Marketing a business is like any game. If you know the rules you are much
more likely to win. All to often small businesses spend their limited time
and money on advertising, networking, making calls, mailings, meeting with
prospects, yet only achieve middling results. The problem isn’t that they
don’t know their business or provide high quality products and services,
its that they don’t know the rules of the marketing game.
(article continued below ...)
Marketing To Win:
To win the marketing game, you need to know the rules.
The key rules to getting the clients you want are:
- Market Solutions
- Target Your Market
- Demonstrate Value
- Build
Your Network
- Stay in Touch
1. Market Solutions
Most service professionals focus their marketing on
their expertise, their approach and the products and services they offer.
While competence is a key to doing the work, most clients' primary concern
is getting problems solved and having their spoken and unspoken needs met.
Instead of marketing your credentials, your processes and methodology,
market your knowledge and the solutions you offer.
Marketing is about making connections, specifically between a client's
unmet need and the solutions you provide. The best way to impress clients is
to show them you understand the problems they are experiencing. If you want
to leverage your credentials, mention past clients when you provide examples
of how you solved similar problems.
2. Target Your Market
Are you getting a positive response to your
marketing efforts? If not, then you may not have targeted your market and
their specific needs and interests precisely enough. Independent
professionals or small business owners often try to do the impossible and be
everything to everybody. Instead define your niche market and get the
attention of this group.
3. Demonstrate Value
Actions speak louder than words. If you want clients
to be aware of the value of your products or services, you will need to give
them a test drive. Open the door with newsletters, workshops, a free session
or articles found on your web site. Over time demonstrating the value you
provide will convince prospective clients of your ability to solve their
problems and help position you as a trusted advisor.
4. Build Your Network
The objective is to know who is interested in your
products and services. Networking is a good idea because people like to buy
products from people they know and trust. If they’ve met you or been
referred to you they are more likely to trust you.
Depending on the business you are in, you can build your network of
prospects through conventional networking or through your web site and
email. Either way the more qualified prospects you have in your network the
better.
5. Stay in Touch
Memories are short. Once we hit middle age most of us
can't remember what we had for dinner two days ago, much less the host of
services various firms provide. In most cases its safe to assume your target
market has forgotten about the range of solutions you offer, if they
remember you at all.
Stay in touch with your target market on a monthly or, at a minimum
quarterly basis. When you contact people be clear about the action you want
prospective, existing and past clients to take.
Win the Marketing Game
Once you know the rules to marketing you can apply
them to map out your marketing strategy, and to select marketing tactics
that will leave your competition in the dust.
