Before You Spend on Marketing…

What is Marketing?

• The primary goal of marketing is to generate interest in a company’s products or services, attract new customers, retain existing ones, and ultimately drive sales and profitability. Marketing helps businesses understand their customers, build strong brands, and create value both for the company and its customers

“The purpose of marketing is to build trust and tell a story that resonates so well with your audience that they choose you.” – Seth Godin

• This quote from Seth Godin emphasizes that effective marketing is about more than just selling a product—it’s about creating a meaningful connection with the audience through storytelling and trust-building.
• Seth Godin is a renowned author, entrepreneur, and marketing expert known for his influential ideas on marketing, leadership, and the changing landscape of business, particularly through his bestselling books like “Purple Cow” and “This Is Marketing.”
• Before you spend any money on marketing or advertisement, be sure to develop or update your Marketing Strategy.
  Here are the 7 steps, or components, of an effective small business marketing strategy:

1. Define Your Avatar or Ideal Client.
   • Before you can market or sell anything – for that matter, before you can determine what your business is about – you must identify your ideal INITIAL client or avatar.
   • It’s a crucial mistake to think that you can target everybody at once, even if you are selling online.
   • We simply don’t have the resources to try and market to everyone.
   • Start with a clearly and narrowly defined niche market.
   • Related Resources:
     • Episode 388: Your Small Business Avatar
     • Your Avatar Profile Worksheet
2. Understand their Pains or Aspirations (that you can help them with).
   • What are their pains, problems or aspirations that your solution can help them with.
3. Describe the transformation you will help them achieve.
   • What is the transformation (what will they achieve or how will they be better) they will experience if they use your solution or offering? How will it change their lives or businesses?
4. Explain how your product or service will help them.
   • This is the HOW of your solution. How does it work?
   • Tie this all together with an Elevator Pitch: Episode 373
5. Develop your Branding.
   • Develop or refine a consistent Brand that is in alignment with your Avatar or Ideal Client.
   • Resources:
     • Archives – Branding – Small Business Branding Episodes
6. Create and execute a Marketing Plan.
   • Your marketing plan should include:
     • Where is your ideal client or avatar listening?
     • How are they influenced?
     • Your Marketing Budget
     • Your Marketing Tactics
     • Your Marketing Calendar
   • Resources:
     • Episode 368 – Marketing Plan Overview
     • Marketing Plan Outline
     • Marketing Budget Tool
7. Measure Performance and Adjust Periodically.
   • You must measure the performance of your marketing. We simply can’t afford to do too much “brand” marketing – we must focus on measurable all-to-action marketing.

Resources:

Related podcast episodes:

Episode 368: Marketing Plan Overview

You can find all episodes of The How of Business podcast, the best small business podcast, on our Archives page.