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When someone purchases a product or service, they often times do not know what actions were done to promote the sale, nor do they realize how important those promotions are in bringing about the transaction.
The seller usually does not spend too much time promoting their products because that takes away from what they have to do next- make more sales! Instead, they rely on word of mouth marketing and advertisements to create traffic flow into their business.
Businesses that understand this concept use creative ways to market their products and services. They research effective methods and implement them so that people will be drawn to what they have to offer.
There is an integral part of any successful marketing campaign that no one seems to emphasize enough: motivation. You need to motivate your audience to interact with your product or service.
That is why there is a difference between having advertising and marketing. Advertising may influence others but it doesn’t necessarily generate interaction. Marketers look for opportunities to get individuals involved in the company’s ecosystem by creating conversations and relationships.
Conversational marketers build trust through interactions and referrals as opposed to using flashy ads that might just distract potential customers.
By incorporating conversation strategies into your promotional mix, you can boost ROI (return on investment) and push your lead generation numbers up.
Marketing is not just telling people about your products or services. It’s much more than that! Marketing means creating relationships with others to gain their trust, and then offering them our product or service as a reward for that trust.
That sounds fancy and expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Many companies spend less than what you would probably pay for this book in advertising costs. The key word here being “cost.”
You can still benefit from this book if you are willing to learn some basic marketing strategies and test out one of these cost-effective ones. You may even find that you develop your own successful strategy who knows what tricks and tools they are using under the hood.
Running a business includes more than just selling products and services, which is why most successful businesses include some form of marketing in their arsenal.
A touchpoint is an interaction that someone with no previous connection to your company has with you or information about you. It can be a conversation with someone, viewing of a advertisement, receiving an email, or anything else that exposes them to your brand.
Interaction with employees, potential clients, and other stakeholders are all important touch points for marketing. As a leader, it’s your job to create opportunities for these interactions so people feel connected to your organization and want to work for or contribute to it.
This isn’t always as easy as it sounds, though. Sometimes things just don’t seem to go your way, at least not in the beginning. You have to learn how to handle those situations effectively if you want to remain successful.
What happens when you try to contact a person only to find out they left town without telling anyone? What if they didn’t return your calls or emails because you made poor timing decisions?
These are examples of what I call “bad luck”, something beyond your control that prevented you from having success. Unfortunately, there are also examples of “good luck”, events that were completely unexpected but benefited you by giving you the opportunity to showcase your skills.
Websites are an integral part of most people’s daily lives today. You can find almost anything online, from banking to shopping to entertainment!
This is due in large part to how marketing has changed over time. Technology has made it possible for more and bigger brands to have their own websites with all of their products and information.
Brands use these sites as way to connect with customers and promote sales. They share what they offer and how those offerings work so that users can know what you have and how to use them.
By having your own site, you give yourself this same opportunity! It is your space to tell everyone about yourself and what you have to offer.
You are also able to link out to other sites (we call these links internal referrals) to spread your brand name even further.
A successful sales professional is someone who cultivates great relationships with others. They are aware of their weaknesses and learn how to work through them, or even around them.
A successful marketer knows how to use different types of communication tools to connect with people. They know how to promote themselves by writing strong self-promotions that emphasize their strengths and position themselves as an authority in their field.
And finally, a successful sales person has a high level of empathy. They understand what motivates other individuals and can apply this knowledge when interacting with potential customers.
All of these things contribute to creating powerful interactions that result in conversations about products and services. When you combine all of these factors, you get extended opportunities to make purchases.
Sales professionals who prioritize developing their skills will reap the benefits in the form of more success.
A good way to begin defining your marketing strategy is by identifying your target audience. Who are you targeting with your message and what messages will appeal to them?
You can do this through advertising, direct conversations, surveys, and more. By knowing who your customers are, you’ll be able to cater your content better for their needs and questions.
Your targeted audience may vary season to season depending on the products and services that you offer. For example, if your business offers accounting services, then during the spring semester students will need help with accounts classes so you should focus on educating them about that. If your business provides computer training, in the fall people may be looking to refresh their skills so you can promote those courses.
Whatever you sell, there is always someone else selling it just as well or even better than you! Finding out where your competition falls short and how to improve upon that is an excellent use of your time.
The second key to sales is developing your own personal marketing strategy or what I call “branding”. This means creating an image for yourself that people can associate with you.
As we discussed before, branding comes down to one thing: how you present yourself. What you say about yourself is just as important as what you do. Your self-image will influence others’ perceptions of you and your business.
When was the last time you made a good impression on someone? Probably when you were twelve years old and needed help with your homework.
A well-marketed product or service will always find an audience. The thing about marketing is that it never stops happening. You must constantly be finding ways to spread your brand’s message to as many people as possible.
This includes advertising in the media, creating content to share on social media, distributing flyers, putting up signs, talking about you and your products at events, etc.
The more places you put your brand, the better chance yours has of being seen by someone who can use your services or purchase what you are offering.
That person may not know anything about you yet, but they are definitely looking for something! When they find you, they will buy from you because you gave them good value.
Sales depend heavily on marketing
Think about it – without marketing, there would be no sales. Companies spend lots of money on advertisements, billboards, media campaigns, direct mailers, you name it. It all adds up very quickly.
A well-marketed product or service will always win over those that are not yet fully invested in it. Companies spend lots of money creating their products and marketing strategies, which is why most people know them!
By and large, successful companies have one thing in common: they make sure their customers feel special by offering frequent discounts, freebies, and/or clear communication.
They also reap the benefits of being known brands — more people visit a restaurant because it’s famous, for example. And when there are no other alternatives, people will often choose the familiar option instead of risk something new.
That’s what makes marketing so powerful: it creates word of mouth effects that keep your business afloat for extended periods of time.
