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We can recognize a well-known business or company just by looking at the advertisement. Even in digital advertising, some consulting businesses that are just starting are even easier for their followers to recognize because of the brand image they present. You could say that brand image is an important thing that must be owned by a business, even when the business is still in the form of a pilot.

Building a brand image not only has a big influence on the consulting company but also on its target audience and buyers. When forming a brand image, consumer perceptions of a consulting business begin to form. They will assess the business based on the brand image carried by the business.

This advantage leads to the public or customers who are easily familiar with the business. When the ad is launched, they immediately recognize who owns the product being advertised just by looking at the ad being served. There are also advertising audiences who like the services of a consulting business or company because of the brand image that is conveyed through the service or advertisement itself.

From the description above, it can be concluded that brand image brings many advantages to consulting business. For this reason, we will explore more deeply the importance of brand image within a company, including how to build a brand image so that it is better known by the public.

BRAND IMAGE

Simply put, brand image is the perception that customers or audiences have of a business through the brand that is presented. The consumer’s perception then continues into the brand association phase, where the brand image he sees begins to enter into the consumer’s memory. Finally, customers also know the brand through the brand image conveyed through advertisements or services presented.

Brand image is formed in the minds of clients, their experiences, and interactions with the brand actively or passively. They can see a company’s brand through the advertisements that are delivered or when the business is promoting its brand. The process of forming a brand image is based on what clients see, so it is not only formed when they hire your services.

Brand image is more than just a business logo that is displayed on the products or services we offer. More than that, it is a combination of brand associations by customers based on all interactions with our business. Unfortunately, there are still many businesses that think that brand image is only in the form of a logo, so they ignore the process of building a brand image in other communication media. There are two reasons, brand image is not needed or the costs are getting more expensive, even though it can be done efficiently.

The main concept behind brand image is that customers not only use the services offered but also ‘buy’ the image attached to it. Many consulting businesses provide the same services and bring about the same benefits. What makes a brand‘s service more desirable is a strong and unique brand image in it.

That is the reason why consulting businesses, both large and newly started, must have a strong brand image. They must make every effort so that the image presented looks more unique and positive compared to other brands.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND IMAGE FOR CONSULTING BUSINESS SUCCESS

As previously explained, many consulting companies or businesses still forget the brand attributes in it. Even though they have built it, they often neglect to improve their brand image during the process. There are many advantages to be gained in building a brand image for consulting business.

1.      Creating a Positive Impression in the Eyes of clients 

The first impression is always important for anyone and that also applies to consulting businesses or companies. Just as the first impression of any person is seen from its appearance, the brand image also creates the first impression in the eyes of customers. That is the main function of brand image, which is to build a positive first impression for customers.

Brand image is usually formed when customers see a published service or advertisement. However, many other factors can shape consumer perceptions of a brand. For example, our business name, cards, office decorations, how employees dress, and so on. You could say brand image is not only for businesses that market their services online, but can also be built by offline consulting businesses.

2.      Create Recognition of the Business

A well-known brand has a strong brand image even though not everyone hires the services. Thanks to the brand image that is built, it is easier for people to recognize the brand through the interactions they make.

The brand image does not only talk about the logo or slogan that is carried, but also the visual elements in it. Service quality is also included in the brand association component.

3.      Creating a Unique Business Image

A brand image that is unique and easily recognized by customers is also born based on the brand image that is carried. Things that are considered trivial in business, such as flyers design, advertising materials, and the like, actually create strong signals for customers. E-mail domains and business websites also influence customers to trust your business. The attitude of business employees in serving customers can even become a unique brand image, thus producing a distinct impression in the eyes of customers.

In essence, a brand image that is built consistently will show that your business is running well. In the eyes of customers, a business that always builds its brand image will get a positive impression and be easy to trust.

4.      Build Credibility and Trust

Still related to point number three, this brand image ultimately establishes customer credibility and trust. Build a consistent brand image from any perspective, because it will build customer perceptions of your brand. The more often it is built, the more embedded the brand is in clients memory.

A strong business must have values ​​and a code of ethics that must be owned by its employees while working. These values ​​and ethical codes will later be manifested in their attitude at work. This attitude can give birth to a brand image only with the services provided to customers.

As a consultant, you must have wondered how to attract new customers. It’s only natural if you have questions like this. The reason is, almost all consulting businesses would want their business to continue to grow. Even so, attracting new customers is not something easy.

Most businesses face multiple challenges when it comes to acquiring new customers. But you don’t need to worry, because there are many ways to attract new customers that you can try. Therefore, let’s see this article to the end!

WAYS TO ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS 

1.       Create Attractive Discounts and Promotions

One way to attract new customers is to offer discounts and promotions. The reason is until now discounts and promotions are still the main attraction for new customers. Therefore, this can be an opportunity for your consulting business by offering various discounts.

You can make offers like “get attractive prizes for the third purchase”. The point is you can make various variations of offers that suit your consulting business.

Apart from that, you also have to note which offers customers like. The goal is an evaluation so you can make a better offer in the future.

2.      Do retention by Contacting Old Customers

The way to attract the next customer is to contact old customers. You can see a contact list of old customers who haven’t hired you or done business with you in a long time.

Make a regular schedule (every three months) to contact your customers who haven’t hired your services in six months. You can contact them via email, SMS, or telephone. Try to offer various promotions and discounts to keep them coming back.

3.      Updating Content on Websites or Web-commerce

Have you ever thought about updating your business website? If not, try to consider this. The reason is, many clients find the services they want through online searches. This means, your website plays a big role in finding new customers.

Therefore, you need to optimize your business website while ensuring that your website is mobile-friendly. This is because too complex website designs and graphics can affect website speed. Therefore, if you have more budget, try recruiting an SEO Specialist to help you manage your website.

4.      Utilize Online Ratings and Customer Reviews _

Clients, whether in the B2C or B2B world, usually before hiring you, will first see ratings and reviews from other people.

Therefore, make sure you monitor your website and respond to any complaints. Apart from that, your business will also benefit if it has lots of positive reviews from customers.

5.      Offer Referrals Program

Offering a referral program can be one of the best ways to get new customers. After you get loyal customers, you can ask them for references.

The reason Is, your current customers are the best source to get new customers. Even so, you can’t just sit idly by and wait for them to bring their colleagues, friends, and family to come to be your customers. But you have to take steps to approach the referrals program.

6.      Know Customers and Audiences

Your business will not be successful if you do not know who your customers are. Therefore, before you plan anything, try to create a buyer persona.

A buyer persona is a picture or profile of the ideal customer for your company. So, after knowing the customer’s character, then you can make a good plan.

7.      Determine the best channel to Attract New Customers

As a consultant, you need to analyze what channels your new subscribers visit most often. Do they come from social media? Did they come from email? Did they come from the website?

Well, you can collect this information from the data you have. After that, you can carry out planning and marketing strategies that are suitable for your business.

8.      Know Competitors

Analyzing competitors is an important part of a business. However, don’t get me wrong, OK? Analyzing competitors doesn’t mean you steal their ideas. Instead, this is done so that you know their strengths and weaknesses.

Gathering this information can help you refine your business approach. The following are some ways to gather information about your competitors.

·        Try to check the services of your competitors.

·        Analyze your competitor’s website and SEO strategy.

·        Note the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

·        Try to observe their content marketing strategy.

9.      Create Compelling Content

 Even though your marketing strategy is very good, it means nothing if the content you create is not interesting. The main purpose of content is to position your brand. Not only does it attract clicks and likes, but it can also create trust.

·        Create content that is relevant to your consulting business.

·        Every content you choose, make sure it has value for customers.

·        Answer customer questions by solving their problems.

10.   Create a loyalty program

To maintain a long-term relationship with customers, it is very important to provide something that has value for them. One way you can do this is with a loyalty program.

You have to remember that your loyal customers are the customers who spend the most time and money hiring your services. So, you can offer them a loyalty program.

11.   Hold a giveaway or quiz

If people don’t hire your services, consider doing work for them free of cost. This doesn’t mean you do all the work free of cost.

However, you can have a giveaway every month or week. The reason is, when customers win something like a price, they will feel happy and will choose your services over competitors.

12.   Stay active on social media

If you are not on social media, then you will lose a large audience. In addition, this situation will likely be exploited by your competitors by seizing your target clients. And social media isn’t expensive either, because you can create a business account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for free. So, try to be active on different social media sites. 

As a consulting business, it is important to keep up with the competition to stay ahead. To do this, it is essential to engage in competitive research or market research to gain insights into your competitors’ strategies. Through market research, you can discover your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, their services, and how they compare to your own. In this blog post, we will discuss what competitive research is, its benefits, and how to keep a check on your competitors through market research.

WHAT IS COMPETITIVE RESEARCH?

Competitive research is the process of tracking and analyzing the activities of your competitors to gain insights into how they operate and what sets them apart from you. It’s a tool that consulting businesses use to compare themselves to their competition to identify strengths and weaknesses. In essence, it’s about understanding who your competitors are and what they offer that sets them apart from you. Competitive research involves gathering information on their services, pricing strategies, marketing efforts, customer service practices, and any other related aspects of their business. Through this analysis, businesses can better position themselves to succeed in a crowded market by developing stronger strategies. By keeping a close eye on your competitors, you can get a better idea of how to best position yourself in the market and stay ahead of the competition.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KEEP A TRACK OF YOUR COMPETITORS?

Competitive research is essential in the modern consulting business environment as it provides invaluable insights into your competitors’ strategies, pricing, and services. By conducting competitive research, you can gain a better understanding of the market, potential customer preferences, and competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

Keeping track of your competitors allows you to stay ahead of the competition by understanding their current strategies and reacting appropriately to changes in their approach. You can also use this information to improve your strategies, helping you to stay competitive and attract customers.

By identifying gaps in the market and capitalizing on them, you can create new growth opportunities. This could include launching new services that are more attractive to customers than those offered by your competitors.

Competitive research also helps you understand how other consulting firms are using new technologies or trends to succeed. By understanding these strategies, you can develop similar strategies for your own business and ensure that you remain at the forefront of innovation.

In short, keeping track of your competitors can be essential for long-term success and growth. By understanding their strategies and responding accordingly, you can gain an advantage over them and increase your chances of success.

6 STEPS TO COMPETITIVE RESEARCH

1. Identify Your Competitors: Before you can research about your competitors, you need to identify them. This is easier said than done, as it requires an understanding of who your direct and indirect competitors are in the market. Start by searching for companies that offer similar consulting services to yours and make a list of the ones that stand out.

2. Research Their Offerings: After you’ve identified your competitors, it’s time to find out what they offer. Look into their service range and see if there’s anything unique about their offering. If you can’t find much information, try to contact them directly or ask people who use their services.

3. Compare Your Offerings: Once you’ve done your research on your competitors’ offerings, it’s time to compare them with yours. Are there any areas where you stand out? Can you provide something that your competitors don’t? If so, make sure to include that in your marketing strategy.

4. Analyze Their Prices: Pricing plays a key role in consulting business success, so take some time to analyze your competitors’ prices and see how they compare to yours. This will give you an idea of what kind of price range you should be aiming for when pricing your services.

5. Assess Their Online Presence: As businesses move more and more online, it’s important to assess your competitors’ online presence. Look at their websites, social media accounts, and other digital channels to get an idea of their online marketing efforts. Compare this to yours and see where you can improve.

6. Monitor Them Regularly: Finally, remember to monitor your competitors regularly. This will allow you to keep up with changes in the market and ensure that you stay ahead of the competition. Keep track of their pricing, promotions, and new services, and adjust your strategies accordingly.

IDENTIFY YOUR AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

After conducting competitor research, the next step is to identify and analyze your areas of improvement;

1. Identify your strengths: Your competitive research should reveal the areas in which you are strong and the areas in which your competitors are weak. Make a list of these strengths and weaknesses and use it as a reference when making decisions about where to invest time and resources.

2. Compare yourself to your competitors: Once you have identified your strengths, use this information to compare yourself to your competitors. What do they offer that you don’t? What services or features can you incorporate into your consulting business model?

4. Investigate the competition’s marketing techniques: Try to find out what strategies your competitors are using to reach their target audiences. Are they using social media? Online advertising? SEO optimization? By analyzing their strategies, you can identify the areas in which you could be doing better.

6. Adopt best practices: Look for ways to borrow from your competition’s best practices. How are they successfully engaging their customers? What type of content do they produce? Answering these questions will help you develop more effective marketing campaigns and customer service practices.

Competitive research is an important part of any consulting business, as it allows you to gain insight into your competitors and the current market. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, you can develop strategies to stay ahead of the competition. Keeping a track of your competitors through market research will give you the information you need to create an effective plan for your business. With this knowledge in hand, you can better assess where your business stands in the market and make necessary changes to stay competitive.

As a consultant, of course, you want all the services you provide to be in demand in the market.

The more salable the services sold in the market, the greater the profit potential.

But it’s not as easy as the explanation above, because many competitors also compete in the same consulting business category as you.

So you are required to be able to compete with competitors so that you can survive and not be left behind by your competitors.

Sometimes copying each other between consulting businesses in the business world has become commonplace, but you need to modify it so that you have a more attractive selling point.

In addition, you can deliver promotions through advertising media that are proven to be able to bring in new buyers.

Promotion with online media is easy to run, as long as you want to learn because the updates are very fast.

For example, now there are lots of advertisements that use social media as a means of advertising.

The emergence of online media such as social media is a breath of fresh air for advertisers because it can directly target users and has proven to be more effective.

There are many advertising media to choose from, of course, one media with another has its advantages.

For this reason, so that your advertisement can run right on target according to the target market, you must choose the right media.

Broadly speaking, advertising media is divided into two, namely:

• Print media
• Electronic media

THE BEST ADVERTISING MEDIA

So, in this article, we will discuss in more detail the best advertising media for your business.

We have prepared seven media that have proven to be effective for promoting consulting businesses.

1.      Search Engine Marketing

Are you aware that nowadays everyone is looking for anything through the Google search engine?

The existence of the Google search engine is now very useful, it can change consumer decisions before making a purchase.

According to the survey, there are about 84% of people who search for products or services on Google before making a purchase.

So, this opportunity is what you can use to advertise to the right target through search engine marketing from Google called Google Ads.

You can show ads to potential customers directly based on the keywords they are looking for.

Google has types of ads via search results, image ads, video ads, YouTube ads, and ads via mobile applications.

2.      Mobile Advertising

In today’s era, smartphones have become one of the things that are difficult to separate from our daily lives.

So, this is where you can try advertising media via mobile ads.

Mobile advertising is believed to be able to increase sales and also business brand awareness.

We usually encounter advertisements on mobile devices smartphone applications, and even games.

If you are interested in trying, you can start advertising on Google Admob.

3.      Video Advertising

Video advertising is an advertising method in the form of a video that is more attractive to the audience.

With video media, you can introduce your consulting service to clients.

Indirectly this video advertising can make your potential customers interested so that they take action to buy.

 Sources from BigCommerce say that 85% of millennials make purchases after they see an ad video.

It doesn’t stop there, you can also make videos in the form of service reviews.

4.      Email Marketing

Email is not just a medium of communication to send messages between users, you can use it as a marketing medium.

Email marketing can be a great and effective option for personalizing a service offered.

McKinsey Company stated that email marketing is considered 40 times more effective than marketing via social media such as Facebook and Instagram.

So if your social media ads haven’t been able to generate sales so far, try to look at email marketing.

5.      TV Advertising

Advertising on television is the right choice for those consulting brands or companies that have large advertising budgets.

Advertisements on TV media are counted per second, so you can calculate for yourself how much you can afford to pay just how many times your ads are broadcasted.

Ads on TV are effective because they can spread widely throughout the country.

Advertising through television media can increase public trust in a brand.

Until now, television is still a good medium for advertising, but you need to prepare a budget that is not small.

6.      Radios

Even though everything is digital now, radio still has loyal listeners.

Radio is also considered the best advertising medium for local promotions.

Most radios have local area coverage, so you can adjust the services that are suitable for the local market.

7.      Print Media

Print media is an old model of advertising and is still effective today, it is evident that we still encounter many advertisements using print media.

This media combines elements of writing and images so that it makes the reader interested.

Examples of print media that still exist today include newspapers, brochures, pamphlets, flyers, posters, and the like.

So, how do you choose the best advertising media for your consulting business?

For now, we recommend using internet digital media, besides the cost being lower, the reach can be wider.

Also, make sure when advertising to ensure website security. A safe website can be seen from the presence or absence of SSL on the website.

Are you a consultant looking for advice on how to effectively market your business? If so, you’ve come to the right place! In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how marketing for consultants is different than marketing for goods, as well as some effective strategies to help you reach the right audience. From understanding the unique needs of consulting clients to crafting a compelling message that resonates with your target audience, we’ll cover everything you need to know about marketing. So let’s get started!

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETING GOODS AND SERVICES

When it comes to marketing, the main difference between goods and services lies in the tangible nature of the product. Goods are tangible products that can be bought and sold while services are intangible, meaning they cannot be seen, touched, or held.

Goods are typically sold in a store and can be shipped to the customer. Services are not something that can be shipped; they must be delivered in person or via digital methods such as webinars.

Goods tend to focus on physical attributes such as size, shape, color, etc., whereas services focus more on abstract qualities such as expertise, trustworthiness, and reliability. Services also require a longer selling process because the customer is purchasing an intangible product; thus, there is a need for more detailed product information and education before the customer is ready to buy.

In addition, marketing for services requires more intensive research into target audiences. The focus is on developing a customer persona which helps to create tailored marketing campaigns. This can include social media posts and videos that showcase the service provider’s unique skillset and the benefits of their services.

Ultimately, the goal of marketing services is to build relationships with potential customers rather than just push sales. This involves creating customer loyalty through communication and engagement in order to form long-lasting relationships.

WHY MARKETING FOR CONSULTANTS IS DIFFERENT?

Marketing services such as consulting are different from marketing goods. Consultants provide intangible products, which makes the process of marketing more challenging. Services are highly personal, individual, and contextual, therefore clients need to feel a connection with the consultant before they make the decision to purchase their services.

One of the biggest differences between marketing goods and services is that goods can be evaluated on tangible qualities, while services require clients to take into account the reputation of the consultant and trust that they will deliver what they promise. This means that creating and sustaining a positive image and reputation is essential for consultants.

In order to stand out in a crowded market, consultants must demonstrate their expertise and credibility. This requires different strategies than those used for marketing goods, including emphasizing personal brand values, building relationships with potential clients, and developing a strong network of contacts who can refer potential clients to the consultant.

Consultants should also focus on delivering high-quality customer service to develop and nurture relationships with existing clients. This can be done through providing superior communication and project management services, follow-up calls, surveys, or feedback forms after the completion of projects, and follow-up emails or newsletters to stay in touch with clients. All these strategies help to create and maintain an exceptional client experience.

EFFECTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR CONSULTANTS

For any business, marketing is essential to spread the word and build a customer base. Consulting firms are no exception, but they require a specialized approach. Here are some strategies to help you market your consulting services effectively:

1. Networking: Connecting with potential clients is key in the consulting industry. Attend networking events and join relevant LinkedIn groups to introduce yourself and your services to potential customers.

2. Digital marketing: Utilize online channels such as SEO, Google Ads, and social media marketing to make your presence known online.

3. Referrals: Ask your existing customers for referrals. Word-of-mouth recommendations can be a great way to grow your business.

4. Content marketing: Publish useful and informative content on topics related to your services to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

5. Thought leadership: Position yourself as an authority figure in your area of expertise by writing articles for publications, giving interviews, and speaking at events.

By following these strategies, you can build brand awareness and attract more customers to your consulting business.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING FOR CONSULTING BUSINESS

Branding plays a critical role in the marketing of consulting services. A strong brand can help a consulting firm stand out from the competition, attract potential customers, and increase customer loyalty. The goal of branding for consultants is to create an emotional connection with customers and to communicate the values of the firm.

To do this effectively, consultants need to create a logo, slogan, and other visuals that will be associated with their business. They should also create an online presence that reflects their brand. This includes having a website and social media accounts that showcase their unique selling points, such as their experience and approach to consulting.

Moreover, consultants should focus on creating content that reflects their brand. This can include blog posts, videos, podcasts, and infographics that showcase their expertise and the value they can provide to clients. Additionally, it is important to use consistent messaging across all of these platforms so that clients recognize the firm’s brand when they come across it.

Finally, consultants should focus on developing relationships with customers by engaging with them through various channels. This includes replying to comments on social media, responding to emails and messages, and building relationships with industry influencers. Through this kind of engagement, consultants can build trust with their audience and demonstrate that their business is reliable and trustworthy.

By focusing on branding and relationship building, consultants can differentiate themselves from the competition and establish themselves as an authority in their industry. Doing so will help them gain visibility, attract more customers, and increase customer loyalty in the long run.

Marketing for consulting firms is different from marketing goods because of the intangible nature of services. It’s important to understand that difference in order to create effective strategies. Effective marketing strategies for consultants should include a focus on branding, building trust with clients, and leveraging digital marketing techniques. By leveraging these techniques, you can ensure that your consulting firm stands out from the competition.

Are you looking for a content marketing strategy that will effectively increase your consulting firm’s sales? If so, you’re in luck! Recent research has found that consulting businesses with a content marketing strategy are more likely to feel that their efforts are successful, resulting in increased sales. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the key elements of an effective content marketing strategy and how they can help you boost your sales. So, if you want to learn how to create a successful content marketing plan, keep reading!

DEFINING YOUR AUDIENCE

One of the most important steps when creating a content marketing strategy is to define your target audience. This means understanding who your potential customers are and what they need from your service. To do this, you must first understand your customer base and what drives them.

Ask yourself questions like Who are my customers? What age range are they in? Where do they live? What are their interests? What are their spending habits?

Answering these questions will give you an idea of the type of content that would best appeal to your target audience. It will also help you decide which channels are best to reach them. For example, if your target audience is made up of millennials, then social media may be the best way to get in front of them.

Once you know who your customers are, it’s important to research what other consulting brands are doing in terms of content marketing. This will give you an idea of what kind of content is popular with your audience and what kind of topics could help you stand out from the competition. You can also look for opportunities to differentiate yourself from your competitors and create unique content that will set you apart.

RESEARCH YOUR COMPETITION

Researching your competition is an essential step in developing a successful content marketing strategy. After all, you need to know what type of content your competitors are producing and how they are promoting it.

Start by researching their website, social media pages, blog, and other online presences to get an idea of what type of content they are creating. Take note of the topics they write about, the types of images they use, and the types of videos they produce. This will give you a better understanding of what works for them and what you might be able to do differently to stand out.

You can also research the analytics of their content to get an idea of how successful it is. This will provide valuable insight into what topics and formats have resonated with their audience. Knowing this information can help you create more targeted content for your strategy.

Finally, look at the types of promotion strategies your competitors are using. Analyzing their promotional campaigns can give you ideas for new ways to reach potential customers. It can also help you identify channels that may be underserved and ones where you can create content that stands out.

SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS

It is important to set realistic, achievable goals for your content marketing strategy. You need to think about what kind of results you want to achieve and set a timeline for when those goals should be reached. Goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

Some examples of specific goals you may want to consider are increasing website traffic, gaining more followers on social media, or generating more leads from your content. These goals should be aligned with your overall consulting business objectives and be regularly evaluated for progress.

You can also create smaller, achievable milestones that lead to the bigger goal. These can be tasks such as writing a certain number of blog posts each month or increasing engagement on your social media channels by 5%. By setting these types of targets and tracking them, you’ll be able to measure the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy in real time.

DECIDE WHICH CHANNELS TO USE

When deciding which channels to use for your content marketing strategy, it’s important to consider the goals of your campaign and what type of content will best resonate with your target audience. For example, if you’re targeting an older demographic, you may want to focus on more traditional mediums like print and radio. However, if you’re targeting a younger demographic, social media may be a better fit.

The key is to experiment with different channels to see what works best for your particular consulting service. You can also use analytics tools to track the performance of each channel so you can make informed decisions about which ones to focus your efforts on.

Some of the most common channels used in content marketing campaigns include:

• Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)

• Video-sharing websites (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)

• Online forums

• Email newsletters

• Paid advertising (Google Ads, PPC campaigns)

Once you’ve identified the channels that are most likely to yield the best results for your particular service, you can begin creating content that appeals to your target audience. Make sure to regularly measure and analyze the performance of each channel to ensure that your content marketing efforts are effective.

CREATE CONTENT THAT APPEALS TO YOUR AUDIENCE

When it comes to content creation, you need to ensure that you are producing content that is relevant and engaging to your target audience. To do this, it’s important to consider what kind of content they would be most interested in.

Start by identifying the problems that your audience faces and then create content that offers them solutions. If you can provide helpful and interesting information, your audience will be more likely to engage with it.

You can also tailor the format of your content to your target audience. If you know your audience prefers visuals, then use images, videos, or infographics to share your message. Or if they prefer text-based content, then create blogs or eBooks that offer valuable information.

It’s also important to consider the language you use in your content. For example, if your target audience is young adults, you should use a more casual tone and avoid overly technical terms.

Finally, make sure you keep up with consulting industry trends and update your content regularly so that it’s always relevant and engaging. By creating content that appeals to your audience, you can effectively increase your sales.

PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT

Once you’ve created content, the next step is to ensure that it reaches its intended audience. This is where promotion comes in.

To effectively promote your content, start by using SEO and other organic tactics to boost your website’s visibility. You can also use paid advertising on search engines and social media platforms, such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads.

Once you have a promotional plan in place, use analytics to track the performance of your content and adjust your strategy if needed. Utilizing influencers and brand ambassadors can also be a powerful way to increase visibility for your content and get it in front of more people.

You should also look into social media automation tools, which can help you reach a larger audience quickly and easily. These tools allow you to schedule posts in advance, as well as monitor engagement so that you can respond to any comments or feedback quickly.

Finally, consider repurposing your content in different formats. This can include creating infographics, videos, webinars, or podcasts based on your existing content. Doing this can help you reach an even wider audience, as well as make sure your content stays fresh and relevant.

ANALYZE AND ADJUST

One of the most important aspects of a successful content marketing strategy is ongoing analysis and adjustment. Without measuring the results of your efforts, you won’t know what is working and what isn’t. You can use analytics to determine how much traffic your content is receiving, how long users are spending on your pages, and how often they’re sharing or clicking through to take action.

In addition to tracking general performance metrics, consider taking a closer look at each piece of content that you’ve created. Take note of which posts got the most attention, which ones inspired readers to take action, and which ones didn’t get any attention. This can help you better understand what works for your audience and allow you to adjust accordingly.

Based on your analytics, consider if it would be beneficial to tweak existing content or create new content based on the successful topics. Doing so will help you get the most out of your content marketing efforts and increase the effectiveness of your strategy.

WHAT IS MARKETING COST?

Marketing expenses are the expenses necessary to carry out the marketing activities of a consulting business. General marketing expenses include advertising expenses, sales promotion expenses, sales personnel expenses, and sales and administrative expenses.

HOW TO DETERMINE THE RIGHT LEVEL OF MARKETING INVESTMENT?

There are several patterns in how to determine the marketing costs of consulting business. In this article, I will introduce three patterns, so I hope you can use them as hints when creating a marketing budget for your consulting firm.

How to decide ①: Decide based on the previous year’s marketing expenses

The first method is based on the previous year’s marketing expenses. I think a lot of consulting companies use this method. The good points of this method are that it is easy to create a budget when continuing marketing activities from the previous year, it is easy to allocate the budget, it is easy to pass the approval process, and it is easy to estimate the cost-effectiveness based on empirical rules.

However, since the budget is determined based on the previous year’s marketing expenses, there is a high possibility that the marketing activities will be the same as the previous year. Unless you can achieve your goals even if you start and end with the same marketing activities as the previous year, it may be difficult to achieve your goals unless you review the marketing activities themselves, so be careful.

In addition, it cannot be used in cases where the marketing expenses for the previous year cannot be calculated in the first place, such as a startup that has just been founded or a new consulting business that has just been launched.

How to decide ②: Decide the ratio of expenses to the gross profit of the previous year

The second method is to determine the ratio of expenses to the gross profit of the previous year. Gross profit is the total amount of sales minus the cost of sales. By setting a percentage (upper limit) to be allocated to marketing expenses against gross profit, you can prevent marketing expenses from being wasted like water.

The good thing about this method is that it prevents the marketing budget from being wasted, and it forces marketers to focus on profits. If you want to increase your marketing spending over the previous year, you have no choice but to increase the total gross profit you earn. If the attitude to secure profits works well, it will lead to investment in more cost-effective marketing activities, withdrawal from less cost-effective marketing activities, prevention of easy price reductions, and strengthening of cooperation with sales departments.

However, since the ratio of expenses to the gross profit of the previous year is determined, it cannot be used for newly founded startups or new consulting businesses just launched, as in method (1). Also, if the previous year’s performance is poor, the total marketing expenses will be less, which may lead to a reduction in marketing activities in that business.

Therefore, the method of determining the ratio of expenses to the gross profit of the previous year can be said to be a method that functions effectively after continuous business growth (increase in sales and gross profit) can be expected.

How to decide ③: Decide marketing expenses by calculating backward from the achievement of the goal

The third method is to decide the marketing cost by calculating backward from the achievement of the goal. This method is a very standard method of determining marketing expenses by identifying the marketing activities necessary to achieve the purpose and calculating the necessary expenses.

The good thing about this method is that you’re more likely to hit your goals because you’re basing your marketing efforts and costs on those goals.

Although it is a standard method, it can be said that it is a method that requires a lot of marketing knowledge and practical experience. For example, it is necessary to have the ability to work backward from the achievement of goals and work out strategies and tactics and apply them to marketing measures, as well as the ability to estimate in advance the cost-effectiveness of the investment.

A poor outlook on cost-effectiveness may result in an inadequate return on investment. Also, if you don’t set a marketing spending limit up front, you’re more likely to spend a lot of money on unprofitable marketing efforts. This can be fatal for small and medium-sized consulting enterprises with limited management resources (especially startups that have just been founded or new businesses that have just been launched), so caution is required.

Therefore, when adopting this method, it is difficult to set up marketing expenses without marketing knowledge and know-how. If you do not have the marketing knowledge or know-how in-house, it is also important to seek advice from experts with marketing knowledge.

How to check marketing cost-effectiveness?

Next, I will explain how to check the cost-effectiveness of marketing. To answer the question, “Why did you choose that policy over other policies?”, it is necessary to be able to explain the effectiveness of the chosen policy, that is, its cost-effectiveness. So, what are some ways to check the cost-effectiveness of marketing? There are several ways to calculate the cost-effectiveness of marketing.

Confirmation method ①: ROI (Return on Investment)

The first is ROI (Return on Investment). ROI is an index that shows how much return (profit) there was for investment (cost invested). ROI is generally calculated by the following formula.

“Profit ÷ investment amount x 100 = profit recovery rate (%)”

ROI expresses the return on investment as a percentage (%). Deriving ROI is very important. It makes it easier to make investment decisions because you know how much profit you will get back for your investment. In addition, limited management resources can be invested in measures with higher ROI, making it easier to increase the success rate of the business.

Confirmation method ②: ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend)

The second is ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend). ROAS is an index that shows how much return (sales) was made through advertising for advertising costs. It is a method used to express the cost-effectiveness of advertising, and it is an indicator that is often heard in the field of marketing. ROAS is calculated by the following formula.

“Sales ÷ advertising expenses x 100 = sales recovery rate (%)”

The sales recovery rate indicates how much sales are generated for every $1 spent on advertising. When advertising using multiple media, it is used to compare the effect of each media.

Confirmation method ③: CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

The third is CPA (Cost Per Acquisition). CPA is a value that indicates how much advertising costs are spent for one conversion (CV). This metric is also known as the cost per customer acquisition. CPA is calculated by the following formula.

“Advertising cost ÷ Number of conversions (CV) = Customer acquisition cost (¥)”

CPA, like ROAS, is a method used to express the cost-effectiveness of advertising and is an indicator that is often heard in the marketing field. A lower CPA (lower cost per customer acquisition) means that you can generate more conversions (CV) with less advertising spending.

Email marketing is an incredibly powerful tool for consulting businesses and can be a great way to reach your target audience. However, in order to get the most out of your email campaigns, it’s important to develop a well-thought-out strategy. In this blog post, we’ll look at how to create an effective email marketing strategy in 6 simple steps. With these steps, you can ensure your emails get opened, read, and acted upon, maximizing the impact of your campaigns.

HOW TO DEVELOP AN EMAIL MARKETING STRATEGY IN 6 STEPS?

Step One: Figure out Your Goals

Before you start planning out your email marketing strategy, it’s important to establish your goals. What is it that you hope to accomplish? This can range from increasing your customer base, to building brand loyalty and recognition. It’s essential that your goals are measurable, so you can track your progress.

Some common goals for email marketing campaigns include:

– Increasing website traffic

– Improving customer loyalty and engagement

– Building brand recognition

– Generating leads

– Promoting new consulting services

– Driving sales or conversions

By setting realistic goals before you begin, you’ll be able to better measure the success of your email campaign and adjust your strategy as needed. Once you have established your goals, you can move on to the next step.

Step Two: Choose the Type of Emails You want to send

Choosing the right type of email to send is a crucial part of your email marketing strategy. The most common types of emails are:

• Welcome Emails: Welcome emails are sent to new subscribers and are usually used to introduce your company and services.

• Promotional Emails: These emails are sent to your existing list of subscribers and are used to promote special offers or discounts.

• Newsletter Emails: Newsletter emails are sent to your existing list of subscribers on a regular basis and are used to inform them about new services, provide helpful tips, and share relevant content.

• Follow-up Emails: Follow-up emails are sent after a customer has taken some action like hiring a service or subscribing to your list. They are used to nurture leads and help keep customers engaged.

When choosing the type of emails you want to send, consider your goals, the audience you’re targeting, and the type of content they may be interested in. The more targeted and relevant your emails are, the better the results will be.

Step Three: Build Your Email List

Building an email list is one of the most important steps in creating a successful email marketing strategy. To get started, you’ll need to determine who your target audience is and what types of emails you plan to send them. Once you’ve established that, there are several ways to build your list.

One way to collect contact information is to add an opt-in form to your website or blog. This form should include a simple call to action (CTA) asking visitors to sign up for your email list. You can also use landing pages or pop-ups to collect visitor information.

You should also consider using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to promote your opt-in forms and encourage people to sign up. Social media can be a great tool for building an email list since it allows you to quickly reach a large number of people with just one post.

Finally, you should also consider partnering with other businesses or influencers in the consulting industry who have a large audience and they can help spread the word about your email list.

Step Four: Create Compelling Content

Creating compelling content for your email campaigns is key to increasing engagement and driving results. To make sure that your emails are engaging and effective, it’s important to think about the content you are creating and how it resonates with your target audience.

When creating content, start by brainstorming topics that will appeal to your target audience. Try to create content that is valuable and informative to your readers and provides them with useful information. Consider using visuals such as images, videos, or infographics to enhance the message of your content and make it more engaging.

Once you have settled on a topic, create an attention-grabbing headline that encourages readers to open the email and read more. Also, consider adding calls to action (CTAs) throughout your email content to encourage readers to take specific actions such as hiring your consulting services.

Finally, keep in mind that content should be written for both mobile and desktop viewers, as many people open emails on their phones. Make sure that your text is easy to read on any device by keeping paragraphs short and breaking up longer passages with visuals and formatting tools like headings and bullet points.

By crafting compelling content that resonates with your target audience, you can ensure that your email campaigns are successful and drive results.

Step Five: Automate, Test, and Measure

Once you’ve created your email campaigns, you can use automation tools to help you streamline the process of sending out emails. Automation tools allow you to schedule and send out emails automatically, as well as track who opens and clicks on links in the emails. This saves you time and helps ensure that you are reaching your target audience.

Testing is also an important part of any email marketing strategy. You should test different versions of your email campaigns to find out which ones are the most effective. Try testing different headlines, images, and other elements to see which version gets the best response.

Finally, measure the success of your campaigns. Measure how many people opened and clicked on the emails, as well as how many people unsubscribed or responded. This will give you a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, so you can make adjustments accordingly.

Step Six: Rinse and Repeat

Once you’ve implemented your email marketing strategy, it’s time to rinse and repeat. This means regularly reviewing the performance of your campaigns, analyzing the results, and making improvements.

When you’re just starting out, make sure to review your campaigns on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Pay attention to your open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe rates, and conversion rates to determine what’s working and what needs improvement.

Make any necessary changes to your content, design, and sending frequency, and then keep doing what works. As you gain more experience with email marketing, you can shift to a monthly review cycle.

Email marketing is a powerful tool for any consulting business, no matter how large or small. With the right strategy in place, you can build relationships with customers and prospects, increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive more sales. Crafting a comprehensive email marketing strategy requires careful planning and dedication, but with the right tools and techniques, you can achieve great results. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can begin to develop your own unique email marketing strategy that will help you reach your goals and engage with your customers.

Before heading towards the most important marketing strategies, we will like to tell you about some initial steps that you should consider before deciding what strategies you should choose for your consulting business.

The first step is to determine marketing goals and develop a budget to achieve these goals.

The objectives of the marketing strategy can vary depending on the situation of each consulting firm. Some examples of marketing strategy goals are increasing brand awareness, increasing conversions, or increasing revenue.

In addition to goals, you also need to develop a budget. Why is the budget so important in marketing strategy? Maybe some people think that posting on social media is enough, without the need to spend money.

Unfortunately, you have to throw away such thoughts if you want to get the most out of your marketing strategy. You must be willing to spend money on advertising on Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, or other online advertising platforms.

Utilizing social media feeds alone is not enough to attract potential customers. What’s more, the ever-changing social media algorithms make your posts on social media missed by potential customers.

In addition, costs for online advertising can be adjusted according to the budget you have. Because most online platforms implement pay-per-click where you can set the advertising budget according to business capabilities and according to the broad reach of the target audience. So you won’t be burdened by high advertising costs.

MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR CONSULTING BUSINESS

There are many promotional or marketing strategies that you can apply to grow your consulting business. Here are the most powerful marketing strategies for consulting business success:

1.      Take advantage of Google My Business

Our first recommended effective marketing strategy is the use of Google My Business.

Google My Business is a feature for business owners that is useful to make it easier for potential customers to find out complete information about your business.

From the business name, company address, company telephone number, company email address, hours of operation, company website, and office photos, to customer reviews.

By registering your consulting business on Google My Business, your office automatically appears on Google Maps. Customers who want to come to your place of business will find it easy to get to the location with the help of Google Maps. Yep, you don’t need to bother thinking about a complex marketing system. Let google maps work’ for you.

Even though it looks trivial, Google My Business has many benefits. From businesses appearing on Google Maps, and customer reviews, to communication media for customers. So make sure your business is listed on Google My Business.

2.      Define One Main Social Media Channel

The next effective marketing technique: Social Media!

There are many social media options that you can use for marketing strategies. There’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LINE, Pinterest, LinkedIn, to YouTube. Does your firm has to be active on all social media? Certainly not.

It could be that a specific consulting business needs to conduct a social media campaign on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Meanwhile, other consulting businesses may only need to use Instagram. Maybe your business needs to do social media marketing on Instagram, LinkedIn, and LINE.

How to determine the right social media for your business? The answer is research. You need to do audience research to determine which social media is best suited for your business.

One of the most effective audience research methods is the Bulls Eye technique developed by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares to map marketing strategies on social media.

The Bulls Eye technique consists of five steps, namely Brainstorming, ranking, Prioritizing, Test, and Focus On.

3.      Implement Content Marketing

Content marketing is a marketing technique that involves creating and distributing relevant, important, and consistent content to attract an audience to convert them into consumers.

One of the main media for running content marketing is a blog. Blogs can be useful for getting high traffic through organic search.

So, you can create a blog to show potential customers that you are an expert in the industry that you are in.

In addition, you can also use a microsite. This mini website is important to help you create a more focused and unique marketing campaign.

4.      Share Relevant, Important, and Consistent Content

As mentioned in the previous point, the content you share must meet three conditions, namely relevant, important and consistent. First, you must create content that is relevant to your consulting business.

Second, being relevant is not enough. You also need to consider whether or not the content is important for the target audience to know. Make a priority scale containing topics that are relevant to the target audience. Sort from most important to least important topics.

Finally, in content marketing, you can’t rely on just one piece of content to attract the audience’s attention. It takes a lot of content so that you can finally experience the benefits of content marketing for your business.

5.      Take advantage of Paid Search

Since the invention of online search engines, anyone can find anything in cyberspace, from scientific journals to household appliances.

The existence of online search engines such as Google has also changed consumer behavior, where consumers can now search for products on Google before buying them. Google calls this situation Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT).

Paid search can be found in all search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. However, Google is the biggest platform for paid search.

Google provides paid search services through Google Ads, previously known as Google AdWords. With Google Ads, you can set the reach and specifications of your targeted audience.

6.      Use Social Media Ads

Reach on social media is not only obtained through organic reach. You can also take advantage of the ad services of each social media platform to increase the reach of your social media posts.

What’s more, social media timelines such as Instagram and Facebook apply a random system, no longer based on the time of posting. This can cause your social media content to be missed.

You can overcome this by using the ads service. For that, you can take advantage of social media ad services. 

7.      Take advantage of Coupon Sites

Coupon sites are not only useful for clients looking for discount coupons but also useful for consulting business owners to promote their businesses.

The main goal of placing coupons on coupon sites isn’t selling, but increasing brand awareness.

The more attractive discounts you offer, the more people will use your coupons. That way more and more people will try your services. If your services are successful in satisfying clients, they don’t need coupons anymore.

8.      Build Relationships

Apart from building a marketing strategy on the platforms above, you also need to build relationships with people in consulting industry.

Join Facebook or Facebook groups related to consulting business. Become a speaker or sponsor at seminars and events. That way, you can get information about developments in the industry.

9.      Make the Most of Print Promotional Tools

Although currently online marketing strategies have been implemented by most consulting businesses, there are still many offline promotions that are still effective in today’s digital era.

One way is to maximize print promotional tools such as business cards, flyers, or brochures. Print promotion tools help increase brand awareness and enhance your company’s reputation.

Because not everyone has access to the internet and of course, print promotion tools will make your business more trusted.

Whatever kind of consulting business you run, of course, you have to keep looking for ways to attract consumers, right? Well, in this case, the right online marketing strategy is the solution you need.

In this article, we will discuss what a marketing strategy is, its functions, benefits and steps for implementation. 

So what are you waiting for? Let’s see more!

WHAT IS A MARKETING STRATEGY?

A marketing strategy is a series of plans that a consulting business builds to reach potential markets and convert them into clients. Generally, marketing plans are made to dominate the market and achieve long-term profits.

You can’t just market your services to everyone. Because you need the right marketing strategy to be able to attract as many potential customers as possible.

Apart from getting you to the right customers, marketing strategies can also facilitate your coordination with the team. Because team members can understand the direction of business marketing goals more easily.

There are many types of marketing strategies themselves, and what we will discuss in this article is an online marketing strategy.

WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF A MARKETING STRATEGY?

The basic functions of marketing strategy include:

• Accelerate company growth;
• Build a reputation;
• Increase brand awareness;
• Targeting the right market share;
• Ensuring the company maximizes its resources.

After knowing the functions of a marketing strategy, the next is to understand why you should use it. We will discuss this further in the next point.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A MARKETING STRATEGY?

In this digital era, an effective marketing strategy can help you reach your potential customers throughout the world. But the benefits of a marketing strategy are not only that, let’s take a look at some of the other benefits a consulting business can get if it implements the right marketing strategy:

1.      Reach More customers 

The number of people who have access to the internet is always increasing every year.

According to Napoleoncat.com, of the 140 million people, around 128 million people are connected to Facebook and 60 million people already have Instagram. You can reach hundreds of millions of people through online marketing strategies.

2.      Easy to Practice

Maybe online marketing strategies are still foreign to some people. Even though it’s still foreign, it doesn’t mean you can ignore it. Because marketing strategies are easier than you think.

3.      Can Target clients More Specifically

Does your consulting Business need wide coverage? You can expand your location coverage throughout the world. Does your business only need location coverage in certain cities or provinces? You can narrow the reach of ad locations so that your target audience is more specific.

You can also set ads to appear on any device. People access search engines through a variety of devices, from desktops to tablets to smartphones. You can set your ad to show on all three devices at once or select just a few of them.

In addition to setting the range of locations and devices, you can also set the time the ads appear. So you can set your ad to show on any day and for any specific period.

You can also set target audience specifications according to the needs of your consulting company.

4.      Measurable Results

Another advantage of an online marketing strategy is that it is easy to measure.

For example, when placing ads on platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or Instagram Ads, you can get performance reports on the ads you post.

Starting from how many people you have reached, to how effective the ads you have posted. So you can evaluate your online marketing and improve it in the next strategy.

5.      Relatively Minimal Cost

Implementing an online marketing strategy does not mean that it costs nothing at all. However, the costs you spend on online marketing strategies will generate greater revenue than conventional marketing strategies.

Moreover, some online marketing strategies even allow you to invest long-term in promotions. For example, through a blog, you can get stable traffic every month to your website.

The costs for advertising on platforms such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads can also be adjusted according to your consultancy firm’s budget capabilities.

WHAT STEPS DO YOU NEED TO TAKE TO IMPLEMENT YOUR MARKETING STRATEGIES?

1.      Perform Market Segmentation

As the name implies, market segmentation is an attempt to divide the market into smaller groups.

The division of this group is based on geographical, demographic, behavioral, and psychographic location.

Market segmentation based on geography is the easiest to do. You can determine market division based on cities and villages, provinces, to islands.

Demographics are related to population dynamics. Demographic segmentation includes gender, age, education level, and others. Segmentation is also relatively easy to do.

On the other hand, behavioral segmentation can be a bit tricky. Because you have to study people’s habits in hiring a consulting service.

The last is psychographic segmentation. This is the most complicated because it is more specific. This segmentation is a development of demographics and behavior. For example, someone who has a high level of income and frequently shops online will certainly like the service that can be hired through the website, even though the price is slightly more expensive.

2.      Determine the Target Market (Market Targeting)

After dividing the market according to its segments, the next step in implementing the marketing strategy is to determine the target market.

The target market is a specific segment intended to sell a service.

By understanding the target market, it will be easier to determine the services to sell and the promotional steps to take. Different target markets require different promotional content and ways of communicating.

Not only that, but you can also find out the map of competition with your competitors. Thus, you can calculate whether it is profitable to penetrate certain target markets or not.

3.      Market Positioning

Even in a specific target market, you may find stiff competition. This condition will certainly require you to engage in unfavorable price wars.

Therefore, you need to apply a third strategy, namely positioning. 

In simple terms, market positioning is a marketing strategy to show that your services are different from the others. One way is to build brand awareness.

Brand awareness can provide several benefits, such as the ease of getting new customers to create loyal customer groups.

Now, after reading this article you may have gotten an idea about what marketing strategy is, its functions and steps to apply it in your consulting firm. So! What are you waiting for? Start implementing your online marketing strategies today to boost your sales.