Page 28 - LandscapeSA Issue 106

BUSINESS

convert them to customers and ultimately
lifelong fans.
It is all about planning for success. Taking time to put
together a business plan and including others can be In difficult times, such as has been
experienced recently, the first reaction
some of the best time spent on your business. from business owners is typically to reduce
the marketing spend, which is often the
wrong thing to do. It is precisely in these
times that better marketing could be the
catalyst you need to maintain growth and
drive new opportunities.
Once again it comes down to planning:
many SMEs do not take time to create a
proper marketing plan and budget. Without
a solid marketing plan, businesses have a
high rate of failure. A documented, content
driven marketing strategy has been proved
to lead to exponential growth and success.

My advice: take the time to develop a
written strategic marketing plan. Calculate
the financial costs of implementing your
strategies and budget for around 8% of
turnover.

Your plan should include resources for
activities like website design, inbound
marketing, marketing collateral, social
media etc. Look at using the services of an
expert to assist where you don’t have the
expertise or time to execute consistently.

Another important consideration is to ensure
you are targeting the right audience to ensure
you are not wasting valuable marketing
spend. If you target your ideal client, you will
maximise your marketing and find yourself
attracting and keeping more customers.

Start now…
As we approach the end of the 2021,
ask yourself, what are you going to do
everything is going well, but it can create Who you employ is one of the most differently in 2022 to grow and sustain your
tension if family members are under- important decisions you can make for the successful business? What will you and your
performing, need to be disciplined or at growth of your business. Hire slow and if you team be focusing on in the next 90 days?
worst, are asked to leave. make a mistake, as difficult as it may be, fire
fast. Having the wrong people in your team You still have time to think this through and
An effective and motivated management often detracts from focusing on the business. put some plans in place. If you put in the work
team and staff is critical for any business. now and end 2021 with clarity of focus and a
Hiring the wrong person or people can Step 3: Have a clear and actionable detailed, actionable business and marketing
literally cost you your business. marketing plan plan, in addition to a team that is aligned in
Marketing is an essential part of promoting supporting your business goals, you will reap
My advice: hire for attitude, beliefs, your business, creating visibility and growing the benefits in 2022 and beyond.
values and tenacity. When you recruit sales revenue. The problem is that business
for a key position, consider using a DiSC owners often get sold new marketing tactics Need a hand? Connect with me today to
and motivators assessment as part of the without understanding how they align to schedule your one-hour complimentary
decision-making process. their business goals or knowing how to business strategy consultation session.
measure the results. Yours in Business,
Business owners can easily fall into the trap Coach Bert
of hiring team members who are just good When it comes to marketing: the best
enough. This often happens when budgets marketing is consistent marketing. Bert Weenink is a partner at ActionCOACH
are tight or when the business is trying to Inspire and has over 31 years experience in
ramp up quickly.Business owners should Probably the most common marketing industry. He has worked as a business coach
develop a recruitment process, explore mistake made by business owners is for the last eight years and during this time has
disqualification steps in the process, treating marketing as an expense and worked with more than 250 SMEs.
be clear on the criteria and use group not an investment. The sole purpose of
interviews to save time. marketing is to target market leads and to www.bertweenink.com

26 Landscape SA • Issue 106 2021