When it comes to marketing your products and services it can initially seem like a good idea to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible. By casting your net wide, you have a greater chance of securing more sales, right?
Whilst this might appear to be the case, it often doesn’t work out like that. By generalising your marketing campaigns you risk failing to capture the attention of potential clients who are actively searching for a business just like yours. If you fail to be specific and target a particular group, you’ll probably struggle to convert interest into sales.
To market your business effectively and successfully, there’s one thing that you need to know: your customers. Do you know who uses your products and services? Do you know their needs? Do you know why your clients choose your business over others? These are the sorts of questions you need to ask yourself in order to successfully market your business. If your marketing strategies target these questions you’ll see a far greater return on your investment by attracting realistic, viable prospects.
If you’re in sales, or have seen The Wolf of Wall Street, there’s a good chance you’ll be familiar with a certain exercise: sell me this pen. This is often used to judge the competence of a sales-person. However, the same principles that guide it can be applied to marketing just as well.
To sell someone a pen, you shouldn’t focus on the pen. You shouldn’t be saying “this is the best pen in the world”, “this pen has magic ink”, “this pen will write for you”, and so on. Rather, you should focus on the client. Ask them about their needs, why they want a pen, what sort of pens they’ve used before. By asking these questions you’ll weed out those who aren’t in the market for a pen at all - why would you try to sell a pen to someone who doesn’t want one?
Similarly, why would you market your product to people who don’t want or need it? Not only is this a waste of time, effort and money; it can potentially show your business in a bad light. You’ll come across as a business who doesn’t know their industry, and doesn’t care about their clientele. Your business will seem like it’s trying to sell to anybody. This isn’t a good look and will make people untrusting of your business before they’ve even considered buying from you.
By specifying your products and services, as well as other aspects of your business, you’ll attract people who are actively looking for a business just like yours. In other words, you’ll be marketing to people who want or need what your business has to offer! This immediately increases the likelihood of sales and means you’ll be using any money spent on marketing far more effectively.
Doing this will also give a positive impression of your business. Demonstrating knowledge of your industry and your clients by showing how you’ll fulfil their needs highlights your expertise. You’ll present as leaders in your industry and experts in your niche, building trust between you and clients in the process. This will grow your reputation, increase referrals and reviews and secure you more sales in the long-run.
How do you market in a way that is going to appeal specifically to those interested in your products and services?
The best way to do this is simply by being transparent. Show what you provide, what’s involved with working with your business, how your business differs from others, and so on. Here are some general guidelines to follow:
What questions do potential buyers have for your business? Answer these with your marketing campaigns and you’ll attract more customers with the same needs.
Don’t just tell clients how you’ll solve their problems, show them. Provide evidence of how your business has satisfied customers time and time again.
What sets your business apart from competitors? What’s special about your business? Why would someone buy from you instead of a rival business? Back up the claims you make about your business, product or service to appeal to your ideal customer.
Show how your product or service will meet the needs of customers. Show exactly what they’ll be getting, how it works, and how it will benefit their lives.
Read more about ideas to increase conversion rates in our blog.
Your marketing campaigns should highlight the products and services you provide and let clients know who your business is - and isn’t - for. By doing this you’ll save time and money, get a greater return on your investment, increase conversion rates and build your reputation with satisfied clients in the long-run. Don’t market your pen to everyone - market it to those who need a pen!
