When the next big challenge in your business comes up, you’ll be ready for it if you follow a few simple marketing tactics.
Marketing is the art of recognizing a need and filling it with your offering. It’s about providing value to others so you can create long-term relationships that translate into your product or service being purchased again, again, and again.
Here are 10 ways you can use marketing to attract even more customers than ever before:
1) Remember Who Your Audience Is
Always remember that it’s not about you. It’s all about your audience and what they need in their lives. Don’t try to be too cool for school or too hip.
Talk to them as if you are conversing with someone at the local coffee shop or around the water cooler. You’re there to fill a role in their lives, not to be a self-described expert with all the answers.
Let your audience know you listen to what they say and care how they feel about your product or service.
2) Put Your Product on Autopilot
Remember that it is hard work to get people to know who you are, learn why they should buy from you, and then take action because of this information. That is just too much work for most people, so there has got to be an easier way to do this, right?
Yes! With automation comes an opportunity for success (and massive growth), but it also means that once set up properly, marketing will almost run itself over time – sometimes in days rather than months or years! You’ll have the time to focus your attention on other tasks, including generating more leads and sales.
3) Understand Your Ideal Customer’s Needs
Think about this from a unique perspective – there are no wrong answers here! Many people need but don’t know it yet (and that is why they need you!). Take the time to get inside their heads and understand what they really want.
4) Tell People What They Need to Know – Not What You Want Them To Know
Marketing is not about fluff. It’s all about providing value in the form of facts – lots of them!
Essentially, you’re giving people free information out of the goodness of your heart, which will also make them think highly of you. The more they trust you, the easier it will be to get them to take action.
5) Be Authentic and Original
Be yourself. People love things that are real and are probably not interested in fads or trends in marketing.
You don’t need to put on some sort of activity just to get people’s attention – because if that doesn’t work, then sales won’t work either! Make sure your product is good enough for you before letting others know about it, and let the results speak for themselves.
6) Become an Industry Spokesperson
Do you write a blog? Get out there and talk about what you do (and why!). Podcast? Talk about ideas that relate to your field of expertise with passion and enthusiasm.
7) Stop Making Excuses for Yourself – And Start Making Excuses For Your Product
Do you hear yourself saying “Maybe I should” or “If only I had” when talking about your product?
Think of all the reasons why someone won’t buy it and use them as excuses to say something like, “It’s not a problem for me because my XYZ product has solved that problem already.”
You can even add more power to this with statements such as, “You get 112% value for every dollar spent in just one hour after purchasing my product.” The more confident you are about what your product can do, the easier it will be to sell.
8 ) Set Up Your Online Presence
If you have a website, set up these pages to help maximize your online presence – Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, Twitter account, and anything else that is available. Your product’s name must populate in search engines as much as possible – this will lead people directly to you.
9) Create an SEO-Friendly Website
Are people finding your website? (If not, take the time to find out why.) Make sure you are bringing up results on Google to see what your site has to offer – especially if it is helpful information for them!
Check out how many of your competitors are doing in regard to keywords/SEO on their own sites. You should also check out the number of links pointing to their site from other sites. The higher, the better.
10) Write Strategic Blog Posts
You should be updating your blog regularly and find relevant issues to write about. What is hip, or what will get people riled up? Is there a way that you can integrate your product with something else?
There should always be an underlying message that directs attention toward your product (that is how marketing works). This “strategic” approach can lead to more exposure beyond just traffic coming from Google searches.
You could also provide free information on these topics to attract those interested and then direct them back to your site for follow-up information.
A Few Things To Remember: Make sure that you target the right keywords. Write some amazing headlines to engage people and make them want to stick around for more (the art of “bait”).
And always, always, always remember what words are important in your marketing lingo – they include: free, easy, now, bonuses and download.
11) Be Consistent With Your Marketing Efforts
You have to follow up on all aspects of your marketing efforts if you want others to take notice of what you’re doing. If possible, mix things up a little bit now and then so that it doesn’t get boring – but be careful not to overdo anything!
And never forget about the power of social media sites like Facebook or Twitter, which is a great way to connect with people about specific topics or products where you feel your expertise can be used.
Conclusion: It’s important to remember that these are just some general ideas for marketing your product. You can try them out and see what works best, but it might take some trial and error until you find a formula that makes you successful.
If something isn’t working, stop doing it! If you don’t feel comfortable with an idea or strategy, then walk away from it. What have you got to lose? But always remember the importance of “giving” before “getting.”
Opinions expressed by AsianBlurb contributors are their own.
Maham Qasim is an English Literature and Economics student at Forman Christian College University with an interest in writing. Maham was born in Pakistan and raised in Saudi Arabia and is now pursuing her education.