First 5 Steps in Marketing a New Business: Starting From Scratch
Marketing is the difference between being seen, being heard, and being lost in the noise. Small business owners seeking their first steps in marketing are looking for actionable, achievable goals, a good return on investment (ROI), and measurable results.
Joseph Skibbie, founder of JRS Marketing Communications, has spent over 20 years helping businesses ‘Be Seen’ and ‘Be Heard’ in a rapidly shifting communications environment.
“When starting marketing from scratch, you can do a lot of damage by not starting at square one. If you don’t build for the appropriate audience using the appropriate terminology, your beginner marketing plan can cause more harm than good. Following a specific strategy and building an online community of clients is vital.” Skibbie says.
Skibbie has compiled the first 5 marketing steps for beginners based on strategy, targeted goals, and measurable data that refines and informs his marketing approach.
- Planning
- Resource ID
- Targeted goals
- Implementation
- Analysis and amendment
Step #1 – How to create a marketing plan for a new business
“I’ve seen too many businesses fall apart or struggle to gain traction because they missed this important step. Their products and services were top quality, but they had no marketing plan.” Skibbie comments. “This has to be the first step for any marketing strategy, creating a roadmap for how to apply your resources effectively.”
JRS Marketing Communications implements this first step by using a form to create a “project strategy map.” This creates a framework that includes:
- Keywords
- Geography
- Business description
- Products and services offered
- Goals and measurement
- Social media map
- Editorial calendar
- Site Layout
By plugging a business’s information into the project strategy map, a clear roadmap and plan emerge that inform both the business owner and marketing team where to apply resources.
“Strategy is the secret sauce that everyone forgets, but it is vital for success, especially in digital marketing,” Skibbie says.
Step #2 – Determining your marketing budget and resources
“Once you have your plan in place, determining your resources will define the speed and urgency of your marketing efforts. Time and budget are two of the biggest decisions to make. If you have just begun your business, you may be in a hurry to get foot traffic through the door. On the other hand, if you are rebranding or launching a product with plenty of lead time, you can build a stockpile of resources to be used over many months,” Skibbie shares.
Choosing how many resources to devote to marketing shouldn’t be a stab in the dark; according to Skibbie, it should be numbers-driven.
“At JRS, we typically look at the percentage of sales to determine the budget. 5%, 7.5%, or 10% of gross revenue as a budgetary guideline for conservative, moderate, and aggressive campaigns. That way, we are working within our client’s means while still achieving their goals.”
Step #3 – Setting targeted marketing goals that get results
Once there is a plan and resources have been chosen, it’s time to create targeted goals, which can be created by understanding the who, what, when, why, and where of your campaign.
“Having a deep relationship with your customers and prospects starts with defining them,” Skibbie says. “It creates a two-way communication that is vital to marketing success. Having a plan and defined resources mean nothing if you don’t also know your brand message or the reason you are launching a campaign.”
Creating targeted goals focuses your resources and applies the information gathered in the project strategy map. The team at JRS Marketing Communications implements this step by dedicating time to documenting a client’s ideal customer and connecting the dots to the products/services they need.
Defining that audience will define whether your marketing content and campaigns are:
- Written or visual
- Longform or chopped up on socials
- On all media channels or specific ones
- Written by a person or AI
“Once you understand that audience, you can start answering practical questions, which leads to the next step: implementation.”
Step #4 – Implementing your marketing strategy across channels
Now that the plan has been created, resources chosen, and targeted goals created, it’s time to start implementing the previous steps so that data can be collected and refined over time.
“This is where the rubber meets the road as a business owner,” Skibbie comments. “Your plans and resources come together to make something happen, but because you’ve followed the strategic marketing steps and are hopefully working with a team, you have the tools to begin trying things and collecting the data that shapes your future marketing plans.”
Implementing your marketing goals could look like:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Generating qualified leads
- Boosting website traffic
- Improving customer engagement
- Driving conversions/sales
- Enhancing customer retention/loyalty
- Establishing thought leadership/audience authority
While implementation is time and resource-dependent, the same marketing framework can be applied across the board to scale and customize to meet your budget and specific needs.
“We are our customers, we’ve been there,” Skibbie says, “I know from personal experience that you can’t do it all. We’ve built a framework that works regardless of industry, and our team offers account management, social media management, graphic design, copywriting, video/photo capture, and paid ads management. You can get all those services for about half what a full-time equivalent marketing hire would cost. ”
Implementation is an exciting step in the process as it begins to build up history and data that the marketing team can learn from.
Step #5 – Analyzing and adjusting your marketing for better ROI
Planning, resources, targeted goals, and implementation will all lead to analysis and amendment. Once marketing goals have been implemented and feedback comes in, the marketing team can get to work on analyzing data and understanding the metrics to determine what’s working and what’s not.
Skibbie knows this is a key part of cost-effective marketing and getting the greatest ROI.
“We (business owners) never want an expense without a metric tied to it, and all aspects of marketing (from web hosting to social engagement to thought leadership, and more) can be measured. If you’re not measuring every marketing dollar that goes out, no wonder you can’t track what’s working.”
It’s simple—if you’re doing something with marketing and don’t have a number tied to it, you are potentially wasting your marketing budget.
All marketing can be tracked, including:
- Website traffic
- Lead generation
- Conversions
- Engagement
- Paid media performance
- Customer retention
- Brand awareness
“If you are only relying on year-over-year sales data, you will miss the full picture of marketing returns,” Skibbie warns.
Tools like Google Analytics 4, social platform dashboards, conversion pixels, SEO trackers, and backlink monitoring provide a full view of marketing performance.
“Dollars tied to metrics is what we are all about, and we know firsthand that the data in marketing is the difference; this is where companies that spend on marketing ultimately outperform those that don’t.” Skibbie comments. “It’s a competitive advantage to get a handle on what’s working. That data is a secret weapon to make your marketing spend more effective.”
Putting it together: how to start marketing for a new business
Marketing can feel overwhelming at first, but with these 5 steps and the right team, it becomes a clear, rewarding path to growth.
“As a business owner, you’re looking for the sure thing. You’ll spend on marketing that ‘works’, but that’s why everyone keeps letting you down.” Skibbie shares. “Many ‘marketers’ or marketing product companies are compensated to sell solutions, not marketing that’s informed and targeted. You need to follow a strategy and go where the data leads. Investing in marketing is like ‘not skipping leg day’, you have to actually go to the gym to see the results. Trust me, the best marketing investment you can make is to invest in the data.”
Looking for marketing based on the data that delivers actual results? Contact us today and let’s get your marketing strategy underway!
JRS Mar/Com is a leading marketing and communications agency dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that drive business growth. With a commitment to excellence and a focus on emerging technologies, JRS Mar/Com empowers businesses to achieve their marketing goals in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
