Marketing Essentials

Build a practical marketing strategy that connects the dots.

Social media. Google. Radio. Sponsorship. Email. Events. Advertising. PR. Your website. Word of mouth.

There are countless ways to market a business. The challenge isn't finding more things you could be doing — it's knowing which ones are actually worth doing.

Marketing Essentials is a practical one-day workshop designed to help business owners and marketers understand the bigger marketing picture and build a strategy that makes sense for their business.

We'll start where good marketing should: with your business goals, your customers and the problem you're trying to solve. From there, we'll explore the wider marketing ecosystem — from digital channels like search, social media and email through to traditional advertising, PR, sponsorship, events, partnerships and referrals.

Rather than treating these as separate activities, you'll learn how different channels can work together across the customer journey. We'll look at where each is strongest, how to decide where to invest your time and budget, and how to create a marketing mix that supports what your business is actually trying to achieve.

We'll also explore how customer behaviour is changing, where AI fits into modern marketing, and how to measure what's working when a customer's path to purchase isn't always straightforward.

This isn't about doing more marketing.
It's about making better marketing decisions.

You'll leave with a clearer understanding of the marketing landscape and a practical, prioritised marketing plan for your own business.

.
Designed for
This workshop is designed for business owners, sole traders, marketing coordinators, administrators and anyone responsible for making or influencing marketing decisions.

It's particularly useful if your marketing currently feels like a collection of separate activities — a bit of social media, the occasional ad, some sponsorship, a website, perhaps a newsletter — but you're not sure how everything fits together or where you should be investing next. No previous marketing experience is required.

.
Learning content
Start with the strategy
Good marketing doesn't start with Facebook, Google or a radio ad.
We'll look at your business goals, marketing objectives, audiences, competitors, positioning and customer journey before deciding what your marketing actually needs to do.

Understand your customer
Who are you trying to reach? What matters to them? Where do they spend their time? What influences their decisions?
We'll look at simple ways to use research, customer insights and existing business data to make better marketing decisions.

Understand the marketing ecosystem
Explore the different ways businesses can reach, influence and retain customers, including:

Digital

Website and SEO
Google and AI search
Organic social media
Paid digital advertising
Email marketing
Content

Traditional

Print
Radio
Outdoor and signage
Direct mail

Earned & relationship marketing

PR and media
Reviews
Referrals and word of mouth
Partnerships
Sponsorship
Events and community

The goal isn't to use them all. It's to understand what job each could do for your business.

Map the customer journey
Customers rarely see one advertisement and buy.
They might hear about you from a friend, see your signage, Google your business, read your reviews, follow you on Instagram and receive an email before finally getting in touch. We'll map these touchpoints and identify where your marketing needs to show up.

Choose your marketing mix
Learn how to decide which channels deserve your attention based on:

Your audience
Your objective
Your message
Your budget
Your customer journey
Your internal resources

You'll also look at how channels can support each other rather than operating independently.

Build a message worth sharing
Being in the right place isn't enough.
We'll look at what you need your audience to know, think, feel or do, and how to create a consistent message across different marketing channels.

Use AI as a marketing assistant
Explore practical ways AI can support customer and competitor research, strategy development, brainstorming, content creation and analysis — while keeping human judgement at the centre.

Measure what matters
Marketing doesn't always produce a neat "this ad created this sale" answer.

We'll look at:

Meaningful marketing KPIs
Lead and sales tracking
Digital analytics
Asking customers how they found you
Measuring brand and awareness activity
Attribution
Testing and optimisation

.

Learning outcomes

Turn business goals into clear marketing objectives.
Better understand your customers, competitors and market.
Map the journey customers take before choosing your business.
Understand the strengths and limitations of different marketing channels.
Choose an appropriate mix of digital, traditional and relationship-based marketing.
Understand how different marketing activities can work together.
Develop clearer and more consistent marketing messages.
Make more informed decisions about where to spend your marketing budget.
Use AI to support research, planning and execution.
Measure marketing performance using metrics that relate to your objectives.
Prioritise what your business should do next.

Most importantly, you'll leave with a one-page marketing strategy and prioritised action plan for your own business.

Duration
One day, 9am – 2.30pm

Delivery Style
Practical, interactive and business-focused. Participants will work on their own business throughout the day using guided exercises, real-world examples and simple marketing frameworks.

Facilitator – Emma Lindsay
Emma Lindsay is the founder of Elm Marketing and brings more than 15 years of marketing experience to her work as a strategist and facilitator.

With expertise in strategic planning, qualitative research and audience engagement, Emma has a talent for turning insights and data into practical, tailored marketing strategies. Her experience includes significant marketing roles with organisations such as Silver Fern Farms, alongside successfully delivering a wide range of marketing projects for businesses and organisations.

Emma is known for her innovative yet practical approach and her focus on building genuine connections. She brings real-world marketing experience to her workshops, helping participants develop ideas and skills they can confidently put into practice within their own business.

Regional Business Partner (RBP) Training Funding Support
This training is registered with the Regional Business Partner Network. To explore if your business is eligible for support, contact your local Regional Business Growth Advisor here
.
.
Build your Marketing Skills with our workshops series