Stop Spending Money on Marketing Until You Read This
We all know the numbers: almost half of all new businesses fail within their first year.
A video I just finished on how small businesses can double or triple sales by addressing three common issues, including marketing.
If you’re finalizing your 2018 marketing plans, STOP! Read this article to find out if your spending is effective.
Many small business owners are not marketing experts, but they are experts in their businesses.
Strategic marketing is about the content of your message. It is what you say and how it is said. This includes the concepts you choose to concentrate on, the words or images you use to communicate them, and the tone of delivery.
Tactical marketing is the execution of strategic marketing. This includes placing ads, creating brochures, building websites, attending trade shows and social media.
Asking a business owner to describe their marketing plan, almost all of them will answer in terms of tactical marketing. These are not the tactics or tools.
STRATEGIC MARKETING is a way to make these tactics work and to attract customers.
Here are the essential elements of strategic marketing
Element 1 Have a MARKET DOMINATING POSITION.
Be the category of one. Your business should be the only choice.
Do not start with the tactics. This is what most people do, and it’s WRONG!
This is too good to be true!
You don’t want to make a colossal mistake or waste money on your marketing efforts.
How can you make your market-dominant? It all comes down to positioning. Why should customers choose you instead of other businesses or people who do the same thing?
Small business owners don’t give much thought to their positioning. But, if you do it correctly, it can help you gain tremendous advantages. You can attract more customers and charge higher prices which can have a significant impact on your profit.
Element 2 – MARKET
Who are your target customers/clients?
If you don’t target the customers who are interested in what you have to offer, your marketing will not get any traction.
Vegans won’t buy your hamburgers, and pet care won’t be sold to anyone without a pet. You also won’t offer kitchen remodeling to someone who lives in a new home. Your target audience is not everyone. Marketing dollars will be wasted if your target audience is not well-informed and knows what they want.
Element 3 – MESSAGE
Marketing must engage and interrupt your target market in order to find the problems, frustrations, and uncertainties of your prospects and address them with your marketing. In most cases, their pain is their hot button.
You must be able to provide pain relief to the Panadol.
To attract them, you need to address their problem (hot buttons) and then keep them interested in the solution that you have to offer.
Element 4 – MEDIA
Now, the media. Now, the press. Once you have a good idea of who they are, you can determine where they live and what media they use. This will allow you to target them with your message.
Online and social are the current buzzwords, but they are just another form of media.
Think about it. Isn’t this amazing how cluttered our email inboxes and how empty our letterboxes have become? Epsilon’s recent study found that 64% of people pay greater attention to the physical items they get in the mail than email.
Media needs to be considered carefully – don’t jump on the latest bandwagon just because you think it should. Instead, look at your media from the perspective of your customer and determine what will give you the greatest return on your investment.
Element 5 – OFFER
Provide a solution to their problem and make a great deal.
Instead of increasing prices to make people buy, create value by offering the best price. You can bundle items together to increase perceived value.
Element 6 – REFERRALS & TESTIMONIALS
Consumer opinion travels faster than ever before. Did you know?
88% of people trust reviews online as much as personal recommendations.
90% of people read reviews about businesses before visiting a company.
It is far more critical to hear what other people think about you than what you have to say about yourself.
Online reviews are one of the most powerful marketing tools for your company. They make you visible online and build your reputation.
You really should have a Google+ presence in the UK as Google is the most popular search engine for people looking online for information.
Final thoughts
Nobody really cares about your business. It’s hard to believe, but it is true. They don’t even care about me!
STOP trying to BRAND a small business. If you market this way, it will take a long time to create a brand. People don’t buy logos! They either buy solutions to their problems or fulfill a need.
