| Did You Know There Are Only 3 Ways to Market? |
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Direct mail or print ad? Pay-per-click or
trade show
booth? National press or networking meeting?
Feeling
overwhelmed by the seemingly endless
ways “to
market”? Change the way you think about it.
Consider this: there are only three ways to
market. Yes, that’s right - only three ways.
There
are hundreds of techniques within each of
these ways,
but there are only Three Core Strategies
you need
to think about when attracting new
customers:
- You can go to them. (proactive approach)
- You can go to the people who have access
to them.
(proactive approach)
- You can wait for them to come to you.
(passive
approach)
But how do you know which core strategy you
should
use?
Strategy #1: Going to Your
Customers
If you have specific targeted audience
members—i.e.
you know who they are, where they are, what
organizations they attend—then you’ll use the
first
strategy because you can go straight to them.
Strategy #2: Going to the People with
Access
to Your Customers
If you have a broad audience that’s not easy
to “get to”
(this is often the case when marketing to
consumers)
because you need to reach them at home and
in a way
that doesn’t violate things like Do Not Call lists,
then
you need to step back and figure out who is
already
reaching your audience. You’ll use the second
strategy. This also known as relationship
marketing.
Strategy #3: Waiting for Customers
to Come
to You
If you have a great reputation, strong client
base, and
large number of referrals, you may use the
third strategy. But beware: Waiting for
customers to
come to you is the most risky of the three
strategies and should NEVER be your only
approach.
For example, you might think that getting some
press
nationally and locally is enough to attract new
business. And the truth is it might be. But what
happens when your article becomes “old
news” or—
worse—it gets you exposure but no sales or
new
customers? Has your marketing failed? Not
necessarily.
This is where you need to leverage your
marketing,
which is when you cross over core strategies.
You
need to send out a press release alerting
customers
of your article. You need to get article reprints
and
include them in a kit for new customers or as a
takeaway item in your store or office. You
need to post
the article on your website. All of these tasks
are
proactive—you’re marketing directly to your
customer.
Even multi-billion-dollar companies with solid
histories
leverage their marketing. How many ads did
you see
for Coca-Cola during The Big Game?
Advertising falls
into Strategy #3—you’re waiting for the
customer
to come to you. But is that all Coke does? Of
course
not. It also does the following:
- attends industry trade shows
- conducts product sampling
- promotes its interactive website
- sponsors events
- stays involved in its charitable
foundation
All of these things are proactive approaches.
The
passive approach gives Coca-Cola exposure
and
helps to brand them in the marketplace, but
that alone
wouldn’t be enough to sustain sales.
And Coke knows it.
So how do you figure out which
strategy is
best for your business?
If you already have great access to your target
audience, you may decide to focus on
Strategy
#1. You may decide to do a direct-mail
campaign, or
exhibit at trade shows where your prospects
are, or
join organizations where these people
reside.
If you’re more comfortable going to the people
who
have access to your customers, you’ll market
to these
people. Here’s an example: an electrician may
market
to people who can refer business to him or
her, such
as plumbers, contractors, and even real estate
agents.
One way the electrician may do this is by
joining
referral groups, such as Business Networking
International (BNI).
If you go with Strategy #3, remember you
MUST
supplement it with one or both of the other
strategies
for it to be successful. For example, you won’t
spend
all your marketing dollars on newspaper ads.
You’ll
supplement with other programs, such as
direct mail
and/or networking.
Bottom line—don’t stress over the
hundreds of
individual marketing techniques. Focus on
one of
three
strategies. From there, come up with 2-3
programs that will support that strategy. And
remember
this: your marketing campaign is fluid—revisit,
re-evaluate, and re-adjust as necessary.
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| About Precision Marketing Group |
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Precision Marketing Group helps companies make
more money with their marketing. Call or email us if
you are looking for practical marketing solutions,
programs or advice that will move your business
forward!
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3 Ways to Market, 3 Questions to Ask |
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Here are three questions to ask yourself when
figuring
out the best core strategy (knowing that the
best
marketing crosses all three).
1. Which of the three core strategies is
most
comfortable for you?
Do you love networking with prospects or the
people
with access to them? Then it makes sense to
attend
organization dinners and meetings. Do you
have an
excellent up-to-date database of current
customers
and prospects? Then a carefully messaged
direct mail
campaign may make the most sense. Do you
have
contacts with the press and receive calls
for “expert
quotes” all the time? Then seek out more of
these
opportunities through a targeted PR campaign
(but
make sure you leverage this “passive
approach”
across the other core strategies).
2. How difficult is it to reach your target
market, and
how willing are you to go directly to them?
Don’t avoid the best strategy for your business
because of your own personal fears or likes or
dislikes. For example, if you know relationship
marketing would be the best strategy, but
you’re
nervous about attending dinner meetings,
buddy up
with an associate or friend who’ll go with you or
designate a polished employee to be
the “public face”
for your business at these events. If you don’t
have
time or the writing chops to put together a
direct mail
campaign, invest in the vendors who can make
you
shine and make the campaign work. If you’re
overwhelmed by press inquiries, hire a
marketing firm
that can handle the press contacts and
leverage it
across the other two core strategies.
3. How quickly do you need business?
The proactive approaches tend to work better
if you
need business fast—going straight to
customers or to
the people who know them. However, nothing
builds
credibility like a well-placed article on your
company.
Just make sure that a.) you can handle the
potential
business if you get a rush of “orders” or
requests and
b.) make sure you leverage any PR success
you get by
sharing it with as many people—current
customers
and prospects—as possible.
Remember another rule of marketing—you
need to
spend money to make money. Spend your
marketing
dollars wisely by choosing the right core
strategy and
the programs to support it.
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