Marketing in Three Easy Steps

Marketing is all about creating conversations. We all know how to communicate in one way or another, so this means we all can be a successful marketer! Marketing is easy! Right?

Most of us can communicate well enough to feed, clothe, and find shelter for ourselves but, there are certain times that we struggle to create a common level of understanding with another person. If you’ve ever been in a relationship with any person for more than about a week you know what I’m writing about. Also, marketing isn’t about communicating something like ordering a beer, it’s about trying to help someone figure out if what your selling will help them accomplish whatever it is that they want to do.

So, let’s break it down.

Step 1) Explain in a very simple way, what your product or service does and what problems it can solve from your potential customer’s point-of-view.

You can’t start a conversation if you don’t have anything to say, plus you need to get your point across in a way that can be understood no matter what your prospect already knows (or more importantly doesn’t know). This means you need to create great opening lines and you have to build content to deliver them.

Step 2) Start conversations where your prospects are.

Conversations are bi-directional. If you expect a response you have to delivery your opening line where your prospects can hear or read it. If your prospects are on Facebook, then you need to post your message on Facebook, if they read a certain trade journal then you need to publish articles there. Or if they search the internet for relevant articles, you need to write lots of blogs or have a great website.

Step 3) Give your prospects ways to raise their hands.

Blog posts are great tools for capturing web search traffic. If you write a great blog, you might get hundreds or thousands of people to read it. However, all those readers are anonymous. You essentially started a conversation, but you have no way to continue it. In the case of a blog getting a hand raise is as simple as having a ‘subscribe’ button (mine is at the bottom of this page). But you’d be surprised at how many people don’t give a prospect a way to ‘buy it now’.

So, that’s marketing in 3 easy steps. Yes, I may have skipped a few details but that’s why there are people like me around to help you. Seriously, marketing from a high-level perspective is somewhat simple. Sometimes this is a problem because often marketing is perceived as being like ‘arts and crafts’ time in kindergarten. (I was particularly good with the glitter glue.)

In fact, marketing can and should play a significant strategic role in your business endeavor. Whether your selling holes in concrete or complex security solutions, you need to know how to say the right thing, to the right people, at the right time and when to ask for the sale. If that’s the type of communication that you need, then talk with a marketing professional, they can help you develop a strategy and the tactics to create conversations that lead to sales.