As indicated by the Central Statistical Office, we have over 2 million family businesses in Poland. They generate around 8 million jobs, and around 60% of these ship their products overseas. On the market, they can be perceived through the prism of tradition, stability or reliability. However, are these aspects worth emphasizing? How should a family business's marketing strategy be built?
The first and most important aspect is establishing a clear division of tasks. In a family business, the sense of ownership or responsibility can sometimes become a problem when making decisions due to differences of opinion. Preparing and then implementing a coherent marketing strategy in the absence of acceptance from different family members becomes a real challenge. Therefore, the company should have a single decision maker so that it can grow without any disruptions. This will not only facilitate internal communication, but also have a positive impact on the brand image in relations with external recipients (customers, business partners, suppliers, media).
As shown in the study "Barometer of family businesses. Eighth Edition - 18% respondents cited maintaining good relationships with stakeholders as a big challenge when handing over management to successors. Therefore, if you have not already done so - identify skills and assign roles to individual family members. Marketing communication is an important area of the company's operations. And not everyone can do all the work, even though they belong to the family and care about the company's development.
The company's marketing strategy - definition
A marketing strategy is all the company's marketing goals combined into one comprehensive plan. Business directors derive a successful marketing strategy from market research. They also focus on the right product mix so that they can get the most profit.
A good marketing strategy helps companies identify the best customers. It also helps them understand the needs of consumers. With a good strategy, it is possible to implement the most effective marketing methods.
The company's marketing strategy - focus on uniqueness
The marketing strategy of a family enterprise is often based on strengths related to the organizational structure and nature of such entities. Years of experience in building a business can be a beautiful story that will seduce recipients. A tale of beginnings, ups and downs. About emotions. And as you know, emotions sell. Therefore, it is worth considering how to use the following aspects and weave them into narrative marketing:
- a story about the beginnings of the company,
- presenting the difficult moments that the company emerged from unscathed,
- indication of milestones,
- presentation of individual family members involved in building and developing the business.
The company's marketing strategy is based on goals
A journey without a destination is doomed to failure. It is important to establish the goal of the activities each time. Regardless of whether we run a business that has been operating for 30 years, or the 5th company works to make a profit. A specific goal will maximize the effects. However, it is worth verifying the validity of the goals. The goal of 5 years ago will not always be achievable nowadays.
Understand Kowalski and Nowak
Understand customer needs and priorities. The marketing strategy of a family business does not differ in any way from the strategy of other companies in this respect. The basis is the determination of the so-called ICP (Ideal Customer Profile). ICP is the ideal customer profile. Contains the group or groups of recipients to whom the messages should be directed. However, it is not just a tool to support the communication team.
An ideal customer profile can also be used by product teams as a way to verify that they are incorporating the right features and developing products. However, it is important that all groups working together on a specific product or service have a common understanding of who the ideal customer is.
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The management and approach to the business of older generations is sometimes based on the experience gained during the transformation in the 90s. In turn, the younger generation has the knowledge and beliefs acquired through studying, observing foreign entities, and the media. As a result, especially in family businesses, a situation may arise in which each party strives to implement its plan. The company's marketing strategy is one example that may constitute a bone of contention.
- Family businesses struggle with similar difficulties as other economic entities - says Sebastian Kopiej from the Commplace agency. - Problems with communication, lack of a marketing strategy or consistency in creating the image - these are just some of the areas they report for consultations. In this case, however, sometimes the agency becomes a generational link, presenting a third position, accepted by all parties - adds the Commplace expert.
Finally, it is worth noting that family businesses have become, in a way, a model model for many organizations. Nowadays, companies focus on customer relations. After all, they are the backbone of family businesses. As PR agency with many years of experience on the market, we know something about it.