Marketing: 10-Step to Success for Beginners
1. Don’t Rush the Process
Take your time, and do it right the first time. It will save you a great deal of heartache and frustration – not to mention money. Learn as much as you possibly can about starting and running a business.
2. Have a Plan
A business plan is like a road map to your goals. You can’t get there without one and you might get side tracked and go off course. Don’t get lost, get a plan.
3. Become Competent at Self-Promotion
Tell everybody you know, don’t be afraid to ask for business or tell people you just met about your service. They might be looking for your service but would not have known unless you told them.
4. Include A Budget for Advertising
Free advertising helps drive traffic but you should set a side a budget for paid advertising that is targeted. The best way to drive sales to you is to use proven free methods along with proven paid methods. Get your service in front of as many consumers of your target market as you can. One channel of marketing will not keep your business alive for long. You need multiple sources to keep loading into your sales funnel.
5. Have a Trustworthy Website
Check spelling and grammar! As well let people know who is behind the site, I highly recommend adding your photo to put a face to the name.
6. Make a Good First Impression
Hire a professional website designer to build your website for you. “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression!” People will judge you based on the image you present. Make sure it mimics your professional attitude.
7. Understand Why People Buy
Understanding why people purchase you service, learn as much as you can about marketing psychology. Understanding why people do what they do is key to making more sales.
8. Develop a Unique Selling Proposition
“A USP is what distinguishes you from the pack. It increases perceived value, expertise, and credibility – without needing to state it outright. Just by being 10% different, unique, original, or special is enough to make you stand out like a sore thumb in an overcrowded, hyper–competitive marketplace.” Michel Fortin
9. Practice the Law of Diminishing Returns
Many people fall into the trap of jumping from one program to another. They’re like bees pollinating flowers – darting all over the place. They don’t ever settle on any one program for any length of time, and as a result, they don’t ever make any money.
When it comes to marketing, you have to be disciplined enough to be patient. You have to give programs a chance to work. It’s often necessary to make multiple adjustments to get a program to work. It’s part of the process. But when you do find something that works, stick with it and milk it. Milk it for all it’s worth. Milk it to the point of diminishing returns, before you move onto something else.
10. Solicit Feedback from Your Customers
At least once a year, you should survey your customers and ask them what you can do to improve your products and/or service. A customer survey serves five purposes:
1. It invites customer interaction and participation.
2. It shows your customers that you care what they think.
3. It will spark dormant customers.
4. It allows you to conduct necessary market research.
5. It allows you to communicate with your customers without the usual sales pitch – which could, in fact, create more sales.
These tip will go a long way to helping you get to the goals you set for yourself and your business.