09 Dec Marketing Planning for 2025: A Guide for New Zealand SMEs

Posted at 16:12h in awards, digital, events, marketing, sustainability by

As we approach 2025, it’s crucial for small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in New Zealand to refine their marketing strategies to stay competitive. This guide will help you navigate the complexities of online, offline, and event marketing, ensuring your business has the best chance of building new customer relationships in 2025.

 

1. Choosing the Right Marketing Platforms

There are a million marketing channels and platforms, selecting the right marketing platforms is essential for reaching your target audience effectively. Sticking to a few tried and true, proven platforms will stop you from getting  lost down the marketing software rabbit hole. Here are some key platforms to consider:

Social Media:

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are vital for building brand awareness and engaging with your audience. Facebook remains a powerhouse for reaching a broad demographic, while Instagram is perfect for visual storytelling and younger audiences. LinkedIn is ideal for B2B marketing and professional networking. By breaking down the platform to the audience you will be able to write content that matches the tone of the audience – it doesn’t mean writing new content for each channel, for example what you put in instagram you may also put on LinkedIn but you may extend the content to suit a B2B audience.

Best Practice: Use Facebook’s Audience Insights to understand your audience better and tailor your content accordingly.

Example: A local café could use Instagram to post daily specials, but on LinkedIn provide a download to a catering menu for corporate events or meetings.

Note: be sure to read down to the end of the article to learn about the best social formats to use.

Email Marketing:

Tools like Mailchimp, Brevo and Constant Contact allow you to create personalised email campaigns in bulk that can drive engagement and convert to sales. Email marketing is particularly effective for nurturing leads and maintaining customer relationships.

Best Practice: Segment your email list based on customer behaviour and preferences to send more targeted messages. Talk to your POS system supplier about integrating personal information at the point of purchase when in store – this makes tracking customer purchase behaviour and frequency so much easier – your marketing team will love you for it!

Example: An online retailer could send personalised product recommendations based on past purchases. A shop retailer could send a discount voucher to people who haven’t been into the store for 6 months or more.

Smart Tip: 18.7% of people are turned off by the word “newsletter” being used in the subject line, decreasing the open rate of your… a-hem, “newsletter”.

 

Search Engine Marketing (SEM):

Google Ads can help you reach potential customers actively searching for products or services like yours. Facebook ads and Google display ads are a great way of getting new customers who aren’t familiar with your brand. Either are a great way to drive targeted traffic to your website.

Best Practice: Make sure it’s worth your potential customer to click on your ad by 1. Providing an offer and 2. Sending them directly to the part of your website where they can purchase or order.

Example: A local service provider could use Google Ads to capture new customers with an introductory offer, then create a specific landing page on their website where they can see the benefits of the product and purchase or order from that page.

Smart Tip: Use analytics tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights to track the performance of your campaigns across different platforms. This will help you understand which channels are delivering the best ROI and where you should focus your efforts.

 

2. Crafting Effective Content

Creating high-quality content is crucial for engaging your audience and building trust. Here are some strategies to consider:

Blogging:

Regularly updated blogs can improve your website’s SEO and establish your business as an industry authority. Although many companies release one blog a month depending on your resources you could aim to publish at least one blog post per week.

Best Practice: Do a Google search yourself on the topic of your blog, scroll down the page to the section “People also ask” and use those questions as section titles in your blog, answering those questions will drive traffic to your blog.

Example: A financial advisor could write blog posts about investment tips, they search “investment tips” and copy the “people also ask” questions “How to make $1,000 a month investing? What are the 7 rules of investing? How to turn $100 into $1,000 investing? What investment is best for beginners? They use these as subjects to answer in their blog.

Video Content:

Video continues to dominate online content. Consider creating short, engaging videos for platforms like YouTube, Instagram Reels, and TikTok. These can include product demonstrations, customer testimonials, and behind-the-scenes looks at your business.

Best Practice: Use tools like Canva or Cap Cut for video creation and editing.

Example: A fitness trainer could create workout videos and share them on YouTube and Instagram to attract new clients.

Interactive Content:

Quizzes, polls, and interactive infographics can boost engagement and provide valuable insights into your audience’s preferences.

Best Practice: Use tools like Typeform or SurveyMonkey to create interactive content.

Example: A beauty brand could create a quiz to help customers find the right skincare products for their needs.

Smart Tip: Develop a content calendar to plan and schedule your content in advance. This ensures consistency and helps you stay organised.

 

3. Maximising Your Presence at Trade Shows and Events

Trade shows and events are excellent opportunities to showcase your products and connect with potential customers. Here’s how to make the most of them:

Pre-Show Marketing:

Build anticipation by promoting your participation in the event through social media, email newsletters, and your website. Highlight any special activities or promotions you’ll be offering at your booth – don’t forget to allow customers with intent to be able to book a time to meet you.

Best Practice: This is where you can get immediate consumer feedback. Create opportunities to get video testimonials, set up something where they can take a selfie with your product and share to win a prize.

Example: A food company is giving out samples and asks people to give their opinion on camera – keeping it non rehearsed is more believable – of all the recordings they only need 2 -3 good ones to get the point across. At the same show they have a mascot that visitors take a photo with and share on their social media mentioning the business to go in a draw to win a prize.

Booth Design:

Invest in an eye-catching booth design – it doesn’t need to be expensive if it is different to the usual, just make sure that it reflects your brand. Use bold visuals, interactive displays or activities, a clear theme and messaging to attract visitors.

Best Practice: If your product is unable to be experienced at the show, Incorporate digital elements like touchscreens and VR experiences.

Example: A travel agency could use VR headsets to give attendees a virtual tour of popular destinations.

Engagement Strategies:

Train your staff to engage effectively with attendees. Offer live demonstrations, product samples, and interactive experiences to draw people in and keep them interested.

Best Practice: Use lead capture tools to collect contact information from visitors.

Example: Set up QR codes or entry screens to capture visitor details, provide them with something of value in exchange for their information

Smart Tip: Follow up with leads promptly after the event. (hint – automated email can do this for you (see email marketing software links above) Personalised follow-up emails or calls can help convert leads into customers and maximise the return on your investment.

 

4. Increasing Client Spend

To grow your business, it’s important to not only attract new customers but also increase the spend of your existing clients. Here are some strategies to achieve this:

Upselling and Cross-Selling:

It’s much easier to sell to the converted, customers that have already bought from you will have established trust in your service and products. Because of this it will be easier to persuade customers to purchase higher-end products or additional items.

Best Practice: Use personalised recommendations based on past purchases.

Example: An e-commerce store could suggest complementary products during the checkout process.

Loyalty Programs:

Implement a loyalty program to reward repeat customers. If you have that email software we keep mentioning this will be easier to track who’s loyal and who needs a reminder once in a while. There are also many specialist loyalty based software programs you can utilise.

Best Practice: If you have an online store, use tools like Smile.io or LoyaltyLion to create and manage your loyalty program.

Example: A restaurant could offer 10% of the meal if the customer signs up to their loyalty program. Then each time that customer visits they accumulate points to cash in on products such as a complimentary bottle of wine or free dessert.

Exclusive Offers and Bundles:

Create special offers and product bundles to encourage higher spending. This is also a great way of ridding yourself of aging stock or items that are hard to sell individually.

Best Practice: Give people three options, it is proven that most will take the middle option as this is deemed less risky (I get more than buying the cheapest and I don’t have to spend as much as the top option to still get a deal) Promote these offers through email marketing and social media.

Example: A beauty salon could offer a tiered package of a service, a service plus product or a service plus premium product.

Smart Tip: Make the middle product have the highest profit margin. The lower price bundle will capture new customers who are testing the waters with your business. The highest priced bundle will make you less profit but its purpose is to persuade consumers to choose the middle – more profit for you! Also use customer feedback to identify opportunities for new products or services that meet their needs. This can help you increase client spend by offering solutions that your customers are looking for.

 

5. Leveraging Social Media Formats

Social media platforms offer various formats to engage your audience. Understanding the strengths of each format can help you create more effective content:

Stories:

Available on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, Stories are short, ephemeral posts that disappear after 24 hours. They are perfect for sharing behind-the-scenes content, quick updates, and engaging with your audience through polls and questions.

Example: A fashion retailer could use Stories to showcase new arrivals and limited-time offers. Add a poll to gauge colour preference and use this to change out your store display.

Reels:

Instagram Reels and TikTok videos are short, engaging clips that are shared beyond just your followers and so are great for increasing reach. They are ideal for creative content, such as tutorials, challenges, and product highlights.

Example: A beauty brand could create makeup tutorials using Reels to demonstrate their products.

Posts:

Traditional posts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are great for sharing detailed updates, announcements, and high-quality images, it’s important to note that they are the least likely of these 3 formats to be viewed, so don’t be afraid to drop $10 to $20 to boost some posts to increase reach.

Example: A restaurant could post high-quality photos of their dishes to attract food lovers. Boosting the post with just  $10 within a 15km locality to the restaurant will increase the amount of times the post is seen to relevant audiences.

Smart Tip: Mix different formats to keep your content fresh and engaging. Use Stories for daily updates, Reels for creative content, and Posts for detailed information.` And don’t forget to boost!

 

Let’s get your business thriving!

By carefully selecting your marketing platforms, creating engaging content, maximising your presence at trade shows, and implementing strategies to increase client spend, your SME can thrive in 2025. Remember, the key to successful marketing is to stay adaptable and continuously measure and refine your strategies based on performance data. Of course, if you need any assistance with your marketing drop the team at TGM a message – We love making SMEs thrive!