What is a marketing strategy? I like to define it as “a process that allows you to focus your limited resources on the biggest opportunities to increase your visibility, sales, and revenue.”
For example, let’s say you have a goal of enrolling 3 new customers in the next 30 days. Then you need to focus your time, energy, and resources ONLY on the necessary tasks that will get you to that goal, and NOTHING else!
How can you ensure that your marketing plan produces the results you seek? Making sure of:
• Identify the needs of your ideal client and how you will address them.
• Focus on specific marketing strategies to help you achieve your goals.
Identify the needs of your target market
Having a service-based business is ALL about solving the problems your target market struggles with. To do that, you need to be clear about what they need and what you can do to eliminate their challenges.
For example, if you are a personal trainer, connect with what your prospects really need. It may be your goal to lose weight, build strength, increase flexibility, or simply look better in the mirror.
If you are an image consultant, what do your prospects really want? They may want to know: 1) how to make a great first impression 2) how to build confidence with a wardrobe 3) how to dress for any occasion.
Also, you must be able to identify the source of the problem. As a personal trainer, what caused your client to gain weight? Is eating too much a health problem or sheer neglect? The image consultant may find that the real lack of confidence lies in the fact that his client wears used clothing and never had the opportunity to choose his own clothing growing up.
When you can identify the needs of your prospects along with the trigger point that motivates them to seek your help, the next step in your marketing strategy becomes easier to implement. All you have to do is show up where they want you, address the trigger point, and deliver the solution in the format that will best consume it.
Focus on specific marketing techniques.
How does your target market consume information? As a marketing consultant, 60% of my work is done over the phone. 40% is done in person. In addition, I help my clients and my audience by giving them a variety of options to learn from me in different formats. It is common for you to share information through:
• Webinars
• Teleseminars
• Articles on the Internet and in print publications
• Blogs
• Social media platforms
• Networks
• Speaking at events
You understand I didn’t start all this at once. In fact, I started with networking, blogging, and offering teleseminars. Over time we add the others. You can model similar strategies with your business.
Do your research to find out where and how your audience is talking about the solutions you offer. Then determine which methods I mentioned above (or others) will allow you to best connect with the people with whom you can do your best work. Master one method and then move on to the next.
Online Marketing Strategies
Prospects will go online looking for information about your business. So it’s important that you monitor what they find. All roads in the world of online marketing lead to these three steps:
1. Get traffic to your site
2. Capture the visitor’s name and email address
3. Stay in touch to develop a relationship and present appropriate offers for products and services.
Whatever you choose to do to market your business online, make sure it supports this three-pronged approach. If the platform, tool, or methodology doesn’t support this effort, don’t waste your time on it.
Offline Marketing Strategies
There are plenty of opportunities to grow your business online, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore tried and true offline marketing strategies.
Where do you start? Consider becoming actively involved in a networking group that caters to your ideal customer. You can also look for speaking opportunities within these groups, as well as trade organizations and associations. Identify who else is offering complementary services to your target market and develop referral relationships with those people. You can send targeted direct mail campaigns to pre-qualified prospects and offer them an irresistible offer to “try out” your services. You can always ask current and past clients for references.
There are many strategies to choose from. Whichever you choose to follow depends entirely on the SMART goals you have set for yourself and your business.
