10.29.10
Posted in Marketing at 6:36 pm UTC by Michele PW
Wondering why your marketing isn’t working all that well? Never fear, help is here.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) many marketing challenges can be traced back to a handful of marketing mistakes. Today, I’ll talk about the top 5 marketing mistakes business owners make.
1. Too broad a target market or ideal client group (who you’re selling your product or service to). If I ask you who your customer is and you answer “anyone with a pulse,” then I’m talking to you.
Even if your product or service CAN help just about anyone on the planet, not everyone is going to buy it. They don’t have the money or the interest or whatever. And when you try and target everyone, you really end up targeting no one.
The way to start making money (not to mention getting better results with your marketing) is to narrow your ideal clients down so you’re only talking to one specific group. However, there are pitfalls with that as well, as we see in the next mistake.
2. The wrong ideal client group. What do I mean by wrong ideal client group? They either aren’t interested in buying your product or service or they don’t have the money.
Let’s look at the first one, lack of interest. What happens here is the word “need” is misused. “I know my ideal clients need this, therefore they’ll buy it.” Not so.
This happens a lot with people in the health and wellness field and it typically goes something like this. You are passionate about teaching yoga and you want to reach committed couch potatoes. Do committed couch potatoes need to be doing yoga? No question. Do they want to be doing yoga? Probably not or they wouldn’t be committed couch potatoes.
So let’s look at the second one, lack of funds. This happens when you’re going after a customer base that desperately wants what you’re selling but can’t afford it. For instance, a high-end spa targeting low-income single mothers. Would these clients adore the stress relieving benefits of a day at a spa? No doubt. Can they afford it? Probably not.
Now, that example is obvious, but it’s not always so cut and dried. Especially with service professionals. Business and life coaches for instance. They’re so passionate about what they do and they want to see people succeed, they go after an ideal client group that may really want and need their services, but they can’t afford them. So these coaches lower their fees or coach for free or trade out (even if they aren’t interested in the trade) or something else that isn’t terribly helpful to their own business success.
Bottom line — make sure you choose ideal clients that not only can afford your product or service but also want it. (Desperate for it is better yet.)
3. Looking for your ideal clients in all the wrong places. This is a situation where “build it and they will come” doesn’t work. Once you know who your ideal clients are, you need to go to them. And you shouldn’t waste your time in places where you won’t find them.
Let’s say your ideal clients are top execs at Fortune 500 companies. Is hobnobbing at your local Chamber of Commerce going to pay off for you? Probably not. But buying a targeted list and putting together a direct mail campaign? Much better idea.
Or, for instance, a friend of mine just realized a new niche ideal client group she was going after doesn’t spend much time online. And, you guessed it, she does most of her marketing online. So, she either has to change her niche market or change how she markets to them.
Once you’ve selected a viable ideal client group, make sure you’re putting your marketing time and dollars into places where they hang out.
4. Not a compelling message. Okay, you know you’ve got a good ideal client group and you know how to reach them. But you’re still not getting any results. Now the problem might be your message.
People have a lot of choices on where to spend their money. You have to give them a very compelling reason why they should spend their hard earned money with you.
Here’s where it makes sense to brush up on your copywriting skills (writing promotional copy) or hire someone to write your copy for you.
5. Not getting in front of your target market often enough. So you’ve run one ad. Or mailed one postcard. Or attended one networking event. And the work isn’t pouring in the door.
Hmmm…
It’s a sad fact that you need to consistently get in front of your ideal clients time and time again. Unfortunately, for the most part, your ideal clients won’t wake up and say “Gee, I have to give so-and-so some money today” without some encouragement on your part. Remember, it’s not your ideal clients’ job to remember you. It’s your job to remind them you’re here and would love to have their business.
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10.13.10
Posted in Branding at 5:26 pm UTC by Michele PW
For better or worse, every business out there has a brand.
I say for better or worse because you may not like what your brand is. Your brand could be confused. It could be nonexistent. It could be conflicting.
As I said before, brands are more than a logo. Your brand is the core identity of your business.
And if you don’t know what your core identity is, or you never took the time to map it out, then you more likely than not have a confused, conflicting or nonexistent brand.
So why is this a problem? Well, because without a strong brand, you’re going to struggle needlessly trying to grow your business.
You see, you may be getting clients and business, but I can guarantee you’re working a lot harder then you would be if you had a strong brand. A strong brand attracts your ideal clients to you and repels not-so-ideal ones. This is one of the ways you become a client magnet — having a strong brand then promoting that brand through a marketing system. Without this, you’re out searching for clients, rather than simply responding to clients coming to you. It’s a lot more work and a lot more stressful because you’re never sure where your next client is coming from.
If you have a strong brand, that means you have a strong reputation in the marketplace. So people already know who are you and what you do. They know what problems you solve. So if they have that problem, they come to you. If one of their friends has that problem, they refer their friend to you. See how that works?
Now let’s look at the flip side. You have a weak, confused, conflicting or nonexistent brand. People may have heard of you but they aren’t what it is you do. They have no idea what problem you solve, so they don’t know if they need what you sell or not. They don’t know how to refer you. And worst of all, they quickly forget your name or your business name because it has no meaning or value for them.
And if you don’t figure out what your brand is and then do everything you can to continually emphasize and remind your ideal clients about it, then the marketplace is going to decide what your brand is. And you’re probably not going to like what the marketplace decides. (And yes, you need to do both — figure out what your brand is and then consistently market it. If you only do one and not the other, you’re back to the marketplace deciding what your brand is.)
So how do you know what’s going on with your brand? Ask yourself these questions –
1. Do YOU know what your brand is? If you don’t, then you most definitely have a branding problem.
2. Do you know what your brand is but you don’t have a full pipeline of ideal clients? Then you either have not communicated your brand to your ideal clients or you’re missing the marketing piece. (Or your branding is all wrong for who you want to attract so you may need to go back to the branding drawing board.)
3. Do you have a brand but you keep hearing things like: “Wow, I didn’t realize you did THIS.” Or “I thought you only did that, not this.” Then you have a brand communication and/or marketing problem OR you’ve gotten away from your brand (more on that next week).
4. And of course if you hear things like” “I’m not sure what it is you do.” Or “You’re the best-kept secret” you clearly have a brand problem.
Remember, it’s up to YOU to communicate and market your brand to your ideal clients, it’s not their job to remember you.
Next week I’m going to talk about how EVERY business that goes out of business either starts or ends up with a branding problem on their hands.
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10.06.10
Posted in Branding at 1:55 pm UTC by Michele PW
Of all the different marketing tools out there, the most nebulous, and also the most misunderstood, are these two — branding and positioning.
And since they’re misunderstood, they aren’t used correctly, leading to all sorts of problems.
Branding and positioning are extremely powerful. Used correctly, you will magically attract your ideal clients to you. Used incorrectly, and that same power can destroy your business.
So, let’s talk definitions. First, branding. No I’m not talking about logos, colors or slogans. Yes that’s a part of branding. But branding is a lot more then that.
Branding is really about your business’s core identity. (Not your personal core identity, your business’s core identity). That’s probably the easiest way to explain it. And yes I’m simplifying it some — but hang with me.
Branding is what your business represents. What your business is all about. Once you know this, and you have a strong core identity, the logos and colors and slogans all fall into place. But you need to have that core identity first.
Your positioning is how you stack up in the marketplace. How your ideal clients describe you and how you compare against your competition.
Your branding comes first. So the first thing you need to do is figure out your business’s core identity.
Not sure what I’m talking about? Okay let’s start with a quiz. Have you ever found yourself thinking –
* I don’t know what makes me different
* I can’t describe what I do for my clients
* I’m not sure why my clients hire me instead of my competition, but I know they love me — I get great testimonials from them
* I’m not sure and/or I can’t describe what my strengths are
* I’m not sure what I should be offering
* I don’t do anything different than what my competition does
* I can’t compete — I don’t know why anyone would hire me over my competition
* I never know what to say at networking events
If the answer is yes, you have a core identity problem.
So, how do you fix this? Well, I’m going to give you a few tips to get you started. If you want more help, I would recommend talking to my friends Nancy Marmolejo (VivaVisibility.com) or Therese Skelly (HappyInBusiness.com)
First off, write down everything your business represents to you. What you do, why this is important to your clients, what your vision is, what you feel your gifts/brilliance is, etc.
Next, write down what you want your clients to think of when they think of you. Write down everything, not just “good service and high quality.” I want you to write down things like “trustworthy, high sense of integrity and honor, expert in the field.” Things like that.
Now, I want you to go talk to your clients. Ask them why they hired you. Ask them how they would describe you to someone else. Ask them what they would say if they were recommending you to someone else. Ask them how they differentiate you from your competition.
Now compare the lists. What do you like? What don’t you like? What “feels” right? What doesn’t “feel” like you or where you want to go with your business?
Once you get a handle on this, you can take that and start building your business around it.
Next week I’m going to talk the link between your brand and your business, and how EVERY business that goes out of business either starts or ends up with a branding problem on their hands.
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