I hate Marketing

I hate Marketing

If I made money every time, I heard an entrepreneur say “I hate marketing” or “Marketing is not my thing” I would be extremely wealthy. So many times, we spend hours creating a product or service only to do nothing with it because of our fear of marketing. Is it marketing though? what comes to mind when you think about it? Does it conjure up images of pushy snake oil salesmen and sleazy infomercials trying to sell you something you don’t want or need??Let’s flip the script for a minute, when you buy something, do you buy it because you want to get rid of the pushy salesperson? Or do you buy it because it solves a problem you are having? Let’s take a look at what marketing is and what it is not, then maybe we can reframe your thought processes around it.

The goal of marketing is to gain a share of your potential prospects' minds.

At its core, the goal of marketing is ultimately to gain a share of your potential customer’s mind; it's not just about selling, it's about becoming an answer to your customer’s problems.?It’s your product or service becoming synonymous with a solution to a problem. Whenever the problem arises your product or service is the answer for your customer. ?Some brands have done this really well, in Jamaica for example the brand Delco became synonymous with generators. ?This of course takes time and intentional effort on your part.

Very often marketing is confused with advertising, but they're not the same thing at all. To put it simply: advertising is one tool in your arsenal that can be used to market your product or service—it's certainly an important one! But there are other tools as well: PR and content creation (writing articles), thought leadership (speaking at conferences) and social media are all part of the overall process of building awareness and trust for your brand among current and potential customers.

Marketing is the process of helping people make decisions.

Marketing is not a dirty or scary thing. Simply put the process of helping people make decisions. It includes advertising, sales, promotion, and branding—but it also includes much more. The marketing mix refers to the four P’s: product (what you sell), price (value for money), place (where you sell), and promotion (how you market).

In order for a business to survive in today's competitive marketplace, it needs to have a marketing strategy that works for its particular products or services. Customers make purchase decisions based on quality information provided by trusted sources, like friends and family members who have already tried the product or service themselves before recommending it as part of their own lifestyle choices.

Clearly define your potential customer, Understand them better than anyone else.

You can’t market to every person, so you have to be clear about who you're talking to. And if you’re not clear on that, then no one will know what they are supposed to do when they interact with your brand.

If your marketing is going to be effective, it needs to appeal directly to the people whose problems you solve. If a twenty-something male is looking for an image of himself on social media, he isn't going to be interested in seeing an ad showing off the latest fashion trend by someone who looks like his mother or grandmother (even if they were cute). Clear targeting considers all sorts of things—from demographics such as age and gender all the way down to psychographics like values and beliefs—and helps ensure that what we say resonates with our audience. ?Next, you will want to match your solutions to their problems. This is the single most important part of the process which when done correctly makes marketing to them way less overwhelming.

Don't fall into the trap of believing that every single person can use your product or service.

Marketing is a tool. A tool that helps you figure out whose problem you solve and how to engage those specific people. Not everyone has the same problem therefore one size does not fit all. The sooner you zero in on your specific target the sooner you can figure out how best to serve them and by extension grow your business.

If you want to be in business for the long haul, you must have a plan for marketing and a willingness to experiment with it.

You’re running a business, right? It’s fair to assume that you want that business to grow, but if no one knows about it then growth will be difficult. It is important that you develop a marketing plan. The first step to getting your marketing strategy off the ground is understanding your potential customers. Who are they and what do they want? When they buy something from another company, what makes them decide which company to buy from? Then you need to know the competition: who are they and where do they rank among your potential customers in terms of loyalty and trustworthiness? The best way to get this information is to talk with your potential customers. Make special note of how they describe their problems, how they solve them currently, and what solutions would delight them.

After you conduct this initial research, then it's time for experimentation—taking steps toward engaging with your customers. Take time to provide value, to tell your story about why you are doing this and why you should be the one to solve their problems. ?You may find that some segments respond differently to different things, the idea is to be patient and learn as much as you can from your customers. Some customers may respond to email while others may respond to social media. Marketing is not a sprint but a marathon it takes on average at least six interactions with your brand before people make a decision, so be consistent and patient.

Conclusion

The next time you are tempted to throw your hands up in frustration at not being able to sell your product or service ask yourself… have I figured out whose problem my product or service solves? If you need help with the process book a strategy session with me and let’s get this growth.