Hey!
I spend a lot of time pointing out high-level ideas here.
My buddy, Tom Elmer, asked me to speak to his marketing class in the fall and talk about the actionable parts of branding and marketing.
Then, I ran a poll on LinkedIn about where folks in small/mid/solo businesses were struggling.
The issue that keeps coming up: “How do you actually do the job of marketing?”
Context matters.
There are some things big businesses do that smaller businesses can’t do.
Size matters.
But I put together 5 rules that I live by and that can help you improve your marketing right away.
Understand what you are measuring and why:
I don’t use the term KPIs with most people because I talk about putting your goals together in a bit more formalized way.
But if you need to think of this as having KPIs, fine.
Measure the important things and know why you are measuring them.
I look at having 100 buyer meetings a year.
To me, that’s the ultimate KPI.
For me.
Don’t get into the tactical stuff that is easy to game like phone calls made or meetings set or anything.
Meeting buyers matters to me.
Think about what you need to measure and why.
Focus on the customer:
“You aren’t your customer.”
Your opinion doesn’t matter.
Figure out what the customer wants/needs/values.
You might think you have the best idea in the world and if no one wants it…womp womp!
You do this with conversations, surveys, and research.
Just check out my LinkedIn post.
Need to be different:
The Miami Marlins used to send a base to high-value prospects.
“Can we get to first base with you?” was the copy of the enclosed note.
The year they ran this program, their premium sales jumped over 340%.
Not everyone got a base, but what everyone got was something that would draw their attention.
You might find that email is the best way to open doors because everyone is calling on the phone.
You might find that networking doesn’t serve you at all so you create mixers of your own.
Doesn’t matter what you do just that it works at getting you in front of the prospects and market you are trying to reach.
Be consistent:
You have to show up, over and over.
You might have a really great press hit that drives tons of people to your store or your shop, but that isn’t the end of things.
You show up again and again.
The consistency builds a connection in your customer’s minds that helps them remember you when it comes time to buy.
Your USP matters:
I call it “Why you?”
It matters because in many cases people feel like they can be everything to everyone.
You can’t.
I focus on strategy: where are the opportunities and how do you win them?
What do you focus on?
You can’t be everything to everyone.
Know what a customer looks like:
Same idea.
You aren’t for everyone.
Not everyone can buy what you are selling.
Even the most mass-market things have a hint of exclusivity to them like the iPhone.
When you do some robust segmentation, I’ve seen sales teams and marketers actually say to me, “That’s X or Y.”
Because they can see their customers in their research.
You can get there.
To start, understand what your buyer looks like!
This isn’t everything, but if you start with these 5 basic ideas as a foundation…you can’t start to make some headway.
To recap:
- Know what you need to measure and why. Focus on something that has a benefit to your bottom line and that you can measure. I measure meetings.
- Never lose sight of the reality that you aren’t the customer. You have to get the voice of your customers into your business. You do it with research, conversations, and surveys. Start small.
- Stand out. You can’t afford to be one of many. No one can. Why you?
- Show up consistently. You can have big moments, but consistency wins.
- Know your customer. You aren’t for everyone. You need to know what your target looks like so you can hit it.
Let me know what you think…hit reply.
Tell me what you are working on and thinking.
Dave
I had a chance to visit the Well Played Asheville Game Room last week. If you are in Asheville, it is a fun way to hang out with your favorite teenager.
