As the year begins and the economy continues to struggle, there has never been a more critical time to plan your marketing strategies. Like never before in our time, markets are changing at a rapid pace. It is essential to keep your finger on the pulse of your market, so you know which segment of your market is flourishing and which is declining.

You must plan well and spend your marketing dollars where they will yield the greatest return on investment. 

When preparing a marketing plan for 2023, first review the business obtained in 2022:

  • Identify what segment of your market provided you with the most revenue
  • Research to learn if this segment of your market is still viable
  • Identify which of your services grossed the highest profit margin
  • Research to know if these services are still in high demand
  • Research to learn what services you offer might now be in high demand
  • Look to see what other services you can provide to your current client base that they need 

You do not want to waste marketing dollars to promote a service that is no longer in high demand or to a declining market. 

Example: 

For those of you who provide surveillance to insurance companies, the nationwide trend is that the insurance companies are seeing fewer workers’ comp cases due to employees not filing as many workers comp claims out of fear of losing their job. This has put a financial strain on insurance companies. They continually evaluate what they do and how they do it to stay alive. Many are now utilizing in-house investigators instead of outsourcing and companies that can provide nationwide service at a low fee. You can see where this market is on a decline and has less of a need for independent surveillance investigators. However, fraud, bankruptcy, and foreclosures are still on the rise. With this knowledge, think about what part of the marketplace deals with fraud, bankruptcy, and foreclosures and how you can assist. 

The five most important things when creating a successful marketing strategy are:

  1. Know your market
  2. Know where to find your market and where they look to find the services you offer
  3. Craft all your marketing messages to speak directly to your market and their needs
  4. Develop a marketing campaign that will consistently keep you visible to your market
  5. Talk about the benefits they will receive by using your services, “what’s in it for them.”

If you are marketing to attorneys, do not waste your marketing dollars on an ad in the yellow pages. Attorneys do not hire a private investigator out of the phone book. 96% of attorneys hire private investigators first through referrals from their colleagues and second through sales calls, where they had the opportunity to meet the private investigator. If an attorney needs a private investigator outside their geographical area, they will search the Internet. They look for a professional website and credentials that show competency when searching the Web. If you have met their criteria, they will then call your office. If you do not answer your phone, they move on. Why? Attorneys do not want to look bad, nor do they want someone who is not accessible or unreliable.

With this knowledge, you can see the importance of having a professional website highlighting your core competencies and that you answer your phone.

This information also tells you that this segment of your market finds and hires through referrals. Now you can develop winning marketing strategies that work for a referral bases market. 

Tips for marketing that works for this market:

  1. Have frequent communication with your current client base 
  2. Focus most of your marketing campaign on educational-based marketing, such as e-newsletters, to make yourself the “subject matter expert.”
  3. Use a marketing tool that attorneys can easily put your information in their colleague’s hands, such as an e-newsletter
  4. Build your brand through continual visibility

E-marketing tools such as e-newsletters and proactives that highlight your services on a continual basis are the most effective. You can also conduct educational seminars, postcard campaigns, e-greeting cards, sponsor events, network, have a booth at trade shows, write articles and place ads in magazines your market reads, publish press releases, speak at events, and update your website. If your market is individuals who want to catch cheating spouses, your money must be spent on SEO. 

When planning your 2023 marketing plan, be strategic and make sure you have a marketing strategy that will work for your market. Make it concise, and be sure it gives you the highest visibility to your market and will yield a high return on investment. 

If you need help developing a marketing strategy for 2023, contact True Perceptions at 678-583-0401 or diana.garren@trueperceptions.com. We know your market and what type of marketing works best to create your desired results.