- Once you have done the marketing brainstorm, put things into action and reap the rewards
Every successful business has customers, and finding customers is one of the very first crucial tasks of any business.
In today’s global marketplace, and particularly with internet-focused businesses, starting a new business is like setting up in the middle of the Sahara Desert – no matter how great your product or service, customers are not going to buy from you if they don’t know about your business or where you are.
So, you need to market your business, but as with everything else, why rush straight into a marketing campaign before you have planned what is the right marketing activity for you.
Marketing can take many shapes or forms, but before you decide on direct mail, or an advertising campaign, you need to take a large step back. You need to know your customer first.
To embark on a strategy to attract new customers when you have no idea what your ideal customer looks like is a bit like fishing for rubber ducks- you might get lucky and find the prize, but more likely you will have wasted your money.
Take a look at your ideal customer. What makes them your perfect match, or better still, what makes you and your business THEIR perfect match. In order to effectively sell your product of service, you need to identify a need in your customer and then fill it.
However, remember that it is unlikely you will be the only business able to service your customers’ needs, so you need to reach potential customers, either before or better than your competitors, and that is where your marketing strategy can have great effect but ONLY once you have already identified and defined your target market.
Imagine you are selling dog biscuits. The main criterion in your ideal customer is that they own a dog. You would not, therefore, go and place an advertisement in Cat’s Weekly magazine.
It sounds obvious doesn’t it, but this is exactly what happens if you do not target your marketing spend properly. If you sell dishwasher tablets and produce flyers that you put in 1,000 mailboxes, how many of these homes do not even own a dishwasher? Isn’t that proportion of the flyers a complete waste of time and money?
Identifying your ideal customer also helps determine the marketing style and approach that will work best. You may need to shout about your product in a very direct manner “Buy my book BOOM!, it’s brilliant!â€, or you may want to be more subtle, and seek to get product mentions in books, magazines or on websites.
So your marketing spend needs to speak to the right customers, in the right way, to be most effective. And when you get in front of those perfect customers using the perfect medium, you need to make sure you have the perfect message.
Why should your potential customers choose your product or service over your neighbor’s? What makes your offering special or unique? And once you have identified what it is about your business that makes it perfect for your customer, make sure you tell them!
If you have managed to grab the attention of your potential customer for just one minute, make the most of that opportunity. Tell them why they need your business, what problem you are solving and why you are the best choice to fill that need. Remember also that customers are not necessarily looking for your product when they come across your marketing activity, so you need to get your message across in such a way that they will remember it later.
Sound like a lot of work? It doesn’t end there! You also need to monitor the effectiveness of your marketing. No matter how well things work in theory, the reality may be completely different, so you need to be able to track how effective your campaigns are. You can then concentrate your spend on the activities that give you the greatest return.
At the moment, it probably sounds like you need circus skills to effectively manage your marketing campaign, but with a strong focus, and suitable tools you can do it, allowing you to plan, execute and appraise your marketing activity.
The most effective marketing strategy is one which offers a solution to the age old problem of attracting clients that get results, but with minimal costs of time and money.
Remember your time IS your money, and getting the right advice to build an effective marketing plan can not only bring money in, but also ensure you keep more of it!
Contributed by Emma Wimhurst, www.makeyourbusinessBOOM.co.uk
