Many of walk us around with a Marketing Degree in our back pocket or have experience working as a Marketing Manager for a company, but have we truly learned the Evolution of Marketing or better yet are we keeping up with the Jones?
I prompt this question as many of take what we learned in a textbook or even from word of mouth and attempt to apply it to our business and marketing schemes… But is this the right thing for your particular business? Let’s take a look at very different factors you must consider when marketing your business.
Understanding Your Market
Understanding your market is critical to your success as many of us have a “belief” who are market is, but truthfully we haven’t done enough analysis to truly pinpoint our exact market. Many turn to geographically maps to study what the average household income is, what the average consumers expendable income is, how far their willing to travel… but overlook some of the simple factors that stare at us right in the face.
Questions you should be asking:
Is your market responding to the price of your product/services?
Are you making it convenient for prospects to determine what you offer and for what price?
Are you promoting your product where your prospects/potential customers can see?
Can they easily locate you via Google for a variety of keywords that explain your services/product?
Once you address some of these questions, take a look at your average customers Age, potentially their income and what keeps that coming back versus going to your competition. Do not be afraid to ask your customers what keeps them coming back as you may be undervaluing certain aspects of your business that may be keeping people coming back.
A great example of this is many return to a business due to the friendly staff. I myself go back to the same Starbucks time and time again because the staff is a pleasure to work with. Make sure your staff is properly compensated and treating your customers right and you will most likely see a nice return especially if your marketing message is in line with it all.
Marketing Message
Going back to our previous discussion, is your Marketing Message aligning with your “Target Market” and ….
Spelling Out EXACTLY you Offer and for How Much and What Makes You Different?
Many of us tend to forget we must peak the interest of the consumer in our Marketing Message and if we don’t the average consumers attentiveness is less than 5-10 seconds (Thanks Facebook and Instagram). With that being said, The average customer is NOT going to go DIG for Price, Product, Or Compelling Reason Why. These Must be stated in the Marketing Message.
Many believe a marketing message can only be conveyed via a Post card, Handouts, Marketing Material… but the message should be universal. What do I mean? The Following should Line up:
- Website
- Marketing Material
- Staff Members
- Email Signatures
- Mass Emails
All these mediums should convey and similar message. So if your most popular product is a Protein Powder.. You should sharing that its the most popular and promoting the heck out of it! These mediums provide your business an opportunity to PROMOTE the heck out of your Company’s Goal and Products.
Addressing Rebuttals
With almost every household keeping a close eye on their monthly expenses, it critical you answer the rebuttals that would keep them from even CONSIDERING your business as an expense. The most obvious is Price… Take your business hat off and look at it from a Consumer standpoint and ask:
Are you getting a good deal? Do you feel okay paying X amount for the service you’re receiving?
Most of you will come up with some fancy reason why you can justify the cost, but for someone who has a relative idea of the business is the price enough to get them in the door? Many of us eliminate a huge market because we out price ourselves (many on purpose), but many are ignorant to the fact that we need to lower our prices. This ties all back in to point #1 and understanding your market and what your competitors are offering versus what you are offering and if what you include justifies the cost of the service/product.
The Takeaway
Stop being comfortable with your business and take a step back to recognize the shift in the market. Many of you will read this and continue your old habits and find yourself losing a huge chunk of revenue because you’re not keeping up with the Jones. Take a second to re-establish a new look and relationship with your market or potential market and adjust accordingly.
Needing Assistance?
You have come to the right place, Our Team works with businesses on developing a focused Marketing Plan that includes looking at your brand and overall business strategy and make sure it is in line to drive the Most Profit.