If you’re like most service-oriented businesses, you’re probably spending thousands of dollars a year on ads and promotions targeted at all kinds of people or businesses.
You might also be coming up with sales messages that have no emotional impact on your potential clients.
Finally, your marketing messages are probably showing up in places where your target market isn’t even present.
According to marketing experts, unfocused sales and marketing efforts are among the top reasons why so many small businesses fail
No matter how great you are as a coach, consultant, or trainer, you will have a hard time attracting enough customers if you don’t have a highly focused marketing plan.
Unless your product or service – such as cleaning products, tax preparation services- is used by most people, your marketing campaigns need to be limited to a handful of effective techniques aimed at one or two niches that actually have an interest in your type of service.
3 Steps to Get Your Marketing Right
While it may seem like creating a focused marketing strategy is complex, it is actually not that difficult for a small business like yours.
There are three decisions you need to make before starting your marketing campaigns:
- What is your target market?
You need to discover who are your ideal customers, including their interests, needs, beliefs, lifestyles. - What do you have to offer your Potential Customers?
Once you’ve defined your niche, it’s time to pick your strongest selling claim (unique selling proposition), and figure out how to use it in your marketing messages. Your sales arguments have to focus on issues that matter to your potential customers.
3 Which media / channels are best for delivering your message?
The final step is to discover the best places to implement your marketing campaigns in order to get the best results.
The idea is to spend time and money on marketing materials, websites, and platforms that are used by most members of your target market.
If your potential clients prefer print materials, for example, it’s a waste of time trying to promote your business through email or social media sites.
You will find that once you carefully answer these three questions, your marketing efforts will begin to make more sense and produce much better results.
How to Answer The Most Important Marketing Questions
The following book is one of the best resources I’ve found to help small business owners create a basic marketing plan:
The Marketing Plan Handbook: Develop Big-Picture Marketing Plans for Pennies on the Dollar
by Robert W. Bly
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