What Have You Learned in Business? By Tracy C. Smith
What are some of the things you have learned during your tenure in business? LinkedIn is a great place to share that knowledge. After 35 years in my chosen profession, the lessons I have learned came from 2 sources: my mentors and experience.
I believe to be successful in business, you can’t be afraid to do things in a different manner or a unique way. When you create some type of system that works well for you, you can stick with it and produce results. However, what once worked like a charm maybe obsolete in todays murky marketplace of marketing.
After 35 years, I finally figured out exactly what I do. I provide marketing-based solutions for my customers. And those solutions have changed 1000 times over during that course of my career. It is very important to educate yourself every day on marketing, if you are in that chosen profession. Knowledge about your customer and your customer’s customer, is the key ingredient to ensure success at marketing your customers product or service. Just because you are armed with this knowledge, there is no guarantee you deliver the desired results out of the gate. This is where data comes into play. I tell all my customers, we are going to look at the data as the marketing campaign runs, but we must respect the data and not place our own personal bias towards the information we uncover.
Example, we began working with a car dealer, we thought local news was a sure fire hit to help him drive leads. Local news did drive leads but not as well as syndicated programming in the comedy genera. Once we saw the data, we moved the marketing dollars accordingly.
Back when I first started in 1985, having a diverse marketing mix was the holy grail. As more marketing tools evolved, the new cool thing became a popular marketing tool and advertisers lost sight of a consumer’s path to purchase. Influencing the consumer to investigate about your company is the first step to a conversion. That consumer must first have a need that your company can solve or a product that they believe is better than your competition. How do you do that? You create brand awareness, something long forgotten. Building brand awareness is a marathon not a sprint. Right now, as you read this article, someone needs your product or service, if you’re never considered, you never have a chance to earn their business. Here are ways to set yourself apart from your competition and create awareness for your company:
Local Contact at Public Events-A great place to make customers and earn the right to ask them for their business. This will require you the owner to work the event along with your staff. If you are not going to work the event with your staff, don’t bother. You must also come up with an interactive tool to engage the event goers. Offering selfies or pics with famous people via cardboard cutouts (stand ups). Drawings for free items or spinning a wheel for free T-Shirts, etc. Do not expect people to walk up to your booth. The best way to work you table is in front of it as people walk up to you. Make sure you and your staff are identified by wearing matching shirts with your company logo and name tags.
Social Media-Be very good in as many spaces as possible based on your ability to provide content. If you start a blog, work your blog and post daily. If you start a You Tube Channel (and you should) post a simple video every morning. Involve your staff, use your phone and say good morning and tell viewers what your day will be like.
Hootsuite can help you to post content at the same time on Social Media platforms but don’t make the mistake, of posting content that does not align with the social media platform you use. LinkedIn and Facebook are two different animals, don’t confuse the 2.
Don’t stress out about producing tons of original content, you can reuse stories about the category of business you are in and repost them to your blog or social media. Just be sure to give proper credit to the original source of the information produced.
Digital Products-Each digital product serves and uses a different strategy to reach your present and potential customers. Here is where experience and resources should guide you in the correct decision on who can help you. Is the person you are considering Google Certified? Do they have products that other companies do not offer or understand? Are they transparent and anything that’s on your bill is revenue used towards the campaign? Is the partner you are considering focused on producing conversions that are beneficial to your company? This is lot to consider, the more you self-educate, the more informed decision you will be able to make.
Television-Still one of the lowest cost-per-thousand medias to use if we are talking Broadcast. If you want someone to become aware of your company, TV can quickly make consumers aware of your companies’ products and services. The biggest advantage of TV is relevancy. Once your company is on TV, you gain instant credibility. You can also utilize the media to offer special introductory offers or discounts. Just make sure these offers apply to all your existing clients.
Connected TV’s-As more consumers leave Cable and stream content over the internet, the opportunity to speak with this audience is available now. OTT as it is called, is the marketing vehicle you can use to put your company in front of the consumer. But understand not all OTT is created equal. The correct choice is OTT that is viewed in the typical Television environment, specifically, on their TV. Some companies offer OTT but use computers, tablets and phones to deliver your message.
Guest Appearance-If you can get on LIVE TV to talk about your company or inform viewers something you are passionate about, do it. A key component to an appearance is the ability to talk for a longer time about your company or event that you are championing. You can also volunteer to do guest appearances anywhere: Schools, Universities, Clubs, Events, etc.
Workshops-You can reserve a room at your local library and conduct free workshops for potential new customers or existing clients. Be sure to educate, not sell. Giving information will help build your credibility as someone they trust, and then they will be happy to buy from you.
Sponsorships-Being a sponsor of community events will not only help the brand awareness of your company that I mentioned earlier, it will help you get support from consumers who are passionate about certain causes. “Cause Marketing” is one of the most underrated marketing products you can utilize. Let me give you an example: The Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team needed a sponsor for their stadium. A company called Ever Bank stepped up and became the title sponsor. I met an individual at a neighborhood party one night and he mentioned he worked for Ever Bank. I thanked him for securing the naming rights to the stadium. He replied, “We did it because we thought it was the right thing to do. We didn’t realize how many people would open new accounts with us because we supported the Jaguars”.
Understand Your Market-Every state and city is different in America, know your market. What is important to the people that live in your town or city? Tie this into your marketing to increase mass appeal, connection or awareness of your company.
Niche-Use your marketing to carve out a niche to connect with the consumer and then continue to use it moving forward. It could be as simple as a “catch phrase” or a “special offer” or unique attribute your company offers. I always go back to a simple question when talking to business owners. “What is your unique selling proposition”? What do you provide or offer your competition does not? What makes you different or stand out in the marketplace?
No one has all the answers when it comes to marketing your company. Educate yourself to help you make informed decisions. Seek advise and compare what information you are receiving. Try to be as relevant as possible in what ever marketing tool you utilize to create awareness about your companies product and services.