Instead of looking inward and focusing on budgets and expenses, we look outward and interact with the outside world. We will focus on what we are selling, to whom we are selling it, and how, when, and where we connect with the most important people in the galaxy for any business: potential and existing customers.
But before diving into marketing, we have to address something else: your product or service.
I. Product/Service
You shouldn’t even be thinking about marketing until you have a product or service to market. Most people think a business starts with an idea. But a business starts with a problem.
A. The Formula
All businesses start with a problem. A solid business idea requires (a) identifying a problem that is not being adequately addressed, (b) finding a solution to that problem, and (c) validating that enough people want to buy that product/service and are willing to pay for it.
B. Create an Exceptional Product
Before spending a single penny, absolutely nothing, on marketing, advertising, or any kind of promotion, you must have a solid product or service.
Your goal should be to create a product so good that you don’t have to sell it. Instead, people will want to buy it from you. It will sell itself.
Making a sale is extremely difficult or impossible if you have a product that isn’t good, no matter how much money you spend on marketing. You’d be throwing money down the drain.
When you have an attractive, high-quality product/service that sells well, something wonderful happens: word of mouth. Your customers recommend it to others, becoming advocates and promoters of your brand. That’s free marketing!
However, today, brands can’t rely solely on word of mouth. The market is no longer defined by geographical boundaries, and competition is fierce. You need marketing. And the first step on that path is your target audience.
C. Define Your Target Audience
Who needs or wants your product or service? Who is willing to buy it?
In marketing, a target audience is the specific group of people to whom you direct all your promotional efforts. It represents the consumers most likely to be interested in what you offer and who would be willing and able to pay for it: your potential buyers.
How do you define your target audience? Through market research and analysis that includes demographics, psychographics, behaviors, and needs.
Once you know everything you can about your potential customers, including their wants and needs, goals and fears, then you can tailor your marketing strategy and tactics to attract them directly. Targeting anyone else is a waste of time and money.
D. Create a Good Value Proposition
So you have a great product/service, and you understand your target audience. Now, you can create a value proposition.
A value proposition is a statement that communicates the value of your product or service. It typically includes the product/service, the target audience, and the unique benefits or advantages the product/service offers. It should also indicate or hint at what sets your business apart from your competitors and why customers should choose you over them.
Examples of value propositions:
- Samsung:
Get ready to unfold your world
This is everything you want in a premium, durable smartphone with 5G. Then we made it foldable, revealing a massive screen so you can watch, work, and play like never before.
- Mint:
Experience a new way to manage money
Achieve your goals with personalized insights, custom budgets, expense tracking, and subscription monitoring—all for free.
- Apple iPhone:
Experience the power of a computer in the palm of your hand with the iPhone. With its intuitive interface, advanced camera technology, and seamless integration with other Apple devices, the iPhone offers a unique combination of convenience, performance, and style that sets it apart from other smartphones.
E. Cultivate Customer Relationships
Did you know that selling to a new customer costs 10 times more than selling to an existing customer?
It’s easier to sell to people who already know you, especially if they’ve had a good experience with your business, product, or service.
Upselling and Cross-selling
In upselling, you sell your customers a higher-quality product or service than the one they’ve purchased. For example, if you sell smartphones, you can offer them a more expensive model with more memory, higher speed, and more features. In cross-selling, you sell your customers complementary items such as phone cases, screen protectors, and headphones. Once you have these points under control, you’re ready to invest in marketing.
II. Marketing
A. Identify the Tactics and Channels to Use
B. You already have the What and the Who: your product or service, target audience, and value proposition. Now you need to define the How (tactics), When (timing), and Where (channels) that are best for your marketing efforts.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is essential because almost everyone is connected to the internet almost 24 hours a day through smartphones, computers, and other devices. Among the most popular digital marketing channels are search engines (Google, Bing), social media (Facebook, LinkedIn), websites, email, and digital ads.
If you don’t have an optimized website, if you’re not using social media to reach and engage with potential and existing customers, and if you’re not producing and publishing valuable digital content, then you’re out.
(a) Optimized Website Your website needs to go through a process called search engine optimization (SEO) so that search engines like Google can find it and include it in search engine results pages (SERPs) when users search for terms relevant to your business, products, and services.
A website is much more than a digital brochure. To function and fulfill its purpose, especially to rank high in SERPs, websites must be optimized using these and other techniques:
Website load speed On-page and off-page optimization Mobile compatibility, responsive design Navigation, user experience (UX) Content optimization Local SEO Keyword optimization Link building Analytics, metrics tracking (b) Exceptional Content To rank well in SERPs and be found by potential customers, your website must have valuable, relevant, high-quality content capable of attracting and engaging your target audience. Blog posts, videos, infographics, and e-books are examples of digital content.
All digital content needs to be optimized using methods that are quite technical and for which you may need help from a digital marketing agency.
(b) Social Media Marketing Strategy To convert potential buyers into paying customers, you need to meet them where they are and when they are there.
For example, if you have a product that appeals to a young audience, consider increasing your presence on TikTok, where seven out of ten users are between 18 and 19 years old, and 56% are between 20 and 29 years old. If you want to reach business people, increase your promotional efforts on LinkedIn, and so on.
Moreover, different audiences tend to spend time on social media at different times. Some use Facebook during the day, others at night. Some avoid weekdays or weekends. You’ll need to research your target audience’s preferences to determine when and where to contact them.
As for content, you can create new content or repurpose content already on your website to create engaging social media posts. Polls and quizzes, for example, generate a lot of interaction.
(c) Digital Ads Digital advertising is becoming a necessity because today’s social media doesn’t work like it used to. In the past, you could post content on Facebook, and it would be visible organically to your followers. Now, Facebook is programmed to show your content to about 5% of your followers, so you end up having to pay to boost the visibility of your posts or place ads on the platform.
Digital ads can work well for your business. Start small and tweak your strategy based on the results.
Traditional Marketing
In the Digital Age, traditional marketing is still effective for some types of products and services. Traditional channels include radio, television, print, billboards, and public relations.
Events (In-person and Online)
Events are an excellent way to network and do business because they bring together people who usually have similar interests. You meet people you know. You meet new people. And everyone asks you: “So, what are you up to these days?” When you tell them about your product or service, some of them are likely to be interested or know someone who is.
Influencer Marketing
Partnering with influencers is a trend in marketing because it works, as long as you partner with the right influencer(s) for your business.
There are several types of influencers based on the number of social media followers they have: Mega-influencers: over 1 million followers Macro-influencers: 100K to 1 million followers Micro-influencers: 10K to 100K followers Nano-influencers: 1K to 10K followers Nano and micro-influencers have smaller audiences, but their authenticity and expertise in niche areas are very attractive to highly engaged and loyal followers.
Influencer marketing can be an effective and cost-efficient tactic to enhance your visibility on social media platforms and reach, engage, and convert customers who otherwise would never hear about your product/service.
Loyalty and Rewards Programs
Many businesses use these programs (starting with the airline industry decades ago). Many retailers, for example, offer reward points for certain purchases, and the points convert into reward dollars, discounts, printed coupons, digital codes, and special offers. These programs increase loyalty because if you can buy an item here or there, but here you get rebates and discounts, where would you buy it?
Social Media Contests
Who doesn’t like a good contest? For a chance to win a prize, social media users interact with social media posts by commenting, sharing the posts, or creating and posting brand-related content. These actions increase brand visibility among followers and in news feeds. Contests should be fun, and the prizes should be valuable to the target audience.
Brand Collaborations
A brand collaboration is when two or more brands come together to create a joint marketing campaign or product. These partnerships can occur between companies in the same or different industries, depending on the marketing objectives and target audience.
When planned and executed correctly, brand collaborations can achieve a lot:
- Increase brand visibility and awareness
- Create unique and memorable brand experiences
- Expand each brand’s target audience
- Generate consumer credibility and trust
Boost sales and revenue Brand collaborations can take many forms, such as co-branded products, joint events or sponsorships, social media campaigns, and influencer partnerships. Successful collaborations are those that align with the values of both brands and resonate with their respective audiences.
For example, last year The Swatch Group developed a collaboration between its Swatch and Omega brands, creating a new watch: the Omega x Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch. It was a success. The MoonSwatch sold out quickly and is now being resold for double the price.
Other Marketing Tactics
Free trials (Getting new customers by giving away almost nothing.) Seasonal sales, holiday promotions Educational workshops (in-person), webinars (online) Customized service packages Flash sales: significant discounts for a limited time Customer appreciation parties Sponsorships Referral programs Collaborations with non-profit organizations: a percentage of sales goes to a non-profit
Final Thoughts
You might think it’s a lot, but there’s so much more.
Marketing is a super exciting field that is constantly evolving along with new technologies and consumer trends. You need to stay on top of the latest developments to give your business the best chance to grow and succeed in very challenging and competitive markets. If you want to learn more about how to use marketing to take your business to the next level, or if you need a little help with your digital marketing, growth, and sales strategies, visit my agency Gravital.
