Press Release Summary = Top tips for small businesses on exactly what to focus on to make sure that your marketing efforts do not go to waste and bring in more sales and increase your profits.
Press Release Body = What exactly is marketing? The concept often stirs up a wide range of ideas - selling products, branding a company, building visibility in the market, etc. But the bottom line is: in order to be effective, marketing needs to contribute to the income of your company. If this is not the case, your marketing efforts are essentially going to waste. These tips are designed to help you develop clear and concise marketing strategies that will lead to results.
1. Understand what marketing is If you think of marketing as just \'advertising\' or \'selling\', try broadening your perspective. Marketing is everything you do to make your product or service more visible, more desirable and more profitable. It includes everything you do, from the moment you conceive of your business idea, to the point at which customers buy your product or service and begin to patronize your business on a regular basis.
2. Know your customers You simply can\'t market your business effectively unless you first know exactly who you want to talk to. Understand that \"everyone\" is never a viable target market, so make sure you have a very clear picture of your ideal client (and start thinking of ideas about where you might be able find those specific people) before you start any marketing at all.
3. Know your marketing message You need to know exactly why people should want to do business with you and what makes you different and special in relation to the many other options your target market is presented with. The harsh reality is that if you\'re not 100% sure why somebody should buy from you, your customers won\'t be either!
4. Talk about \'what\'s in it for them\' Whenever you do anything to promote your business, always consider things from the customer\'s perspective. For example, you need to be able to clearly describe the benefits you offer customers, who only care about \"what\'s in it for me\". Also bear in mind that there is a difference between features and benefits. Features are inherent to your product or service (e.g. driver\'s airbag), but benefits are the positive \'intangibles\' of your offering (e.g. safety and a feeling of security). Brainstorm a \'benefits list\' for your business, bearing in mind that the top ten motivators are: saving time, saving money, making money, avoiding effort, increasing happiness, finding success, being pain free, having fun, feeling safe and secure, and feeling liked or loved.
5. Get referrals Which one completely free marketing tactic can potentially double or triple your business virtually overnight? Referrals! Referrals are without a doubt the best source of business, not just because it\'s a free marketing method, but also because the person being referred has already been \'warmed up\' to your offering by the person referring them. Most businesses leave it to chance...but don\'t let your business be one of them. Set up a systemized process for asking your happy customers for referrals.
For more tips, email louisa@WomensMarketingForum.com