20 Marketing Tips You Must Know

1120 Things You Must Do To Market Your 20 Things You Must Do To Market Your

Business SuccessfullyBusiness Successfully

20 Things You 20 Things You MustMust DoDo

To Market Your To Market Your


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What Is Marketing?What Is Marketing?

What Is Selling?What Is Selling?

• Marketing: is a process of finding and attracting people or

businesses (leads/prospects) who are most likely to want and

need your products/services and can afford to pay for it. Then

developing long-term relationships with them to promote repeat sales and encourage referrals.

• Selling: is the process of converting your leads/prospects

into paying customers.


Business SuccessfullyBusiness Successfully 33

#1#1 Clearly Identify Clearly Identify

Your Target MarketYour Target Market

• If you try to sell to everyone you’ll end up selling to very few

• Develop a profile of your ideal customer

• Select a market niche that interest you and that you can communicate with easily, often and for a low-cost

• Not defining your target market in detail results in wasted time, money and effort



#2#2 Define Your Product/ServiceDefine Your Product/Service

• What want or need does your product satisfy?

• What problem does your service solve?

• i.e. make money, save money, increase self-esteem, fun, popularity, possess beautiful things

• Can you clearly describe your benefits in terms of fulfilling need/wants, solving problem?

• Product/Service must be a solution, at a price people are willing to pay



#3#3 Find A Way To Differentiate Find A Way To Differentiate

Your Business From Your Your Business From Your

CompetitorsCompetitors

• What is the unique benefit (s) that you offer that makes you different from your competitors?

• I.e. Dominos Pizza – “fresh hot, pizza in 30 minutes or less”(huge reason for their success)

• Also known as USP – unique selling position, core marketing message

• Why should people do business with you instead of your competitors?



#4#4 Focus Your Marketing On Focus Your Marketing On

Your CustomersYour Customers Instead Of YouInstead Of You

• The majority of your marketing communications should focus on how your target market will benefit from using your products or services

• Your customers want to know “What’s in it for me”. “How are they going to benefit from using your product or service?”** You must answer this question clearly in all your marketing

• Your education, technical skills, how long in business, awards; should not be your main marketing message

• Talk about the problems and issues that your target market is having and how your product or service can help them solve them



#5#5 Communicate Your Benefits Communicate Your Benefits

Instead of FeaturesInstead of Features

• People don’t buy what your products or services does, they buy the end results of what you offer

• You must clearly and specifically tell people the results they will get from doing business with you. Convert your features to benefits.

• I.e. Feature: highbred car, Benefit: It will save You money on gas and reduce air pollution

• Effective communication of your BENEFITS is critical to attracting your potential customers

• Educate your target market on how the BENEFITS of your products or services will make them happier, save them time, make them money, solve their problems and add value to their lives.



#6 #6 Employ All The 3 Keys To Employ All The 3 Keys To

Growing Your BusinessGrowing Your Business

• Lead generation – finding and attracting potential customers

• Marketing to your current clients- increasing the size of the average sales- increasing the number/frequency of purchases- receiving more referrals from customers- Should have a REFERRAL PROGRAMREFERRAL PROGRAM-- strategy to encourage your customers to give you referralsstrategy to encourage your customers to give you referrals

• Improving sales conversion ratei.e. instead of getting 3 sales of 10, work on getting 6 of 10

** Use all 3 to leverage your time and resources**



##77 Implement Your Implement Your

Marketing SystemMarketing System• You need a marketing systems to CONSISTENTLY ATTRACT

your PROSPECTS?, encourage repeat sales and referrals

• How are you going to encourage your prospects to contact you?

• If you’re fishing for prospects, what are you going to use for bait?

I.e. offer a free report, newsletter sign up at website, offer free seminars, product sampling

• ***Must be planned, organized **





##88 Base Your Marketing Base Your Marketing

Strategies onStrategies on

Research and Testing, Not Research and Testing, Not

Guesses and Assumptions Guesses and Assumptions • Research your potential customers – their issues and problems,

wants and needs

• Spy on your major competitors, what are their strengths and weaknesses? How can you use them to give you a competitive advantage?

• Test all you marketing activities on a small scale before you gobig – i.e. mail to small list first

• Find out as much as you can about your target market.



##9 9 Use Direct Response Use Direct Response

Advertising, Instead of Advertising, Instead of

Institutional AdvertisingInstitutional Advertising• Institutional Advertising – focuses on creating awareness/branding

“ GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE”

• Direct Response Advertising – asking your target market to respond in a

specific way i.e. call you for a free item of value, go to your web site to download, watch or listen to something for free

• The marketing message should include the following things:

- An attention grabbing, compelling headline - A specific offer

- A strong call to action- A sense of urgency



Awareness Advertising vs. Awareness Advertising vs.

Direct Response AdvertisingDirect Response Advertising



Use TwoUse Two--Step Advertising Step Advertising

• Step #1Your objectives: to get people to identify themselves as potential customers and to capture their contact information

• How? Offer them something of value that they want and need for FREE

• i.e. call for a free report, CD/DVD , visit your website to download an e-book

• - To get your FREE stuff they have to give you their contact info(name, email address, phone#)

•Step #2Enter their contact information into your database to follow-up and implement a variety of marketing campaigns.



#10#10 Use Headlines In All Your Use Headlines In All Your

Advertising LiteratureAdvertising Literature

• Your headline is responsible for 80% of the success of your marketing piece

• It must grab the attention of your audience in 5 seconds

• Must have strong benefit, or offer, be relevant to your target market

• 5 times as many people read the headline as the body copy

• Headline must address the needs and wants of your target market



#11#11 MAKE SPECIFIC OFFERSMAKE SPECIFIC OFFERS

• 3 TYPES of OFFERS

1. Offer to Generate Prospects – goal to capture contact infoi.e. Free No Obligation Marketing Check-up

• 2. Offers to Generate First-Time Customers – goal encourage first purchase

i.e. Free 30-day trial

• 3. Offers to Generate Repeat Sales – goal encourage multiple purchasesi.e. Repeat orders are eligible for 10% off and Free delivery

• Make your offers enticing and compelling to entice people to take IMMEDIATE ACTION

• Appeal to people’s self interest

• 1- offer per marketing piece (may be 2)

• Test different offers to see which ones generate the highest response



#12#12 Include a Call To Action Include a Call To Action

In Your AdvertisingIn Your Advertising

• Your Call to Action Tells People How to Respondto Your Marketing Message- Call for more details/info is not effective, it’s too vague

• Examples of effective call to actions

- Buy today save 25%,

- Offer ends December 31st. Call now!

- First 10 people to respond get a free special bonus

Your call to action should be related to the objective of your marketing piece



Example of Awareness AdExample of Awareness Ad Example of Direct Response AdExample of Direct Response Ad



Awareness AdAwareness Ad Direct Response AdDirect Response Ad



#13#13 Use Social Proof to Use Social Proof to

Build Trust and CredibilityBuild Trust and Credibility

• Testimonials are a powerful tool to help break through buyer skepticism, build trust and credibility

• Case Study –real life story of how your product helped someone

• Photos/video/audio of happy clients

• PR – get quoted in the papers or a magazines, guest on TV and radio

• Use social proof at your website, in print ads, in brochures, even on the back of your business cards



#14#14 Develop A Database Of Develop A Database Of

Your Customers And Your Customers And

Potential CustomersPotential Customers• Your database should be the hub of all your marketing

activities

- it will help you organize and schedule your touch points with customers and prospects

• Get a contact management database- i.e. ACT, Gold Mine, Maximizer

• Collect relevant info on your clients and prospects



#15#15 FollowFollow--up! Followup! Follow--up!up!

• It usually takes 7-11 exposures to your marketing message before people think of contacting you

• Over 60 percent of all sales are made after the 7th contact with a prospect, especially true in B to B sales

• Studies reveal that most sales are lost due to lack of follow-up.

• Develop a follow-up system and you will get an advantage over your competitors (contact management software)

• Follow-up at least ONCE a MONTH



Why a FollowWhy a Follow--up System Is So Criticalup System Is So Critical

----------------------------------------------------2% of sales are made on the 1st contact

3% on the 2nd contact

5% on the 3rd contact

10% on the 4th contact

80% of all sales are made on the 7th -12th contactSource: Referral Marketing Handbook



How Effective Are Sales How Effective Are Sales

People At Following upPeople At Following up

----------------------------------------------------48% of sales people never follow-up

25% of sales people make 2 follow-ups and stop

12% of sales people make 3 follow-us and stop

10% -15% of sales people make 4 or more follow-up

contactsSource: Referral Marketing Handbook



#16#16 Develop an Effective Develop an Effective

WebsiteWebsite

• Developed your website to achieve specific objectives

• i.e. to get leads, educate your customers, sell a product, technical support

• Lead generation- capturing the contact data of your visitors should be a major objective. Especially for new businesses

• Plan out your site on paper before you spend any money



Implement A Promotional Implement A Promotional

Strategy For Your Web SiteStrategy For Your Web Site• You must have a strategy to encourage and entice people to visit

your website

• Too many businesses fall for the “Fields of Dream Myth” – if you build it they will come NOT!

• How are you going to get people to visit your web site?

• You need more than search engine placement.

• Your web site address on all marketing materials is a good start

• How about having a contest give away at your site?



#17#17 Set A Marketing BudgetSet A Marketing Budget

• How much should you spend on marketing?

• Forecast the “LIFE TIME VALUE” of your client/customer

• Then decide how much you are willing to invest in finding and keeping your customers

• Make a list of at least 10 specific marketing tactics, NO COST, LOW COST, HIGH COST

• Remember that marketing is an investment in the growth of your business, it’s not just an expense



#18#18 Set Marketing Set Marketing

And Sales GoalsAnd Sales Goals

• You must set specific, written goals with time lines and a measuring component i.e. monthly/yearly sales

• Number of inquiries or referrals in a month

• Clients acquired in 3 months

• Goals will help you STAY MOTIVATED and FOCUSED

• Review your goals regularly and reward yourself when you’re successful.



#19#19 Develop A Written Develop A Written

Marketing PlanMarketing Plan• Your marketing plan should be your roadmap to finding and

attracting your prospects, getting repeat sales and referrals

• It should organize and integrate all your marketing activities

• Research has found than not having a marketing plan contributes significantly to business failureand underachievement

• Include a Marketing Calendar: a to-do list of all your planned marketing activities. Start date, who will do it, estimated cost, measure results

• Companies that follow a marketing plan do about 24- 30% more sales than businesses that do not. (U.S. SBA research)



#20 #20 Track & Measure Your Track & Measure Your

Marketing ActivitiesMarketing Activities

• If you can’t measure the results of your marketing activities you’re probably wasting your money

• Track and measure inquiries, leads, sales, phone calls you generated

• I.e. use a coupon in an ad, subscribe to your newsletter link inan email

• Tracking and measuring will let you know what’s working and what’s not

ROI – track the return on your marketing investments



ConclusionConclusion

• Successful marketing will take patience, persistence, testing, repetition, commitment

• Marketing is a process of testing and evaluating, adjusting

• There’s no “Marketing Silver Bullet”

• No one marketing strategy or specific tactic will give you quick, massive sales success

• Marketing is the most important job in your business.



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