{"id":1635,"date":"2024-02-28T11:00:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T11:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/?p=1635"},"modified":"2024-02-28T11:50:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T11:50:06","slug":"avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picture credit: Campaign Creators on Unsplash<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

After nearly 13 years in business, growing from one structural engineer (me) in my garden office at home, to a team of 8 in our Twickenham offices, I\u2019ve learnt a great deal along the way. Every so often I like to share some of what I\u2019ve learnt, especially when economic conditions are a little bumpy. So let\u2019s look at an element of marketing where I see a lot of freelancers, consultants and small businesses going wrong.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest mistakes people make in marketing, is to zoom in on individual tactics without doing the foundational marketing work required. You\u2019ll see people who\u2019ve said, for example, \u201cWe need to be on LinkedIn\u201d. So they start posting on LinkedIn in a scattergun way, without investing a little time and thought into preparation.<\/p>\n

This is a bit like attempting to build an extension without plans or drawings, and without digging the foundations deep enough. We know people might do it if they can get away with it, but it\u2019s not the most effective or sustainable way to approach a project!<\/p>\n

Most business owners have been there \u2013 putting an individual tactic ahead of creating a proper marketing plan \u2013 but there\u2019s a better way.<\/p>\n

Here is one of the marketing principles we follow at Super Structures Associates, which mean we\u2019ve got a clear strategy to follow before<\/em> we throw our energy and resources into a new medium or method for attracting clients:<\/p>\n

Market > Message > Media<\/strong><\/p>\n

This phrase, \u201cMarket, message, media\u201d underpins the way we think about marketing. It\u2019s a guideline to remind you of the order in which to approach things.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Market<\/strong><\/p>\n

First you need to define your market. Who are your customers? And who are the people you can partner with, who can put you in touch with more of those customers?<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>Message<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do you need to say to your customers, to make them confident to work with you? What do they need to know? What language do you need to use? Do you need to dial down the complex language of your profession and use words that make sense to your customers? Do you need to educate some of your potential customers, so they know how to choose the best person for the job? How will you demonstrate that you\u2019re good at what you do?<\/p>\n

3. Media<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve covered the above points \u2013 you know who you\u2019re speaking to, how to talk to them and what they need to know \u2013 now<\/em> you can focus on the media or method of reaching your potential customers or partners. Where do they spend their time? Are there online \u201cwatercoolers\u201d where they hang out, such as specific forums or social media channels? Are there in-person events where you can interact with them? Are there publications it makes sense for you to be featured in, podcast interviews you could give, or awards you could enter to get attention?<\/p>\n

This foundational work does take a bit of time and might involve asking some of your customers how they found you and what made them choose you. But it\u2019s well worth investing time in this, as it means the marketing you\u2019re doing is much more likely to be effective. Which beats spending time on things that don\u2019t bring in more clients.<\/p>\n

Another key principle is that of continuous marketing. Even when you\u2019re very busy, make time for marketing. It\u2019s the best way to prevent having a rollercoaster year. Of course, we can\u2019t stop outside forces from making things a little bumpy, but we can do our bit to keep the enquiries flowing.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions about this, let me know. I\u2019m always happy to talk about the way we run Super Structures Associates, and what we\u2019re doing to grow the business. And if you need assistance with the structural elements of an upcoming project, please do get in touch.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picture credit: Campaign Creators on Unsplash After nearly 13 years in business, growing from one<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAvoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2 - Super Structures Associates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-\ud83c\udfa2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Avoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2 - Super Structures Associates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Picture credit: Campaign Creators on Unsplash After nearly 13 years in business, growing from one\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-\ud83c\udfa2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Super Structures Associates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-28T11:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-28T11:50:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Marketing-tips-27.02.24-campaign-creators-unsplash.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1230\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/\",\"name\":\"Avoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2 - Super Structures Associates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Marketing-tips-27.02.24-campaign-creators-unsplash.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-28T11:00:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-28T11:50:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/332d4b2a55519efb6a6f8f97d3efacce\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Marketing-tips-27.02.24-campaign-creators-unsplash.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Marketing-tips-27.02.24-campaign-creators-unsplash.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1230},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Avoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Super Structures Associates\",\"description\":\"Ingenious Structural Engineering Consultants\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/332d4b2a55519efb6a6f8f97d3efacce\",\"name\":\"Jen\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e84f055a9747080ac3b2384b018fefc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e84f055a9747080ac3b2384b018fefc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jen\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/author\/jenadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Avoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2 - Super Structures Associates","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-\ud83c\udfa2\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Avoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2 - Super Structures Associates","og_description":"Picture credit: Campaign Creators on Unsplash After nearly 13 years in business, growing from one","og_url":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-\ud83c\udfa2\/","og_site_name":"Super Structures Associates","article_published_time":"2024-02-28T11:00:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-28T11:50:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1230,"url":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Marketing-tips-27.02.24-campaign-creators-unsplash.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jen","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/","url":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/","name":"Avoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2 - Super Structures Associates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Marketing-tips-27.02.24-campaign-creators-unsplash.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-28T11:00:35+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-28T11:50:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/332d4b2a55519efb6a6f8f97d3efacce"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Marketing-tips-27.02.24-campaign-creators-unsplash.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Marketing-tips-27.02.24-campaign-creators-unsplash.jpg","width":1920,"height":1230},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/avoiding-the-rollercoaster-%f0%9f%8e%a2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Avoiding the rollercoaster \ud83c\udfa2"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/","name":"Super Structures Associates","description":"Ingenious Structural Engineering Consultants","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/332d4b2a55519efb6a6f8f97d3efacce","name":"Jen","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e84f055a9747080ac3b2384b018fefc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e84f055a9747080ac3b2384b018fefc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jen"},"url":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/author\/jenadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1635"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1638,"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1635\/revisions\/1638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/superstructuresassociates.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}