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Free Marketing Alternatives Do Exist!
Have you ever wanted to find a low cost alternative to marketing your company? Have you wanted to promote your business to thousands of people, outside of your local area, but couldn't afford the cost? Did you ever wish you could spread the word...
Marketing Options For Cleaning Companies - Part Two
Part one looked at telesales, yellow pages and other directories, using mailing lists and advertising in local papers and journals. In this article I will be considering direct selling techniques, leaflet drops and internet advertising.
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Network Marketing - Who Do You Know?
The difference between 'getting by' at work and being successful is not solely dependent on technical skills or knowledge. We all know colleagues who have strong 'people skills' and not the strongest technical abilities but who nonetheless possess a...
Polls and Surveys: A Great Path to Free Publicity for Marketing-Minded Financial Planners
When I search Google News for "surveys," I get nearly 50,000 results. When I search for "stocks," I get about 54,000. The media love polls and surveys. Here are just a few headlines in the news as I write this, generated directly from surveys: ...
Viral Marketing, The Youthful Power of Promotion
Viral Marketing, The Youthful Power of Promotion By Barrett Niehus http://www.freetrainer.com A novel idea that has been successfully used offline is now becoming more and more prevalent to promote web sites and online resources. It is used to...
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What Are You Really Marketing? It's Not What You Think
You market your own business or you direct marketing for your company. You know what you are marketing – it's obvious. Or is it?
If you're a financial advisor, you probably think you're marketing financial advice. If you're a sales consultant, you may think you are marketing sales training. If you are a realtor, you may assume you market homes or commercial properties. If you market big screen TVs you may think you're selling the latest technology.
In each case, you'd be right in terms of your deliverables, but you'd be wrong about what your prospects are buying.
Over the years, I've worked with service providers ranging from plumbers to financial advisors, to data management firms as well as numerous marketing consultants. Despite the diversity of services they provide, they all face the same hurdle to increasing their sales. Each and every one has the product or service they deliver confused with what they are marketing.
What you're marketing and what you actually deliver are two different things. The key to increasing your sales is to realize that what you are really marketing is hope – your clients' hope of achieving their goals.
You're marketing to your prospects' hopes that they'll be happier, more successful, more attractive, smarter, richer, more comfortable, more secure, etc. Target your marketing to the real reasons people buy, and you'll be much more successful in motivating them to make a purchase from you.
Focus your marketing by identifying what your prospects want. Make a list that describes their hopes. Following are some samples to give you the idea:
- What Your Prospects Really Want - Residential Realtors' Prospects - I hope I can find a home I can afford - I hope I can find a home to accommodate our growing family - I hope I get the best possible price for our current home
Sales Trainers' Prospects - I hope I can generate more leads - I hope more people understand how I can help them - I hope I can sell more of my products and services
Plumbers' Prospects - I hope I can get the leak stopped as soon as possible - I hope I can get a plumber to show up - I hope it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg
Financial Advisors'
Prospects - I hope I have enough money to pay my childrens' college tuition - I hope I have enough to afford to retire comfortably - I hope my money is secure no matter what the stock market does
Online Data Management Firms' Prospects - I hope more people find my site - I hope more prospects understand how they can benefit from using our services - I hope more prospects contact us and buy from use
What are your prospects hoping for when they buy your products or services?
Why Marketing to Hope Works Much as you'd like to think your prospects make logical, well reasoned purchasing decisions, in most cases logic plays a secondary role to emotions. If you've made the rounds with a son or daughter looking at colleges, you've experienced this first hand. You talk the whole thing over thoroughly with your child and make a decision to visit a college that appears to be a great fit.
You drive up to the campus and they won't even get out of the car. What's going on? They’re making a decision based on some unspoken set of criteria that defies parental logic. Find out what those criteria are, and you can move forward. The same goes for your prospects.
Your prospects may bring logic to bear when researching service providers but their ultimate selection will be based on emotions. Market directly to what they hope and want and tap into these emotions to help them pick your product or service.
No matter what business you're in, your objective is to help your clients be more successful and to achieve their hopes and dreams, both small and large. Appeal to their motives and you'll increase your sales.
Remember HOPE stands for: Help Our Prospects Excel
Use hope to market your products and services and you'll capture your prospects' attention, their hearts and more of their business. -
About the Author
2005 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. - The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com
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KnowThis: For Marketing, Market Research, Internet Marketing ... |
KnowThis.com offers a wealth of information, forums, and resources for professionals, academics and students in traditional and internet marketing, ... |
www.knowthis.com |
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Marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, ... The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Marketing - Marketing Strategy - Marketing Plan - Marketing ... |
Learn about marketing careers, the stages of developing a marketing plan, how to begin marketing research, create a marketing strategy, and how to market ... |
marketing.about.com |
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Marketing.org - Home of the Business Marketing Association |
Serves the professional, educational and career development needs of business-to-business marketers. |
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Welcome - American Marketing Association - www.marketingpower.com |
Dedicated to serving the educational and professional needs of marketing executives. |
www.marketingpower.com |
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Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR News - Brand Republic |
Find the latest Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR news from Brand Republic, the online resource for up to the minute advertising and marketing news and ... |
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Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic. |
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Marketing (Canada) |
Offers a Canadian source of news and articles on marketing, advertising and media. |
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BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
www.bidvertiser.com |
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Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
Promote your business with today's most effective online advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, CPM or CPV. |
www.clicksor.com |
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Sales Jobs / Marketing Jobs / Advertising Jobs - MarketingJobs.com |
Employment site for marketing and sales professionals. |
www.marketingjobs.com |
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The Chartered Institute of Marketing |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world's largest international marketing professional body and helps with career support and information ... |
www.cim.co.uk |
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Marketing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
See all blog posts tagged with marketing on Technorati. |
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Marketing Profs - Marketing Concepts and Strategies: Expert ... |
Marketing knowhow from professionals. Newsletter, articles and how-to's. |
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Guerrilla Marketing Online - The Official Site |
Guerrilla Marketing Online is anonline magazine for small business, entrepreneurs, sales people and marketers of all kinds. |
www.gmarketing.com |
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Business Marketing - Small Business Marketing |
Business marketing - Read everything your need to know about small business marketing. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
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All About Marketing |
Adapted from Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation ... Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out: ... |
www.managementhelp.org |
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Pages tagged with "marketing" on del.icio.us |
USA Network Announces a NASHVILLE STAR Marketing Partnership With ... - Yahoo! ... Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing ... |
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ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers |
Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing. |
www.clickz.com |
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Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing |
Trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields, offering seminars and resources, and lobbying for ... |
www.the-dma.org |
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