As a business person, you see marketing all the time that makes you say,
“Man, I wish my marketing was like that.”
Well it’s not magic. It’s the result of hard work and a commitment to a
focused strategic plan. Superb marketing is a process; not a sublime moment
of divine inspiration. Anyone can do it. All it takes an understanding of
the marketing process.
Start at the Beginning
Many well-intentioned companies have opened their doors for business without
properly understanding the process of developing marketing. They believe
that you simply talk to some prospects, do a good job, or make a decent
product and you will have enough business to become a success. Oh, the hard
lessons life teaches us.
Creating superb marketing may not require magic, but it does require a solid
plan. The marketing process is a long journey fraught with perils and
dangers with unknowns around each bend. Without a planned destination, the
cost of getting there can mean the survival of your business.
The first required step in the process is to understand that it is a process
and not a single event. Developing effective marketing can take years of
trial and error. Each new strategy or tactic is often met by unseen
competitive forces in the market that didn’t exist in the planning stage.
The virtues of patience and perseverance are an essential requirement from
the beginning.
Planning
Your Journey
The next step is to create a marketing plan to use as the map for where you
want your business to go. This is where you must work backwards. Start
with a big, audacious goal that you would like to attain. Then visualize
this goal far out in front of you in the distance. You then mentally
generate the path to get there. The plan you create will be the map you use
as you travel down this path to successfully reach your goal.
The most difficult job in planning is visualizing your big, audacious goal.
You must put aside your insecurities and fears and create a goal that is
worthy of you. We often cheat ourselves by accepting less than we are
capable of accomplishing. It is easy to get discouraged and lose sight of
your vision when the goal lies so far ahead in the distance. It seems like
you will never reach it. Break the journey down into more manageable
segments as you move forward, and always be flexible to take advantage of
new opportunities as they present themselves.
The Value of Research
The value of thoroughly researching your market can not be understated in
the marketing process. This step is frequently ignored by business people
when they are developing their marketing. Without good research it’s like
playing a game of darts in the dark. If you can’t see the target, how are
you going to hit it? You might get lucky once in awhile, but you are going
to waste a lot of time and effort for that one score.
Obtaining good research does not require a lot of money, although it does
require an investment of your time over the long-term. Compiling research
is a conscious attitude you need to incorporate in your daily routine. It’s
about keeping your eyes and ears open to the signals of your prospects and
clients and the actions of your competition.
A
good place to start your research is on the internet. You can find
population data in your region from government sources, you can find
companies who compile prospecting lists, and you can find specific websites
for groups and organizations within your target market. As for researching
your competition, there is no better place to start than their website. You
will find loads of competitors by typing in key words for your market into a
search engine like Google or Yahoo. All it takes is time and perseverance.
The most effective means of free research is talking to people within you
target market. Simply asking questions and probing for answers will reveal
who your prospects are and what they want. Take what you learn everyday and
use it to set the course in your marketing plan.
Think Strategically
A
wise person once said, “When you try to be all things to all people, you end
up being nothing.”
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Alas, that is what a significant number of businesses do when they open
their doors each morning. They take any type of client just to make a sale
and lose sight of the prospects that have the greatest potential. They
approach everyone equally and hope for the best.
What’s wrong with this? It is a poor tactical approach to marketing, not a
sustainable growth strategy.
A
clear, comprehensive strategy for your marketing is a crucial step in the
process. Simply put, strategy is the “how” of your marketing plan; whereas
tactics are the “what” that will achieve your goals.
A good analogy would
be that strategy is the workhorse that pulls the cart filled with tactics as
you journey toward your ultimate business goal.
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Many businesses have the cart before the horse – some don’t even have a
horse! Their marketing consists of random, hit-and-miss tactics like
sporadic direct mail, a single run newspaper ad, or an overpriced yellow
pages ad. Occasionally, these are effective; however without a strategy
they often fail to pull the desired level of long-term business.
Thinking strategically requires an attitude of improving your business
through real, focused action: increasing sales, creating more back-end
products, reducing client attrition, strengthening your company identity,
etc. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different strategies you can
develop for improving your business. Surely, you could think of a least
three areas that need improving right now.
Putting It All
Together
Marketing often seems more complicated and intimidating than it needs to
be. Careful planning early in the process will produce huge yields from
your efforts. Take the time to learn the process and create a plan and you
will produce the superb marketing that feels magical.
