STRATEGY MATTERS

Marketing is an integral part of growing a business.  I believe that the primary purpose of a marketing effort is to get seen by your target market and to convey such a powerful message that it will result in a purchase of your product or service.

With this in mind the first step is to set your marketing goals and then determine the best way to get there.  You have to brush  aside all the interference in the way of marketing options and concentrate only on those that will help you get seen and heard by your target audience.

Several things have to be considered:

1. Since you have already identified the market that will benefit from your product or services, you then have to determine where they are looking to find the products they need. Marketing is not about having the most marketing tools, but about having the most effective marketing tools. With so many marketing options including: social media, flyers, word of mouth campaigns, trade shows, radio and television, networking meetings, imprinted give away items, videos, educational talks, and so forth, care has to be given in the selection of and the implementation of the best tools.
2. Once you have decided on the best way to reach your target audience the next step is the development of a compelling message. The content of your message, no matter in what form it is being delivered, must spell out the benefits in such a strong way that the recipient is motivated to act.

Both of these items require effort. The first is research that you have to do to determine both what influences your target market and where they look for products and services. The best way is to ask. Go calling on your target market with a pad and pencil and ask those questions. This is one of the most difficult steps in growing a business. I call that the validation of what you do in all aspects of your business.

The second, having compelling content requires more than I can offer in this blog. BizQuack will have an educational offering on Content Writing posted in the next month. Make sure you read it and apply it to your marketing strategy.

“Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; It’s about deliberately choosing to be different.” Michael Porter