If you’re looking to invigorate your business’ marketing tech stack now that we’re faced with a new year full of hope and optimism for renewed business vigour, this might be the post you need to read.
We’re looking to inspire small-medium businesses with a host of must-dos for businesses within any industry, all achievable in-house or with minimal outside support, if you wish, to rejuvenate your business’ sales and marketing efforts after an up-and-down year for most in 2020.
So from here on out, the C-word (you know the one) is banned, and we’re all about hope and motivation, so let’s dig into the emerging must-haves in any tech stack for a buoyant 2021…
01. Get smarter with all-in-one solutions
Gone are the days of managing multiple tools and tactics, or teams and departments, 2021 is the year to get savvy, be smart and stretch your marketing budget to within an inch of its life, do as much as you can with as little as you can. One of the key ways companies started to skew this way in late 2020 is to adopt all-singing, all-dancing marketing platforms and CRMs, and it’s a trend that’s set to explode in 2021.
HubSpot is a great example of a platform that specifically aligns marketing and sales towards the same transparent goals whilst offering all of the tools both teams need to work smarter towards said goals. Being honest, HubSpot can get pretty pricey but for start-ups and small teams, there are some really affordable options, including a free version of the HubSpot CRM, ideal for managing your sales database.
02. Utilising data for customer-first experiences
We have so much data in our hands as marketers and salespeople, but we don’t use it anywhere near as cleverly as we should. It often sits in dusty spreadsheets, until GDPR rocked us, we freaked out and burnt the hard-drive it was on… OK, maybe not, but you get my point.
It’s time we reviewed all of the data we’ve got, customer data, behaviour metrics, website analytics, social media insights, email analytics – what are they all telling us? There’s probably a much bigger clear picture, and lots of insightful detailed branches that will refocus company efforts, highlighting challenges and pain points to address as we go.
Use the data at your fingertips to revolutionise your marketing tactics, overhaul your sales processes, and resolve those niggling issues that prevent a website visitor from becoming a [insert your business name here] customer.
03. Readdress your priorities – strategy first, people second, tools third
It’s true what they say – you need great people, and you need to give those people the tools they need to succeed. But if you focus on people, or tools, or both, without creating and analysing a foolproof strategy then you’re throwing your budget out of the window, in essence.
A lot of businesses plan to fail because they simply fail to plan. It’s tedious but true. Start with a solid marketing and sales strategy, and there’s no better time than now to review the dusty back-of-a-beer-mat plan you concocted three years ago (OK, maybe it was a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet plan). A lot has changed, a lot still is changing.
Where does your focus need to be? Are there weaknesses in sales, marketing, or in the alignment of the two? Do you lack the sales experience needed to convert marketing’s leads? Do you lack the modern skill sets needed to conduct marketing activities such as Instagram Stories, or Google Ads, to keep you up-to-date with your competitors? Do you need a strategic lead to oversee marketing and sales efforts and push both teams towards company objectives? Do these objectives exist and do all of your people know and understand them, and how they impact them?
Once you have identified a strategy a lot of the questions around people and tools will answer themselves – yes, you need more staff, or no, you just need to reshuffle the teams you have. Yes, you need to invest in a new marketing platform, or no, you can live with the one you’ve got until the situation changes and it is required.
Are you looking to reinvent your company’s marketing and sales strategies, or the tools you use to bring your strategy to life in 2021? We can offer advice and guidance to UK and international businesses of all sizes, in all industries; with a variety of web, marketing and design solutions should you require them. Speak to our team today using Live Chat (during office hours), via social, emailing hello@thriveability.co.uk, or by calling our Director, Johnny Woods, on 01325 778 786.
