In these troubled economic times, companies everywhere are looking to reduce costs any way they can — and marketing budgets are usually the first to go. At the same time, companies desperately need to increase their revenues, making marketing more important than ever. What are the absolute minimum essentials that every company (in a boom or a bust) needs to market itself?
What a year!
Oil prices crash and the dollar takes a dive.
Those crazy Brits vote to leave the EU and the Euro takes a dive.
The economy is hurtin' pretty much everywhere.
I've received a number of emails from clients over the last couple months that all have a common theme:
“Jody, I need to start increasing sales RIGHT NOW,” they say.
“Lots of my customers have lost their jobs and they've stopped buying from me. I don't have the biggest marketing budget in the world. What can I do?”
It's a great question. What do you actually NEED to survive? Do you REALLY have to drop $20k on a TV ad just to get more customers?
What are the absolute minimum, barebones essentials that every company (in a boom or a bust) needs to market itself?
Listed in order of importance, here are:
The Six Things Every Business Needs to Market Itself Effectively!
#1: An Avatar
You'll need a very clearly defined "who" – who your dream customer is, including their challenges, goals and real things they say.
This gives you: Total certainty that all future messaging will grab the attention of the people you want to do business with.
If you don't have it: Prepare to waste time and money by putting the wrong message in front of the wrong people!
#2: A Valuable Solution
You'll also need a product or service that directly solves your dream customer's documented complaints (not complaints based on assumptions)
This gives you: Absolute confidence that people out there really DO want what you have – and that your business WILL survive these troubled economic times.
If you don't have it: Prepare for a lot of frustration and wondering why people aren't buying!
#3: Branding
You'll need a business personality that matches the customer's ultimate vision for themselves. What does that look like? Happy? Healthy? Calm and relaxed?
This gives you: The final piece of the ever-important "know, like trust" puzzle — and a meaningful long-term connection with your new customers.
If you don't have it: Those same prospects will find someone they like more than you, and do business with them instead!
#4: Analytics
Reading your website's traffic stats on a regular basis will give you a critically-important understanding of how your website is performing.
This gives you: Sure-fire (scientifically-provable) insights on how you can get better results from what you already have.
If you don't have it: Prepare to squander all the traffic that's coming to your website!
#5: Human-Friendly Terms
It's also important to have a well-researched list of keywords that people would use to find your business on Google.
This gives you: Clear knowledge of how to improve your messaging and formulate a long-lasting strategy that continually brings in new customers.
If you don't have it: Prepare to miss out on traffic that's going to your competitor's websites instead of yours!
#6: A Foolproof Plan
Once you have all these in place, it'll be much easier to create an easy-to-follow plan for educating your prospects (also referred to as an "inbound marketing plan") to help you continually move forward.
This gives you: A strategy you can trust for attracting more customers by giving people the exact problem-solving content that research proves they want to see.
If you don't have it: Prepare for a lot of sleepless nights, wondering how you're going to get those customers interested in you!
Free Download
To help you get started with the first step, I've got two downloads for you.
First, there's a Dream Customer Profile Template, which will help you:
- Get super-clear on the exact kind of people you want as customers
- Make sure that all your marketing messages will grab their attention
- Present your solutions in a way that's attractive to them!
I've also included a Sample Dream Customer Profile in case you need a little help. This is an avatar I created, based on a real client of mine, to help me stay aware of the things that are important to my clients, and remind me of how to present my solutions in a way they'll understand (and consider valuable).
These are part of my marketing consulting package and have a $99 value, but I'm giving them away for free since so many businesses are suffering these days!
To get them, simply enter your name and email address below.
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Thanks for reading, and let me know if you have any questions!
Lovable nerd dedicated to improving peoples' lives. Originally from Canada. Current home base: Hengelo, Netherlands. Visited 30 countries since 2013. [
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