GET BACK TO MARKETING BASICS IN THE NEW YEAR

Do consumers know exactly what you do and how you benefit them, or have you fallen into the trap of trying to be too many things to too many people? Step one in simplifying your marketing is to narrow your focus by picking a niche within your industry sector. The more focused you are, the more visible your business will be.

It is always easier to explain what you do and why to a group of people with a specific need. If your business scope is too broad, crafting messages that resonate with your audience can become rather difficult. Service businesses such as marketing, business coaching, construction, IT, home improvement, legal and financial services benefit from creating a niche they can dominate by establishing themselves as experts in their field. In a niche market, you will benefit from greater visiblity than in a general market. Your products and services can be marketed with greater clarity and consumers will pay more for products/services from experts. 

Business is not about the products/services you sell, it’s about the results of your effors and the experience you create. Think about your business in terms of the value-add you offer your customers — 

Once you have determined what it is you are really selling, the experience you are creating and the value customers get from your products/services will determine the foundation for your marketing plan.

Knowing exactly what your ideal client wants/needs and how to best reach them will allow you to avoid activities that don’t make sense for your business and, in turn, increase the efficacy of your marketing strategy. When you speak specifically to your target audience, you simplify marketing because you are extremely clear about the value you offer and why your ideal clients should buy from you. This clarity attracts the right audience, which empowers you to turn away those clients that drain you of energy.

Assess your marketing goals — are they realistic, achievable, specific, quantifiable and aligned with your business purpose? When life gets busy it’s easy to lose sight of your goals; setting realistic and measurable goals helps to focus your efforts and resources on activities that produce results.

Your core message is nothing more than a ready answer to the “What is it that you do?” question. It is a short description of your business that tells prospective customers who your existing clientele are and the value you bring to the relationship — it projects what makes you unique and how it benefits your ideal client. A captivating core message that speaks directly to the needs of your ideal client will attract the right customers and allow you to connect with them. Your prospects do not care what you do or how you do it — they care about what you can do for them. If you can solve a problem, improve a process, increase sales, cut costs, find new clients or open new markets, they will be interested.

Pricing and packaging is an important aspect of marketing that needs to be carefully planned and executed. The trade-off between what you charge for a service and what your ideal client thinks it is worth, is a careful balancing act. As a business, people pay you for your products or what you know and how you apply your knowlede to solve their problems. How your ideal clients perceive the value of your product or services, is a critical component to being paid what you are worth.

Make it easy for prospective customers to quickly grasp what you do; package your offering in a memorable way that lends credibility to your business and allows you to stand out above your competitors.

Tackling too many marketing activies and spreading your resources too thin could be the reason your efforts are not yielding results. Once you have gained a thorough understanding of your target market, you can begin the task of identifying the marketing activities/strategies that are aligned with your industry and goals and that will speak to your ideal client. A social media campaign, for example, may drive visibility, but if it doesn’t drive your business success and help you achieve your goals, it is a wasted effort.

With all the hype around digital marketing and social media, business owners forget that the Internet is simply a new channel that helps you reach your ideal client. Before you can get the digital or any other marketing channel to work for your business, you need to get back to marketing basics.