STEP ONE – Research, research research
This is where you find out what you do not know. The more you know, the better your marketing strategy will be.
Be certain you define the following:
Your customers
* What is their age?
* What is their income?
* What is their level of education?
* What is their marital statues?
* Do they have a religious preference?
* What is their comfort level with technology?
* Where do they live?
* Where do they work?
* What do they drive?
* How far do they drive?
The list goes on and on. You just cannot know too much about your customers.
Your competitors
* Who are your competitors?
* Are they only in your industry?
* What is their USP (Unique Selling Proposition)?
* Why do their customers choose them?
You may be surprised to discover your competition may not be another business after all. Consider the car wash chain that discovered their biggest competitor was their own customer! Instead of looking to annihilate the other car wash facilities, this chain began focusing their marketing efforts on educating their customers on the benefits to bringing their car to them instead of washing their cars at home. Sales increased significantly once this chain realized where to point their marketing strategy.
STEP TWO – Determine the problems your customer has and the solutions you offer.
Everyone has problems. Marketing is merely the act of bringing your solutions before the people who need it most and are ready, willing and able to pay for it.
Once you know everything about your customer, you already know the solutions he or she is seeking.
STEP THREE – Determine the emotional triggers that will ignite your sales.
The act of buying is a complex and emotional decision. The reason your customer is making a purchase is not always readily apparent. While you may think that you are selling candles, your customers may actually be buying:
* Emergency lighting
* Aroma therapy
* Ambiance
Notice, not once above is the customer buying candles. They are instead, purchasing a function of the candles.
Find out why your customers are buying and you will be on your way to marketing success.
STEP FOUR – Creating a marketing strategy and THEN choose your marketing tactics.
Now it is time to take the information gathered in the first three steps to create a precise marketing strategy for your business or product.
Great points! While your article focuses on consumer goods marketing, the same principles apply to business to business marketing.
Pinpointing your most promising prospects and understanding what’s important to them is the key to an effective marketing strategy. Else you waste time marketing to those who either won’t buy or who will take so long to buy, it’s not cost-effective to curry their business.
Once you understand what’s important to your most promising prospects, you’ll stand out from the competition who speak about things that are of milder interest to them. People do business with people they feel “see” them and care about them. What’s a better way to care than finding out everything about who they are and how they prefer to buy so you can do it their way?
At BB Marketing Plus, we specialize in finding out exactly that, most of our small business clients see a 30% increase in revenues in just a year. That’s the power of knowing what people want and giving it to them!
AMEN!!! Knowing what people want and giving it to them is the secret to success no matter WHAT type of sale you’re making!