Back to basics

I was asked the other day “if you were starting a new business from scratch, with very little money to invest in marketing, what would you do and where would you start?”

Great question. To answer this, we must first turn our back on the smorgasbord of new concepts, whiz-bang theories and “idea-of-the-week” marketing strategies. Fads and trends come and go – but principles never change – and that’s what we’re going to tackle here: how to get most out of your marketing dollar (even if you’re on a shoestring budget).

But be warned, just because you’ve probably heard some of the following suggestions, this doesn’t give you an excuse to glaze over them like a bored window-shopping husband with a painted smile wanting nothing more than to sink into his couch at home watching sport. Big mistake.

My challenge to you, dear reader, is to ask yourself this question,

Know what your market wants

Do you want to know how to be a marketing expert in 30 seconds? Simple. Ask your clients what they want. Done. You may “think” you know what they want, but you are not your client. You must identify your ideal client in your target market and find out what they want.

Start with a survey, looking at online forums or blogs to see what common questions and concerns are popping up. You need to know their fears, frustrations, objections, wants and desires.

Look for the gap

What’s your point of difference? Why would people choose you over your competitors? It has to be more than just “A great service, or better prices”. It has to be more than just being a “family owned business”, or “being established since 1974”. That’s either too easy to be copied or simply no one cares.

Try this exercise: open up the Yellow Pages, look up your industry, and start listing all the benefits, features and promises that your competitors make in their ads. If one company promises the same, then just put a tick next to that point. When you’re done, you will have a list of things your industry offers. Now look for the gap Р something unique that no one else is offering. It could be an outrageous guarantee on quality or results – or maybe an irresistible offer that includes an “out-of-the-ordinary” extra bonus?

Crafting the right message

Once you’ve found your point of difference, or “Unique Selling Proposition” (USP), you then need to broadcast your message in the clearest possible way in the smallest number of words without diluting the impact.  Clarity is key. If you confuse them, you’ll lose them. Here’s an example of how a struggling pizza shop owner in America revolutionised their industry with this USP: “Fresh Hot Pizza Delivered in 30 Minutes, Or It’s Free!” This put Domino’s Pizza on the map and dominated the pizza industry worldwide. It’s simple, clear, concise and unique.

Choose your media carefully

Once you’ve identified your target market, you then need to know where they “hang out”. In the offline world, what magazines or newspapers do they read? Will they respond to television, radio, telemarketing, direct mail, or mobile phone marketing?

With online, what are the keywords they are searching for? Will they respond to video better? Understand this: you can have the most compelling marketing message in the world, but if none of your target audience sees or hears it, then it’s good money down the drain. The trick is to test small – but often. Don’t blow your budget in one go.

Other people’s lists

Finding a client can be expensive, if you’re not careful. An easier way is to identify other businesses (but not your direct competition) that also service your customer. Here’s where to start: ask yourself, “who has my client before me?” and “who has my client after me?”.

Let’s say you are a wedding planner. Other businesses that service your clients (bride and groom) would be a florist, bridal wear shop, jeweler, photographer, videographer, churches, travel agents, reception venues, and the list goes on. Collectively, you could possibly acquire a list of thousands of targeted leads to market to. In return, you could do a joint venture arrangement and help promote these businesses to your clients – a perfectly simple and affordable win/win strategy.

What else can you sell to your clients?

It costs a lot more money to find a client, than it does to keep a client. When a client decides to buy from you, it’s because they trust and respect you and your ability to service them.

But are you doing all you can to give your client all the benefits and choices they could be getting from you? Strike when the iron is hot – meaning, offer them additional products or services, that when combined with their initial purchase, will increase their level of satisfaction. Even suggest a bulk or volume buy.

When you close a sale, it’s the perfect time to make an additional sale – especially if there’s a good reason and benefit for your client.

Ask For Referrals

For most businesses, without trying, “word-of-mouth” or referrals make up a large portion of new clients. Imagine what would happen if you implemented a focused aggressive referral system in your business?

Bottom line: people will trust a friend’s recommendation over your marketing – hands down. Most businesses spend a fortune on advertising and marketing, when in fact, if they shifted just a fraction of that time and money into a referral system, then their results would multiply significantly. Even if you offered them some financial reward of some kind, then it could be money well spent. This is crucial. You need to do this, it’s far too important to ignore.