going on. Tying your product to something your market is involved in and has a connection to has endless benefits. This positive energy translates to your product. It becomes a powerful connective tissue bridging potential buyers to your herbal tea.

• Connect the dots. Think carefully about how to really get engrained. Spark up your creativity. Circle around to make sure each idea translates in a meaningful way to communicate your brand’s value in all its glory.

Sample. marketing tactics
There are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved with the event such as sponsorship of a team participating in the race: providing them logo-ed jerseys, running locally-driven Facebook ads on how this team performance is driven by what they drink, sharing their training stories in blogs, handing out sample boxes to bystanders who tag you in their social media while at the event, and when they cross that finish line give a reason for the press to tell their, and your, story. When doing your marketing plan make sure you create relevant connections from one tactic to another in order to create an effective net to catch the right customers.

• Keep the goodwill going. Marketing is not a won-and-done endeavor. Look for ways to continue the momentum you just gained, as well as strengthen the relationships you just spent time making. Ultimately, your goal is to create a desire to purchase right away and then another… and another.

Sample. marketing results
Never spend a ton of energy focusing on something then move on to the next hot thing. Towing the line all the way is where you get real, tangible results. Marketing is a snowball effect. Keep building on it. Getting in front of your herbal tea market regularly keeps relationships alive and well. The expense of bringing on a new customer is 5x more expensive than keeping the old. Customer retention is paramount to your business growth. Pay attention and nurture loyalty within your existing buyers to secure your future. Offer a promotion for your tea toters to try other flavors or better yet tell friend how the tea has changed their morning ritual.

• Be realistic. Don’t fall into the adage “best made plans are laid to waste.” Planning is critical, but give yourself space to maneuver. Pivoting is key to being competitive.

Sample. marketing plans
Throughout the year, there will be exciting new fangled marketing ideas that explode into your beverage space. Not only should you leave financial room in your marketing budget to take advantage of these and drink them up, you should also provide enough time to react and fulfill them. Too many times we just add another log onto the marketing team fire without considering the repercussions. Before too long marketers go from doing incredible work to just doing the work to check the box. With every marketing tactic addition, review your current plan, and decide where this new one falls and what may need to come off to make it happen. Reaching your herbal tea business goals through marketing takes constant tweaking.

All of the choices in marketing can get overwhelming. When you focus your passion soars taking your energy to accomplish those growth goals right there with it. Make sure your marketing makes sense. Question the purpose and value of each marketing endeavor . If they have none, let them go. T
hey are just distractions to what really needs to get done. And who has room for that poor business strategy?