Sales and Marketing with Bill Doerr15 Second "Speed Read"
Marketing is an essential business discipline that can be academic or practical. Unless you're a university professor, the practical approach is probably better. Once you go practical, there are seven (7) keys to marketing effectively. This article identifies and explains them all seven.
This . . . is Marketing?
Two (2) definitions. This first definition comes from a prestigious university dictionary:
"Marketing, in economics, is that part of the process of production and exchange that is concerned with the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer. In popular usage, it is defined as the distribution and sale of goods, distribution being understood in a broader sense than in a technically economic one."
This second definition comes from "real life."
"Marketing is getting someone who needs what you do to know, like and trust you so they'll retain you initially, return to you repeatedly and refer you to others consistently."
The second one works for me. How about you?
The 7 Keys of Marketing Success . . . Revealed
Key #1: Pick a Target Market
This means WHO do you want to focus your marketing efforts on?
Ask a business owner, "Who's a good prospect for you?" What do you hear? Is it a clear or muddled? It's usually not as clear as you'd like, right? That's not surprising. If someone hasn't a chosen a specific group of people to focus on -- a target market -- they probably can't tell you who they want to attract as customers or clients. That's unfortunate. The more clear your focus, the more attractive you become.
One example is a young dentist in Michigan. I call him Dr. Midnight. A recent graduate from dental school, he wasn't interested in becoming a junior associate in an established practice. At the same time, he wasn't in a position to finance the equipment and office lease he'd need to go solo. So he cut a deal with a local practice to rent their offices from midnight to 6 AM. And, (at that time) Michigan had a thriving economy due to the numerous factories in the area. Many had workers on the third shift: 3 PM - 11 PM. So he courted these workers as patients. "Stop by right after work -- I work late just like you!" It worked. He soon had a thriving dental practice, on his terms, and all because he didn't try to be just another dentist. He picked his market (third shift factory workers), positioned himself to be "different" ("I'm open when other dentists are closed and inconvenient for you") and profited as a result.
Point: Appealing to everyone is appealing to no one. The opposite is true, too!
Key #2: Find Your Uniqueness and Leverage It
Go look up your business in the Yellow Pages or, Google Local Business. It won't matter. What you'll see is how many alternatives to using you a prospective customer or client has to choose from. Scary? It should be! After all, HOW or WHY would someone, seeking someone like you, choose YOU, from the pool of possibilities? What makes you stand out as a Preferred Provider of your problem-solving expertise? Often, the answer to that question sounds like everyone else's. In fact, there's often little evidence to support that conclusion. It's called "Me-Too" marketing. When you and your competition all say the same things, no one stands out. But, that's where you have an excellent marketing opportunity, too!
Quick story: Years ago, in the Pacific Northwest, a salmon cannery noticed a disturbing trend. Revenues were declining steadily over the last few months. After investigating the situation, the cannery learned that pink salmon were being imported from Japan. Net result? The marketplace had a choice and pink salmon was gaining marketshare at the red salmon's expense. The solution? After some creative thinking, the red salmon people changed their label. They added the phrase: "Pacific Northwest Red Salmon -- Guaranteed NOT To Turn Pink!." Sales began to climb for red salmon again.
Point: Standing out in a crowded marketplace to your prospects is an essential key to marketing successfully!
Key #3: Sell Packages, Not Services
Whoa! Hold on. I'm not saying don't sell your services. I'm suggesting you don't sell them "A La Carte." Your mother or teacher probably told you early in your life, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Right? You know why they told you that? Because people do! It's also how we buy services. The package or bundle of services that has a name and addresses a prospect's pain or desire is going to outsell un-bundled services every time.
If you have kids, you've probably bought a MacDonald's Happy Meal. That's a package! With the magic words, "Two Happy Meals, please" you can get two kids to be (relatively!) quiet for about 7 minutes while you wolf down your Angus Burger and coffee and before you get dragged out to the playscape by the kids. MacDonald's knows that it's you, not your kids, who wants the "7 minutes of peace." And that 7 minutes is what you're seeking to get when you buy a Happy Meal. Great marketing from MacDonalds!
Point: Bundle your problem-solving expertise and services to solve a problem or achieve an important outcome, put a name on it and watch the magic of marketing your services take place before your eyes!
NEXT MONTH...
I'll finish up the last 4 Keys to Your Marketing Success. Stay tuned!
*******
Bill Doerr is CCO of SellMore Marketing. He helps professionals and other service providers to market their problem-solving expertise simply, effectively and affordably.You can reach him at www.sellmoremarketing.com, or by phone at 860-798-6964.
For more information, please visit Bill's TNNW Bio.
The National Networker Companies
Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:
No comments:
Post a Comment