If you’re entering the world of business but don’t know the first thing about the world of marketing then never fear because we’ve got you covered. The all encompassing term of marketing simply refers to how you sell and promote yourself and how, as an effect, you are seen in the eyes of your customers. So how do you want to be seen and how do you achieve it?
1. Start your marketing as soon as possible
A lot of businesses make the mistake of perfecting their product or service and only then do they begin promoting it. This is a big mistake as by the time it’s ready to go, you already want people to be hitting “buy now”. Start making some noise about your business on social media as soon as you can and get some excitement going.
2. Come at it from multiple angles
It’s not enough to pay for some adverts and think that’ll do the trick. Think of new and creative ways to market your companies such as free packages to social media influencers or a crowdfunding campaign.
3. PR is your new best friend
While a lot of marketing is purely about doing things off your own back, PR is about working with publications and other prominent media figures. Rather than focusing on your product or service, PR is about building brand visibility and brand perception. It’s just as important that people know about you, as it is that they know about the product you’re selling.
4. Sell the benefit
When you’re joining a busy market, it’s likely that you’ll be comparing what you can offer customers above your competitors. And while it’s important that you highlight the comparison (that you’re cheaper for example), you need to sell the benefit to the customers lives above anything else. How will you make their lives better?
5. Listen to your customers
You may think that in order to be successful, you need to do what logic (or the masses) suggest. But in fact you need to listen to your customer. What do you need, what do they want and what do they look for in a brand? Not only should you consider how you sell to them, but also where and when.
6. Track your results
There’s no point in spending your precious money on expensive ad campaigns if you don’t know if they were effective or not. Sure, you might have a sales spike at around the same time but the only way to know if the two are related is to set the correct tracking and analytics measures in place.
7. Give customers a voice
In order to continue that business-consumer relationship (that will hopefully involve some word-of-mouth to bring in new customers), you need to give them the chance to talk you to. Whether their comments are good or bad, you need to make sure the communication is open so you always have the chance to improve.
8. Reward loyalty
As a new business, it can be hard to get customers on board when you’re competing against industry giants. Give customers a reason to keep on choosing you by rewarding loyalty with money off vouchers or free perks. It’s sure to see people return!