The world of marketing can feel overwhelming, filled with jargon and ever-changing tactics. But fear not! I have roughly the IQ of a stalk of celery but by reading and learning, I have been able to have a sizable impact on small businesses. Here’s a simple 5-step guide to get you started:
Step 1: Tighten Up Your Sales Process
What’s the difference between Sales and Marketing?
Marketing focuses on creating awareness and interest in a product or service and attracting potential customers. This might involve social media campaigns, SEO, informative content, or eye-catching promotions. Sales, on the other hand, deals with converting that interest into purchases. Salespeople build relationships with potential customers, understand their needs, and present solutions that lead to a final sale.
Imagine a leaky bucket – most of that effort to fill the bucket goes to waste. A messy sales process is the marketing equivalent. Before you focus on attracting new customers, make sure you’re efficiently converting the leads you already have. In your business, what happens if a customer does not respond to a quote or an inquiry? Are they ever contacted? Have you ever forgotten about something you genuinely wanted? You should be contacting your “ghost” customers and asking if they have made a decision and if there are any questions you could answer for them. If they decided to go in a different direction, you should be recording the reason for that choice and using that data for future business decisions. A CRM can help record and automate your sales process. At BURK Digital we use HubSpot(which you can use for free) to track and report our sales process. So sit down and talk about your current sales process and how it can be improved. I LOVE talking processes and I would love to talk with you about your current process and give some ideas on how it could be improved. You are welcome to book a consultation.
Step 2: Know Your Ideal Customer
Think of your target audience like your best friend. You know their likes, dislikes, and what makes them tick. Marketing is most effective when it speaks directly to a specific group’s needs and desires. So, take some time to research and define your ideal customer. This could involve surveys, customer interviews, or even social media analytics. This is always the first step to marketing because it dictates everything else you do in marketing. The shotgun approach (spraying ads everywhere) is MUCH less effective and more expensive than the rifle approach (picking a target and sending an ad designed especially for someone like them). An ad designed for someone in the Boomer Generation looks VERY different than an ad designed for a Gen Z consumer. Know your target or you will miss your target.
Step 3: Turn Customers into Promoters
Getting a new customer through marketing is expensive and hard to do. Referrals are the most valuable type of marketing BY FAR. Is there a way to turn your existing customers into evangelists for your brand? Specifically, look at what you do after the service or product is delivered. How do you present it to them? Do they feel you went the “extra mile”? Do you ask for a public review (Google review)? Do you give them a gift that shows you care about them as a person? What company are you an “evangelist” for, and what did they do to make you a believer in their brand? Develop a system to leave your customers with the feeling that they can’t wait to tell their friends about their experience with your organization.
Personal Story:
I recently purchased a Tesla Model 3 for BURK Digital. A few months later I noticed water was getting into the tail light. I notified them through the app and they scheduled a time to come out to my house and replace it for me at no cost. They noticed the miles recommended a tire rotation, so they did that for me as well, in my driveway. I told my friends and family about my experience and how easy it was. The way Tesla handled a customer complaint and a faulty product turned me into an “evangelist” for the company. What can my business do to blow the minds of my customers?
Jeff Burkholder
Step 4: Measure and Adapt
Marketing isn’t a “set it and forget it” strategy. The key to success is measuring your results and constantly adapting your approach. Use website analytics tools, and social media insights, and track customer engagement to see what’s working and what’s not. You can have different phone numbers on different ads that all forward to your main phone number. This allows you to track how many phone calls you got because of a particular ad. Don’t be afraid to experiment and refine your strategies for maximum impact.
“Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed” ~ Dan Zarrella
