I. Make Marketing Happen

1. It doesn’t happen by accident! Marketing is not something that will simply ‘come about’ because you’re ‘getting your name out there’.

2. Being busy promoting yourself and telling others about your business may be good promotion but it is not a marketing campaign or plan – reasons why

3. Take it seriously. There are TWO good reasons for this 1) you need to have a plan and follow it, as this is the only way you can measure if what you’re doing – what you’re spending your time and money on – is working. 2) Marketing is a hugely important and useful business skill too learn.

II. Start with the end in mind

1. Don’t head off without a map of where you’re going and why. Marketing shouldn’t be a random journey where you continually take one step after another hoping to find some profits along the way. You need to decide what you are marketing, to whom and why

2. Start off with a simple goal. It could be a particular product or service that you want to promote. Focus on that first and use it as a way to test what you learn.

3. Decide what a successful campaign would look like. Set a marker to achieve. It could be a certain volume of sales or it could be a number of new customers. You might fall short, or you may just blow the roof off and surprise yourself!

III. It’s not about YOU – it’s about the Customer

1. Most people make the crucial mistake of focusing on their business, their product or service or themselves. It’s not, it’s about this it’s about your customer and what they want.

2. Before you start to market you need to find out (not guess) what your customers really want; so find out. Talk to them, start a poll or survey them. Get inside their head.

3. Test out your message – the way you express the benefits of your product/service in a number of ways to find out what most engages the user.

Action Steps:

For new businesses:

Create a plan!

For businesses already marketing their business:

Step back and ask yourself:

• Is it working?
• How do I know?
• What is the outcome that I am trying to achieve?
• What are my parameters?

REMEMBER! It’s all about getting more customers!

Links we mentioned during the webinar:

How to get in touch…