The 3 Ingredients of a Rock-Solid Marketing Recipe

There are dozens of different strategies and tactics you can use to generate leads and increase sales, but effective marketing relies on 3 crucial elements:

1. What is your positioning statement?

2. What is your offer and what value does it provide?

3. Who are your customers and how do you reach them?

The strategies and tactics are definitely important, but you first need to get these 3 ingredients right so your marketing recipe tastes delicious! Yes, I know that’s corny, but I had to tie together the article title with this opening section.

Let’s dive into each ingredient so this makes more sense…

1. What is your positioning statement?

The positioning statement helps to identify what you sell, to who and why they buy from you. It’s important to do this exercise because you need to be crystal clear with your marketing. For example, when you are creating content whether it be blogs or social media posts, you need to know who you’re speaking to and what resonates with them. When you’re writing Google Ads or SEO titles and descriptions, you’re limited on space...so what messaging will you choose to include?  Your positioning statement becomes your beacon. 

To create your positioning statement, answer the following questions:

• What do you sell?
• What makes you different?
• Who do you sell to?
• Why do they buy from you?

You can also speak to current customers to get their thoughts on what makes you different and why they buy from you. 

The end result is a long sentence/statement that answers what you provide...to who...and why. 

2. What is your offer and what value does it provide?

What exactly are you offering prospective customers and is the offer rock-solid? They give you their money and what value is exchanged?

First off, your offer at its simplest is what you’re selling. For example: digital marketing, bathroom remodeling, personal training, small business financing, wealth management, automobiles, cable assemblies, etc. 

But a more effective offer is simple, specific and solves a problem or provides value. 

For example: A brand-new bathroom in under 30 days for $250 per month.

This offer assumes you provide financing options. If you don’t, obviously you can’t say this...but if your competitor does and can, then their offer is going to be much more attractive than yours. 

So that said, your offer needs to attract your target customer like a magnet. From the positioning statement above you should know what they want and what resonates with them...as a result, use this to shape your offer. 

Also, piggybacking on the example above, do you know how your offer compares to your competitors? If you’re competing against better offers, it’s going to be an uphill battle, especially if they are investing more in marketing than you. 

The last thing for this part that I want to mention is you need to be clear on the value that your offer/product/service provides because that value needs to be expressed in your marketing. Customers are giving you money because they have a problem they want fixed...they want a certain result or experience.

3. Who are your customers and how do you reach them?

The last ingredient of a strong marketing recipe is knowing exactly who your customers are and how to reach them. When you know these 2 things, the marketing dollars you invest becomes laser focused. 

You need to know who your customers are. For example:

• Their demographics - age, gender, etc. 
• Their interests - fitness, finance, etc. 
• Their business profile - industry, job title, etc. 

To get this information you can either poll your current customer database or use a service that will take your database and capture this data for you. You will also likely know some of this information simply from working and engaging with your customers. 

The second part - how to reach your customers - requires some research, testing and thinking time. Here are some questions to ask yourself to get the ball rolling:

• What keywords do they type into Google to find your product or service?
• Which social media networks do they use often?
• Which websites do they visit often?
• Are there any associations or groups they belong to? Don’t forget to include LinkedIn Groups in this. 
• Are there any magazines they read often, both consumer and business publications?
• What does their trade show schedule look like?

Don’t forget to ask your current customers the above questions too. 

Once you’re more clear on all this, you’ll have a better understanding of which individual marketing strategies and tactics make sense across:

• Direct mail
• Social media
• The content you create
• The keywords you bid on or optimize for
• The trade shows you exhibit at
• The associations you join or sponsor
• The magazines you advertise in, etc.  

One last (very important) question to ask yourself is “who has my customers?”. Building strategic partnerships can be a super effective way to build your business. Look to develop win/win relationships with other companies that service the same customers...strategic partnerships can be a major marketing channel for you!

Thanks for Reading!

I will write some articles about the individual strategies and tactics, but don’t take the 3 points above lightly. If you know your positioning in the market...if your offer is strong and value is clear...and you know exactly who your customers are and how to get in front of them...I can promise you that your overall marketing efforts will be so much more effective. 

So grab a pen and paper...put your phone away...and start brainstorming!

-Ryan