How to Reach Your Target Market
Marketing an Embassies and Legations Business
Small and medium size embassies and legations businesses can compete and even outperform larger competitors. All it takes is the right marketing plan.
The struggle to find the right marketing mix is never-ending in a profit-oriented small business. Yet one feature seems to be part of the shared DNA of all effective marketing programs.
It's not hard to convince most business owners that marketing plays a vital role in strategic planning. But in a zero-sum economy, there are winners and losers -- and here are some of the things that will help keep your embassies and legations business at the top of the heap.
Promotional Calendars
Sloppy marketing programs have no place in growing embassies and legations businesses. A strategy chocked full of time-sensitive ad placements and other tactics can devolve into a tangled mess of overlapping deliverables unless it is coordinated in a promotional calendar. Good calendars include not only tactical deadlines, but also schedules for the inputs (e.g. staff assets, vendors, etc.) that are required to execute strategic objectives. When used in tandem with a quality mailing list provider, promotional calendars can ensure the continuous execution of direct mail campaigns.
Sponsorships
Event and team sponsorships are a proven method for raising the public profile of embassies and legations businesses. Successful sponsorships create connections with customers; ineffective ones alienate customers and drain your marketing budget. A strategic sponsorship targets actual embassies and legations business patrons. To minimize costs and multiply outcomes, consider teaming up with a complementary business to co-sponsor targeted events.
Staffing Expertise
An effective marketing strategy meticulously delegates tasks to capable stakeholders. A dedicated, in-house marketing division is a possibility, but in small businesses, it's more likely that owners or managers will pick up marketing as a secondary job responsibility. That can be problematic because marketing can't afford to be pushed to the backburner. To maintain marketing momentum, many embassies and legations businesses enlist the assistance of external marketing professionals. In addition to delivering a better overall outcome, marketing firms bring an objective perspective to your strategy and key messaging.
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