What is the best marketing tool for a business?

“Eh, what’s up [with your competitors], doc?”

Bugs Bunny has a curiosity in the face of danger that brings comic relief to a rather sinister storyline: most characters were trying to kill and eat him. He has the right idea – the best way to know how to protect yourself is to know the plans of the enemy, so he is always right there with them as they plot his demise. 

That’s the best place to be in business as well – in your competitors business! 

Most small businesses ask “what’s up with the latest marketing resources” or “what’s up with the best marketing tools for business”. But they miss the critical question, “What’s up with my competitors?” Take a lesson from Bugs Bunny: know what your competitors are up to and stay one step ahead. 

What are the 5 marketing tools?

The top 5 tools for digital marketing isn’t a list of softwares, platforms, or subscriptions. Crafted Voice stands by 5 marketing tools that instead lay a solid foundation for your strategy:

1. Customer Personas
2. Brand Voice Guidelines
3. Competitor and Market Research
4. Customer Journeys
5. Marketing Activity Plan (AKA Editorial Calendar)

These five marketing tools guarantee that you will be focused on the right activities, planned at the right times, and shared in the right places, in order to grab the attention of your target audience and increase sales.

What is the best marketing tool for a business?

While the best digital marketing tools listed above are all important, the competitor and market research is arguably the best tool for keeping your business aware and agile. I think Bugs Bunny would agree.

First, identify all possible competitors in the market. 

Second, dive deep into their marketing, communication, and messaging and create a report with your findings. This information will inform your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the market as it pertains to external communications.

Here are a few industry data and trends resources that may help during your research:

• The U.S. Small Business Administration offers a round-up of small business data and trends resources to help with your competition analysis – many of which are free! 
• FirstResearch at Mergent (Industry research reports)
• BizStats (Business/industry statistics and financial ratios) | Pro Tip: Industry code look-up is based on a NAICS code. You can search and discover them best here.
• Wappalyzer (Website analysis)
• Corporationwiki (Leadership insight)
• Google Ads | Pro Tip: Search for your competitors’ brand and product names, then look at the text ads on the results page. You can also use the “Google Ads History” tool on a competitor’s website to see their past and current ads, including ad position and coverage metrics.

Otherwise, you can directly research your competition by reviewing their website, social media accounts, googling their business name, and conducting interviews. 

Finally, use the observations and insights from your research to make recommendations for how you can stand out and capitalize on this new-found knowledge to achieve a competitive advantage. Be sure to include a SWOT analysis, a list of business differentiators, and marketing activity recommendations.

What is the most successful marketing tool?

The most successful marketing tools for small business are those that zoom out and take into account all of the foundational elements that make up your unique business situation. If done well, your marketing mix is that tool. 

A marketing mix uses a variety of resources, tools, campaigns, and activities to promote your business. Diversifying these elements of your marketing strategy keeps you agile and prepared when your customer changes their needs or your competition throws a curveball into the market.

What is the most effective marketing tool in the modern business market?

Personalization, done through authentic customer relationships, is the most effective way to break through the noise of today’s saturated market. Paid or free marketing tools for small business can only take you so far. You need to make a real connection with your customers in order to grow and thrive in today’s fast-paced world. 

How can you make your customer feel like they are a part of your business, and that the value you add enriches their lives? The answer to that question is your most effective marketing tool.