| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Principles of Marketing 101
Marketing results should be measured in only one way - increased sales. Marketing should not be considered an art form. Its mere existence is not enough. Marketing is the first step to the sale. There are seven underlying principles upon which to base your marketing strategy and efforts. Follow them and your business will be a raving success. Violate them and you will fail as so many small businesses do. The seven underlying principles are Image, Differentiation, Repeat Business, Ease of Doing Business, Networking, Likeability, and Emotion. Let's begin with image. Image Much like people have an image so does their business. Some people are informal and likeable, as are some businesses. Some people are formal and aloof, as are some businesses. Your image is wrapped up in your packaging. The clothes you wear, the haircut you sport, the weight you carry, and the age you are, all create your image. The same applies to your business. Every way your business presents itself to your customers adds to or detracts from the image you are trying to create with your marketing efforts. Decide on the image you wish to convey to the public and design your business to support that image. Your business cards, letterhead, website, advertising materials, and every other portion of your business which will come into contact with a customer must reflect the same image. If you sell a product, your image is also reflected in your packaging, the colors, the box, the website, the store -- everything. If you sell a service, your image is reflected in your writings, your website, your proposals and your presentations. Make every interaction with a customer or prospect reflect the image you have for your business. However, remember, it is far easier to create an unforgettable image by differentiating yourself from the competition. Differentiation Be as different as a zebra in a herd of horses. You must be different from your competitors in order to stand out. And, you must be able to convey that difference in all your messages to prospects. If you know you are different and don't convey it, you lose. You must leverage your differences to your advantage. If you can't differentiate yourself, it's because of two general reasons. You think you don't have any competitors. Or, you have copied your competitors to the extent you all look alike to your prospects. Thinking you don't have any competitors is a dangerous and naïve position to take. Even if someone doesn't sell the exact product you sell, they do compete with you for people's money. If a potential customer is spending money with someone else, they aren't spending it with you. Offer something different in product or service. The second option, where you look just like your competition, is equally dangerous. In this situation, the only way to compete is by having the lowest price. Lowest price also translates to lower profit margin. This means you're working harder to make money than you have to. Differentiating yourself from the competition is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish. It is also one with the largest positive impact upon your bottom line. Differentiating yourself will increase business. However, part of marketing is also hanging onto the business once you have it. Repeat Business A sale is great! But, two or more sales are even better! A customer who buys once from you represents short-term revenue. Short-term revenue requires ten times more work. In this mode, you are in a constant search for new customers. A lifelong paying customer is your objective. If you offer a one-time event, you do not have a marketing process -- you have a single sale. A marketing process sells to clients over and over again. One of the reasons businesses fail is because they don't stay in touch with customers. Frequency of contact can build trust and trust is a requirement for a sale. Set up a system to remind yourself to contact existing customers. This can be a regularly published newsletter, an email follow-up for input from the last sale, or a new product announcement. Keep in touch! Customers don't want to be taken for granted. Make your customers feel special and they will return to you, time and time again. Another proven method for encouraging that second purchase is to be a business that is easy to do business with. Ease of Doing Business Having many ways for people to buy from you increases your chance of the first sale and subsequent sales. Your website should be easy to navigate. This includes having contact information on every page, multiple methods of paying you, product descriptions with customer benefits clearly spelled out, and an easy to understand return policy. Many websites lose sales every day because they can't be contacted with questions or their order forms are confusing. Look at all the business systems you have established. These include the ordering system, the communication system, and the feedback system. Test them from the customer's standpoint. If you can't be objective, have relatives and friends test your systems and provide you with feedback. Remove anything they complain about, no matter how small it seems to you. It can be hard enough to grow a business under the best of circumstances. Don't build your own roadblocks. Build networks instead. Networking. To increase sales, increase your network of contacts, both customers and suppliers. We've discussed how customers can increase your business. They can return to purchase from you again. They will also tell others about you. But why network with suppliers? Suppliers profit when you profit. They have a vested interest in your success. The smaller the supplier, the more they have invested in your success. If you establish a really good network with your suppliers, you will have first access to new products and special closeout sales. In turn, you will both be more successful. This principle is also referred to as the principle of reciprocity. This works on the principle: "you scratch my back and I will scratch yours." It is not just about relationships, it is about the value of those relationships. Make yours count. Likeability People buy from people they like. This is a long proven sales axiom. If people don't know you, how can they like you? They need to like you before they will trust you. They must trust you before they buy from you. Likeability is one of the most valuable assets you have. Does your marketing copy (on your website or in your advertising) come across as the type of person you would like? Would you do business with this person? Is likeability subjective and emotional? Yes. But so are buying decisions! Emotion Marketing studies claim eighty-five percent of the buying decision is made from emotions. Buyers will then justify their purchase with logic. But emotion is where it starts! This means you must first connect with their emotions. Then give them the logic to justify what they bought. You cannot do one effectively without the other. Your client's perception creates the sale. So many business owners think their service or product is absolutely great. They cannot understand why it is not selling. It is because they developed their product or service according to their perceptions and not their prospects' needs. Keep your prospects in mind at all times and you will succeed. Remember, marketing is the first step to the sale. Keep these principles in mind and you will succeed. Nice doing business with you! Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a "Corporate Freedom Fighter" dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners to experience their own successful online business. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com), authors a sassy marketing blog (http://www.imarketblog.com), and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to "Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time".
MORE RESOURCES:
B2B Marketing Leader, Televerde, Executive to Judge National Business Awards ... - Houston Chronicle
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Developing A Focused Marketing Strategy You want all of your marketing messages to have a single focus, so they pull together instead of competing with each other. Great! So how do you come up with one?First, there are several things you need to know. How to Expand Your Target Markets Are your products or services geared towards only one target market? You can increase sales and profits by increasing your target markets. Below are some creative ways to increase your target markets by using your existing products and services you're selling right now. Why Trying to Get the Appointment Can be a Recipe for Dis-Appoinment Why Trying to "Get the Appointment" Can be a Recipe for Dis-AppoinmentLast week, this e-mail from Jack arrived in my inbox:To: Ari Galper From: Jack Subj.: Help! I need to get more appointments Dear Ari,I've just coined a new disease for the medical books, and I'm hoping you can help me cure it. 51 Ways to Say Thank-you in a Fundraising Letter for a Non-for-Profit (Includes Examples & Samples) One of the hardest jobs in fundraising is crafting original thank-you letters. You want to be thankful. Always On Stage - 3 Quick Tips for Trade Show Exhibitors Do you feel uncomfortable when you're in the trade show booth? Like folks are looking at you? Like you're on stage? Got as little stage fright?Well, folks are looking at you. Yes, it's like you are on stage. Maximize Your Lead Generation Efforts by Recycling Your Leads The basic lead generation process is pretty much the same from company to company. Inquiries come in?they're qualified?and then sent to the sales team. Are You Playing Checkers or Chess? When you think about how to attract more clients for your professional services, are you playing checkers or chess?You're playing checkers when you.. Signage for Mobile Car Wash Vehicles If you are in the mobile car wash business and you should be. Then you know that your clean work vehicles is your best piece of advertising. Marketing: Can I Trust You? We live in an unprecedented era of communication. Because of this, your prospects are literally bombarded from all directions with marketing messages. Your Plan For Marketing Success The most important, yet overlooked aspect of marketing is an actual written marketing plan A business simply cannot succeed without marketing. Whether you are a one person business or have 50 employees, you simply must have a marketing plan to succeed. Forward Thinkers Stay Ahead of the Curve What is it like from a marketing perspective to be yesterday's news? We rely on what is tried and true in marketing because it is usually safe, tried, and tested. It saves us time, as well, since we don't have to put on our creativity cap to craft an innovative strategy. 5 Print Ad Essentials! Writing an effective print ad, particularly a classified advertisement, requires that you remember five essential points. Failure to implement these points correctly can cost you much in the way of time lost and a sale missed. 8 Secrets to Marketing Success The profits of a business are totally dependent on marketing. Otherwise few, if any, sales will be generated. Ten Breakthrough Marketing Ideas Ten Breakthrough Marketing Ideas1. Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic. Finding a Brochure Printing Company A brochure can be a great promotional tool, whether it is for is a real estate listing, a trade show handout, a data sheet, or some other application, but sometimes it's hard to know where to start. Brochure printing companies can provide their expertise as well as a wide range of printing and marketing services. Heres A Robust, Turnkey, Interactive. Best of Breed, Mission-Critical Solution to Kill Buzzwords Fellow Publicity Insiders, what does this phrase mean? "We envision a center of excellence where our accelerated changeagents can maximize their core competencies." Huh? - or - "The company is a global leader in pressure-sensitivetechnology and innovative self-adhesive solutions for consumerproducts and label materials. Direct Mail Postcard Rules It's a fact that your customers are your best leads. This means that the most likely people to purchase your products and/or services are the ones who have paid for them before. Distinguish Your Business From The Competition You followed time-honored online marketing techniques to the letter: you have a great web site, the site has a high search engine rank, and you created a compelling marketing message that showcases your unique selling proposition. Unfortunately, your competitors are reading the same playbook and are implementing the same marketing strategies. Your Marketing Plan - Prerequisite to Success Marketing is a vital aspect of a business' operations. It has been said that, "Nothing happens in business until a sale is made". Encouraging Contact The small time promoter has to work hard and on a shoestring to get an audience of a few hundred people to fill a venue. Flyers, word-of-mouth and media name checks are some of the tools promoters use to fill small venues or club nights.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
