Is Your Marketing Making You Money?

Marketing and Sales

Let’s start by getting clear on the definition of marketing. Marketing is everything you do to inform potential customers about your product or service. It’s the way you answer your phone, your smile, the quality of your offerings, your latest Tweet and most importantly how you follow-up after the sale.

However, before getting started with your marketing efforts it is important to make sure you have the proper foundation in place.

Here are 6 key components you’ll need in place to ensure your marketing efforts are actually helping you to generate revenue.

1. A Marketing Plan

It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out 50 page document but it should at a minimum identify the goals, budget, customers, strategies, and have a plan for measuring results.

2. A Clearly Identified Target Market

Your ideal target market is the group of people, with a problem (need, want or desire), who know they have this problem, are actively seeking a solution to the problem and can EASILY afford your most expensive offering.

3. You Need to Define Your USP

Your unique selling proposition is what separates your business from others in your industry selling similar goods and services. If you and your closest competitor had locations right next door to each other, what words would you put on your door to entice your ideal target customer to choose you instead of them?

4. An Understanding of the Benefits and Features of Your Offerings

Ultimately a customer’s decision to purchase from you is an emotional one which is why your marketing message needs to communicate benefits first and features last. Benefits are what tell the customer how they will feel as a result of buying your product or service. What relief from pain does your offering provide? Features tell the functionality of your offerings – sizes, colors, time frames, deliverables, etc.

5. A System

Every time a customer comes in contact with your company they should have a similar experience. This happens as a result of having a system in place. What are the steps from the time a customer first makes contact with your company until the sale is complete?

6. A Quality Offering

With numerous review sites and the ever growing social networks you simply cannot afford to have bad products and services in the marketplace. In order to ensure your customers are satisfied with your goods be sure to have regular quality checks and ask your customers for feedback in the form of conversations, comment cards and surveys.

Take-A-Ways

Remember marketing your business is an ever-evolving effort. It will be necessary to take action, measure results, tweak, adjust and take action again to see success and money from your marketing efforts.

About the Author

Image of Summer AlexanderSummer Alexander is the Founder and CEO of Summer Alexander Research, Inc. an award winning market research and marketing consultancy where she works with entrepreneurs, professionals and business leaders to develop strategic plans in order to create consistent client attraction and cash flow.

Listen in as Summer shares the “7 Mindset Blocks Keeping You From Earning More in Your Business” when you download her free recording at http://www.MarketingMoneyMindset.com

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