“Marketing is where the money comes from in your business” – Dan Kennedy.
If your business is not making any money, there could be a leak in your marketing system.
When that happens, don’t give up just yet. Your business is NOT failing.
Experienced Marketers understands and expected their marketing campaigns to FAIL at one point.
But they use this opportunity to test and tweak their marketing strategies. Then come up with a more solid and proven plan.
That is part of their game.
When I did consulting work, this happens all the time. Some launches will hit the ‘home run’ at first try. Some will require tweaking when it’s not producing results I expected.
Just like the game of life, things are very uncertain. It can go your way, or the other way.
I’m going to share with you, my checklist on how to FIX your marketing system to turn a losing campaign into a winner.
#1 Are you targeting the right people?
60% of the success of your marketing effort goes through targeting the RIGHT audience.
That means, even if you hired a world-class copywriter to craft an extremely persuasive marketing message, but if you showed it to the WRONG audience… there’s a high chance that your promotions are going to fail.
Think about it. You do not want to waste your time selling to the wrong people. They will never buy from you.
Then, why did you just advertise bluntly to EVERYONE?
Save your effort and save your time.
Advertise to the RIGHT audience.
#2 Do you understand your audience’s behaviour?
If you know who’s your audience, the next step for you is to check whether do you really know what your AUDIENCE wants and needs?
For example, if you are selling beauty products for women.
Do you understand the real reason why women buy beauty products?
Yes, women want to be beautiful. But, why do they want to be beautiful?
For example, married women may want to look beautiful to impress their husband. Single Professionals may want to look beautiful to look attractive, professional, presentable and feel empowered.
You’ve got to explore the true reasons behind why they buy your products. Then use what you know, and present them in your marketing message.
#3 Do you know your customers’ buying pattern?
Also, you have to understand your customers’ buying pattern and the nature of your product.
Let’s say you are selling bodybuilding supplements for men.
When do they usually buy their stocks?
Do they buy every month?
Do they buy 3 months worth of stocks?
If you know all this information, it will be easier to sell.
You can just promote a week or few days before ‘payday’ to keep your business on top of your prospect’s mind.
In addition, you can bundle deals together – and give them incentives such as loyalty points or future discounts with every purchase.
#4 Are you using the right media to reach your prospects?
Are you only using Facebook and Instagram to promote your products?
If yes, how does that work for you?
If you’ve been getting results, then that’s good.
But, those are NOT the only way for you to promote.
When it comes to choosing the right media for my clients, I usually divide it into 2:
Online Media
Offline Media
For online media, you can start to define the best way for you to reach your audience. If your audience is on Social Media. Go ahead. Go create Facebook and Instagram account.
Do they check emails? If yes, go email marketing.
Youtube? Why not?
The key here is to ONLY use media where you know you can reach your audience.
For Offline media, there are lots of options too.
Some people might argue offline media are ‘Old School’. But they are the actual pioneer of marketing and businesses had been using it successfully. Think about radio ads, newspaper, magazines and direct-mail.
When everyone goes online, you do the opposite. You go ‘’Old-School’.
You will be different from the rest.
Don’t just stick to one media. Especially social media.
Because in reality, both online and offline media work hand in hand and have an effect on your business.
#5 Do you have an Irresistible Offer?
What did you offer to your customer when they buy from you?
Did you offer a guarantee?
Discounts?
Bonuses or FREE stuff?
You see, when you only blatantly sell your stuff without some kind of any other offer, it will make your offer sounds… boring.
Imagine this two situation.
Pizzeria A: Regular pizza for $8 Pizzeria B: Hot, straight out of the oven Pizza.
Regular 12-inch for $8, two for $14. Delivered to your doorstep in 30 minutes or its free.
Which one would you pick?
I would go for the option B because it simply carries more value than the first: It reminds me its delivered fresh.
There’s a clear offer – delivered to the consumer as an enticing second option, which encourages more overall spending – but offers a saving per item.
A clear, guaranteed time frame… or my money back! It will definitely differentiate your business from your competitors.
#6 How are you different from your competitor?
There are so many ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
A good example is Nasi Katok. It’s almost everywhere.
But the one that stands out are those who added extra features such as Nasi Katok Buttermilk, Nasi Katok 7 Rasa, Nasi Katok Ayam Grill Special.
It does sound different.
For your business, if you haven’t established a brand, differentiating yourself is all the more key. You can think about:
What your offers are?
What are your promises?
What do you have that’s unique that differentiate yourself from your competitors?
The easiest way to find out is to check what people are saying about you.
If you are known to have the best Nasi Katok for the taste.
Then be specific about it.
Put it in your marketing message saying that “We are recommended by people because our Nasi Katok has the best Sambal”.
#7 Have a look at your marketing message
When it comes to crafting your marketing message – most businesses fail here because they are being… selfish. They mostly talk about themselves.
They talk about how long they’ve been in business and how good their products and services are.
But the truth is, nobody cares.
All your prospects want to know is that – what can you do for them?
If you are providing a spa service. Don’t just talk about what machines you have or if you are a certified service provider.
But talk about how that special therapy machine can help your clients to remove their acne fast and safe. And focus on that message. That is what they really want to know.
They key here is to check every part of your marketing message and ask yourself.
“So what?”
If your marketing message has more emphasis on your business… scrap it off.
Change it to be more ‘clients-focused’.
To wrap this up, the key thing here is testing. Test your marketing message, your choice of media and defining your niche audience. When you found the right one that produces results for you. Go with it.
With that, I wish you the best of luck!
Dean is the Chief Marketing Officer for Weekend Warriors and Freelance Email Marketing Strategist for Fitness Coaches. He specializes in creating marketing strategies to help businesses grow their business and get more sales. Dean is offering a quick 30 minutes Marketing Audit to your business. Just set your appointment here at his website: www.deangreenmedia.com
