If you own a business then you know in order to survive and thrive you need to market it. Marketing often is that activity most creative types simply hate. Those people have a great idea, want to share their passion and yet have no plan of how to do that.
Marketing in simply the process of getting people to know, like and trust you enough to buy and ultimately refer others to you. Believe it or not small business owners can learn quite a lot about marketing from big brands. You may not have their budget but you can adopt their ideas and strategies. When you see a McDonald’s commercial on TV they are building brand awareness, they may talk about a special meal to encourage you to come in and try it, then when you do they want to wow you enough to come back and tell a friend. Pay attention to TV commercials, magazine ads and social media posts from companies you like look from a more strategic eye.
Here are three steps to help you focus on effectively marketing your business
1. Create a marketing strategy
Recently I was interviewed on School For Start Up’s Radio Show, I was asked “What is a marketing strategy and why do we need it?”
An effective marketing strategy is really a concise explanation of your marketing plan of how to reach your objectives. You need a map to plan where you are going – right? That’s why you need a strategy so you know how to get from point A to point B. A strategy is a plan that includes the set of tactics to get there. Start with 4 or 5 ideas to form your strategy and then what you need to do to make that strategy work.
2. Be sure to define your target market
For any strategy to work they must appeal to someone and that someone is the person who is most likely to buy your product or service. One if the easiest ways to start to get a picture of who or what makes an ideal client is to take a closer look at the customers your business has worked with to date. I like to suggest you review the past 3 years of sales and see what all those customers have in common and really understand who that person is that typically does business with you.
3. Know how you are different
You can just be different for the sake of being different, but what sets you apart from your competitors? For most people this is a challenging task because they often don’t know. Again I recommend talking to customers who have worked or bought something from you, ask them WHY they did business with you and what makes you different.
Often what you will learn is not what you expect to hear. For example, what do you do that is over and above what might be expected?
When you are able to communicate why you and your business are different then people can make a more informed decision about buying from you. If you cannot then people will often defer to price and that is never a place you want to compete.
–>>Next post is 3 Steps For Being More Productive With Social Media Marketing
