Boosting Interior Design Sales - Strategic Marketing

Say, what? Strategic marketing? What is that?This is not some fly-by-night, “guaranteed to make you rich” so-called marketing plan, but a comprehensive, effective marketing strategy that will lead you to the implementation of a plan for successfully marketing your business online. We’re talking about a fully integrated system of strategic decisions and tactical implementation; actions you can take that will build an audience, generate traffic, promote conversions, and increase both revenue and profits.

What is a Marketing Strategy?

Let’s begin by defining our terms – before you begin to think we’ve gone off on some silly tangent:“Strategic / Strategy – A high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty. It is a pattern in a stream of decisions, and is about shaping the future. A Marketing Strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources on the optimal opportunities with the goals of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage.” ~ from Wikipedia“Ok,” you say, “but what does all of that mean for me and my online marketing plan?”What it means is, if you want your internet marketing efforts to be successful, you need to make a plan to be successful. You need to develop a comprehensive approach to marketing your products or services with full participation, and a commitment to creating compelling content at your website, on the social network – using great copy, compelling images and video, and with a pro-active email campaign. All of your content in every venue will relate to the other venues, and content creation will be consistent and compelling. You will provide value for your visitors at every turn, and you will ask them to respond; with a call-to-action that will benefit both you and your prospective client.See, that’s not so much to ask for, is it?

What are the most effective Marketing Strategies?

Now we get down to the fun stuff, the real nitty-gritty of making it happen; of outlining the strategic approach to your online marketing plan. The goal here is to create a sequence of strategic initiatives to build online and offline brand awareness, presenting your products or services to the most profitable markets, by developing and building relationships through what’s known as “Cross Channel Marketing”. There are so many valuable tools and newly opened avenues available in today’s online  marketing environment, that a comprehensive marketing strategy is required to tap into all of them and make your marketing plan a success.

CROSS-CHANNEL MARKETING = WEB + SOCIAL + EMAIL + MOBILE

Here are some of the critical steps you should take to implement a comprehensive marketing strategy:

• Create a compelling marketing website with expert blog
• Create regular blog posts with valuable information for your readers
• Automated push to the social network: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
• Mobile-friendly website and social networking
• Article marketing to build an expert reputation
• Monthly eNewsletter with incentivized content
• Free eBook for lead capture and list building
• Periodic contests and/or giveaways promoted on-site and on the social network
• Create videos, webinars, and teleseminars
• Offer public speaking presentations
• Capitalize on every opportunity to generate revenue

This ain’t your typical web experience.You can no longer simply “put it out there” and “hope for the best.” For real online marketing success in the highly competitive marketplace that our contemporary web has become, a strategic approach to online marketing is a requirement for a plan to be successful. Whether you are a retail home furnishing outlet or an interior designer, a broad-based and effective strategic marketing plan is requisite in today’s online environment.