The best marketing advice

There are many tips and how-to’s in the marketplace about how to market your company.

It’s almost too much to wade through, isn’t it?

One thing I would invite you to consider is: if you own a business, you’re a marketer…And a salesperson. Whether your marketing and sales are sophisticated or fairly simple; if you have customers, you’ve engaged in some sort of marketing.

Even if that marketing is based on word of mouth and referrals. Your customers are doing your marketing for you in this case.

Marketing isn’t sales and sales isn’t marketing, but they do work together.

Marketing creates awareness about your company, products and services. And, deeper than that, your marketing should create curiosity, a familiarity with and a level of trust in your business.

Sales is the process where you convert someone who is curious or interested in your offerings into an actual paying customer.

When I was working with clients as a sales professional and then as a sales trainer, one of the principles I learned very early on was to talk about the aspects of your business that a potential customer actually cared about.

You may be thinking, isn’t that obvious?

One may think it’s obvious, but I would like to counter that with: No, no it isn’t :).

There’s what you think your potential customers care about and then there’s what they actually care about.

This is time for your gut check: When you talk about the benefits of doing business with your company, are you actually referring to aspects that your customers value?

I think we’re all on a learning and experimenting journey with this. And, our businesses, industries and customers evolve, so what’s valuable now may shift over time.

What’s the result of not hitting on the right attributes of what makes your business unique or special?

A lukewarm trickle of clients.

What tells you that you’ve nailed it?

A consistent flow of people who are exactly the type of people you want to work with.

Back to the Marketing advice out there.

Before you look outward to the advice, the real gold is looking inward first to identify what your customers value and what makes your way of providing a product/service special.

Then, identify effective ways to share this with potential buyers. This could look different for every company out there.

If you’re challenged with drawing in the number of customers you want — find out what matters most to them about doing business with you.

What you find may surprise you :).

And…it could make a real difference in how your company shows up in its industry.

NOW is YOUR time,

Ariana

Is this a priority for you in your business right now? If so, let’s have a conversation.

Business Coach in Canada, Canadian Business Coach & Leadership