12 Feb
Marketing is essential. If people don’t know you exist, how can find you? And if they can’t find you, you’re simply not making the sales you need to be successful. While some marketing will offer results, the right kind of marketing can be the difference between mediocre sales and taking off like a rocket.
The reality is, good marketing is like a candle in a dark cave. It will illuminate not just your product, but your entire empire. Your eyes and your attention will be drawn towards the light!
With the right type of marketing, doesn’t take much to convince your audience that they NEED your product or service, nor can they live without it. It resonates with them deep down inside. It identifies their needs. It educates them and promises to make them better at life.
Marketing Basics
So, what’s the big secret for marketing the right way? It’s all about targeting the right crowd. Your marketing should attract your target audience, not every single person you can get the message to. Think about it like this: a bug zapper was designed to attract bugs. That’s what it was built to do. It’s not meant to attract kangaroos or crocodiles.
Resources are finite and attempting to attract people who do not fit the target audience is just like setting your money on fire. Why? It goes back to knowing the basics.
People buy things for two reasons:
1) For gain. They want to raise their personal brand and improve their image. To impress. Maybe it’s the girl they have a crush on or to secure a promotion. Maybe it entertains them in ways other products cannot. The purchase is made with one thing in mind: If I buy this product, what will it do for me?
We often do and buy things because it improves the way other people see us. How many times have you purchased an item simply to build a relationship with someone? Whatever we purchase, it’s done with gain in mind.
Take Rolex as an example. Why should you buy a Rolex? Well, as the top watchmaker in the world, owning a Rolex has a bit of prestige added to it. It’s expensive and says something about you. If you own a Rolex, you’re pure class. It tells the world you’re an important person. So, what is Rolex’s message? “A Rolex will never change the world. We leave that to the people who wear them.”
Their message is, if you want to be a person of influence, a world changer, a SOMEBODY, then buy a Rolex. This is what you buy to gain something.
2) To avoid pain. We don’t purchase life, health, and car insurance because we have a ton of money laying around and have to buy SOMETHING. And there’s nothing fun or sexy about an insurance policy. What about home protection systems?
If you live Florida, you MUST have hurricane shutters. Oh yes, there’s just something about a large, bulky, non-see-thru shutter to make your house look great! (sarcasm)
What about dental care? Do you spend big money on a root canal because the dentist is a good friend of yours and you want to support his practice? Probably not. You get a root canal because you need one. You get the point.
If you don’t make the investment now, you will definitely feel the pain later! We buy things to avoid feeling that pain. Take a look at this ad:
Ted works very hard. Ted has everything.
Ted finally retires, as does his disability policy.
Ted decides to go fishing. Ted slips on a trout.
Ted loses everything. Don’t be like Ted!
The ad then shows Ted in a whole-body cast unable to move. So why do we spent a lot of money on insurance? It can almost seem like a waste of money until you’re in Ted’s position. All it takes is one moment like that, while completely unprotected, to become overwhelmed with hospital bills and eventually losing everything you worked for.
When you take these two points into account, you should ask yourself what your message is. What problem are you solving? How can you make people’s lives better? Why should anyone buy what you’re selling? When you do this, it makes your marketing much more effective.
You should EDUCATE your target market on their gain or pain points and how they should depend on your product to soothe their needs.
You should ENTERTAIN with your message, so you can hold their attention and intrigue them.
And finally, your marketing should ENGAGE them by making them think. Get in their head by asking questions they are forced to answer.
This is the difference between simple marketing and good marketing. Simple marketing just lets the world know your service or product exists, but it goes no further than that. It may bring in a few sales, but what does it actually do to target and engage?
With good marketing, you are letting them know WHY they should buy and what you offer that no one else does. How do you meet their needs in a way they can’t get from someone else down the street?
If you can market along these guidelines, your customers will be opening their wallets to you in no time!