One of the key components to marketing–and this applies to any type of business–is defining exactly where you fit in. Of course, we have to define “fit in.” What does that apply to exactly?
Fitting in, in a business sense, applies to several key areas of business dynamics. Here are the key areas where I think business owners and managers–marketers especially–should consider:
- The marketplace – Local, national, global?
- The competition – Who are your competitors and where do you stand in relation to them? Do you own the largest share of the market, have you fallen to the bottom, or are you somewhere in the middle of the pack?
- Search engine rankings – What are your list of keywords and where do you rank in the search engine results for each of those keywords?
- Social media engagement – Do you engage with y our audience through social media? If so, how engaged are you and what is your reach?
- Branding – Branding is an element of positioning all of its own. Does your brand have top-of-mind awareness? If you were to ask your potential audience if they’ve heard of your brand, would they recognize it? Why or why not?
- Employment – Even when it comes to human resources, you’ve got to consider where you fit in. Do your employees like working for your company? Do you have a hard time attracting employees? How about the right employees? Do they stick around for long? Define your employment culture and know where you fit in to the labor market as a whole and within your business niche specifically.
- Financially – How strong is your company? Do you have a lot of debt? What’s the forecast for profits and losses?
Why You Need An Online Health Checkup
The health of your business is paramount. Not all of these categories of fitting in have anything to do-or are primarily about–online marketing. But virtually all of them do have the potential to affect your online marketing on some level. To judge the overall health of your business, it’s important to consider the online aspects–how you are perceived in social media, what your search engine results are, etc. That all starts with your online health checkup.
But you don’t need to stop there. You should conduct a business health checkup at least annually. Once you discover how your business is doing, then you can chart a plan to improve it or maintain it as necessary.
