Week 4 – Sales & Marketing

Expanded 2-Hour Plan

Agenda

• 10 min – Intro & Updates

• 30 min – Student Check-In

• 20 min – Traditional Marketing Strategies in the Digital Age

• 25 min – Digital Marketing Tools (incl. Canva)

• 20 min – Research Tools & Application

• 10 min – Client Acquisition + Testimonials

• 5 min – Wrap-Up & Homework Review

Updates

Student Check-In

• Discussion Prompts:
• • What’s working well in your business plan/website?
• • What’s been challenging?
• • Wins since last week?

What is Sales and Marketing

• Marketing creates awareness and interest in products or services

• Sales converts that interest into purchases

• Both are essential for business success

• Marketing provides leads, Sales converts leads into revenue

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Different Types of Marketing:

• Digital Marketing: SEO, SEM (PPC)

• Social Media Marketing: FB, IG, TikTok, LinkedIn

• Content Marketing: blogs, videos, infographics, eBooks

• Email Marketing: targeted emails to nurture relationships

• Event Marketing: trade shows, conferences, sponsorships

• Traditional Marketing: TV, radio, print, direct mail, outdoor ads

• Guerrilla Marketing: creative, low-cost stunts & buzz tactics

• Word of Mouth Marketing: referrals, advocacy, reviews, testimonials

Traditional Marketing in the Digital Age

Examples:

• Print
• Radio
• TV
• Direct Mail

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• Group Discussion: Which could still help your business?

WHAT DO YOU WANT?�Set your strategy�

Brand awareness:

• Do you want more people to know about your brand and get your products and services more widely known?

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Acquisition or lead generation:

• Do you want to reach people who’ve never bought from you before and bring them into your buyer’s journey?

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Growth from existing customers:

• Do you want people who’ve already bought from you before to buy more frequently or a different kind of product?
• If possible, set a specific goal – one with metrics attached to it and a time limit. These might include:

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• • X Number of leads from a piece of downloaded content in one month
• • % of old customers buying a secondary product within the year
• • % Follower growth on social media within two weeks

Digital Marketing�Techniques

Digital Marketing Tools

• • Websites
• • Social Media
• • Email
• • Mobile Apps

SEO

• One of the best ways to reach new customers is to make sure your site’s appearing when your customers are searching for answers to their problems or questions. You do this through search engine optimization (SEO) - optimizing your site in the right way to improve the rank of your results when people search for terms related to your market.
• Add keywords – naturally, of course
• This is where your content comes in. You’ll need to work in those keywords to your priority pages on:
• • Titles
• • Descriptions
• • Headings & Content
• • Images Titles & Alt Text
• • URLs

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rd5e5FXaw3ofg6vPxMILDy5VWBYUD-de/view

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Canva as a Marketing Tool

• Templates for social posts, flyers, business cards

• Easy branding for small businesses

Activity: What Will You Use for Marketing?

• • Students pick 2–3 marketing tools they’ll use
• • Share choices with group

Research Tools & Application

• • Google Analytics
• • Google Trends
• • Canva Insights / social scheduling tools

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• Mini Exercise: Each student searches a keyword for their business

Getting Clients

• • Networking & referrals
• • Social media engagement
• • Local events / partnerships
• • Offering value first (free workshops, samples, etc.)

Why Reviews & Testimonials Matter

• • Build trust & credibility
• • Influence buying decisions
• • Provide free marketing (word of mouth, social proof)

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• Prompt: How will you ask for reviews?

Wrap-Up & Homework (Due Oct 1)

• 1. Update Business Plan with Marketing Plan
• 2. Update Business Plan with Competition
• 3. Continue working on Website
• 4. Update Business Startup PDF Checklist