Marketing Plan that Works

With so many options of what you could do to market your business, how do you know where to start? Here's a proven 4 step approach that is guaranteed to work. Are you thinking, "Well, I really just want sales?"

Of course, you do, but this is how you get qualified leads in front of you and excited about what you have to offer.

Branding that Conveys Your Message

Marketing requires clarity, creativity, and consistency. For effective marketing to take place, the 3 C’s must be present.

CLARITY - Are you clear about what you offer?

CREATIVITY - So you stand out? Will you be remembered?

CONSISTENCY - Don’t be forgotten. Stay at the front of people’s minds.?

Most companies and organizations have 2 out of 3 of these dialed in if they’ve been in business for a while, but generally, an organization has one piece neglected. That element should be identified at some point. We believe in affirming strengths first and then identifying the areas of growth second. This approach has worked wonders for our clients.

According to Michelle Van Otten, Your branding represents the sum of experiences found in the marketplace that equates to how you have carved your reputation. It’s your market for your future reputation.

Visibility to Get Your Found

Some people think search engine optimization (SEO), is the key to being visible.? It’s a big part of it.? I must do twenty to thirty searches on my phone every day. That doesn't include the other devices I use. Obviously, some people do less, and some people do more. But the truth is, many of us are searching for things, people, and connections...online.?

While SEO is a big deal, there’s really no need to spend thousands of dollars on it, unless you have already set up your basic listings and directories, and created some content to help with initial organic search results. So, your first step to creating your visibility is to register with online directories, especially the ones with reviews attached to them like “Google My Business.”

Websites like Google, Yelp, Facebook, or even your own website, all have some capability for making sure you’re found if you set it upright. You want to get on as many online directories as possible and be sure to include directories that are industry-specific. Angie’s list has a pretty good directory and reviews aspect to their website.

Remember, to use those reviews to your benefit, especially off of Google or Yelp, because there’s usually a picture attached. Just ask for permission, and then throw that right onto your website. You’ll notice, if you go to www.givermarketing.com, there are several reviews peppering our website. We pulled them right off of platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook.

Promotion of Your Superpower

A good way to think about promotion is informing.? When you’re first promoting something, you’re really informing the prospect, the potential customer or client, about your story... who you are, what you do. Just the basics. However, informing is only the early phase of promotion.? When you approach promotion, think in 3 stages.

We want to make sure when promoting anything that we’re not only informing but we’re also engaging and bringing a call to action. If you remember nothing else about your promotional efforts, make sure there’s…

...a bit of information,?

...a lot of engagement,?

...and some kind of next step or call to action.?

There has to be a dialogue. Before you ask for business, sign contracts, or exchange value, you must be engaging your potential customer or client. If I could teach one thing to companies, it’s how to go from monologue to dialogue.

Without the dialogue, there really is no ask, at least there is no powerful ask that produces good results. If you want to just inform people of who you are and then ask them for their business or call to action of some kind, your percentage of success is going to be less than 1%.

Nurturing Your Audience for Sales

?The backdrop of this section is basically tying all of our marketing efforts into a strategy for turning leads into clients. Along the marketing process, there are several places where nurturing efforts are important to measure.?

When you send out a promotion, you start getting people’s information. In this, you are basically generating the lead. That’s the initial conversion. But then after that, what happens? What do we do to turn those leads into sales??

It is true that 80% of sales occur after five trust-building interactions. All business, including a marketing coach, needs to have some kind of system.

Need help with your marketing? Schedule a complimentary mini-session here!

#digitalmarketing

#branding

#success

#business

#GiverMarketing