You're at home enjoying time with your family, watching an episode of American Idol. Just when you think you've made it a whole night without -- the phone rings at 8:59 pm. Who's on the line? An annoying telemarketer named Fabio who -- just like the previous five nights -- is trying to sell you the latest and greatest version of a product you didn't want a year ago. Marketing is all around us: On the phone, in the mall, on our favorite websites, and in between watching our favorite sports teams. Marketing is The action or business of promoting and selling products or services. From World War One propaganda, pop up ads, radio commercials, Facebook advertisements, and on to guerrilla marketing, marketers have always tried to find the biggest bang for their buck. In order to turn your strategies into success stories and loyal customers, here are five principles to set the foundation:
Psychology matters. The number one reason marketing doesn't work is because it doesn't apply to the people you're marketing to. Ultimately, the sale comes down to who knows their market and the people in it the best. For instance, a lady in the mall was trying to sell me nail polish. "Would you like to buy nail polish for your girlfriend?" she asked, she even had the smile down pat. I looked at her and said, "No, thank you." The saleswoman in her kept pursuing, and it ended with my fingernail being shiny for a week and no chance of me ever going back. It wasn't that I didn't want to get my then-girlfriend fingernail polish, but I'm a guy, I know absolutely nothing about fingernail polish. Until you know what people are looking for, you will not be able to reach them. Marketing isn't one size fits all, marketing is about studying, reading and adapting. Knowing your market and the people in it enables you to appeal to their emotions, and speak to their dreams and aspirations.
Pay it forward. When I'm marketing my startup to other people, I'm not only thinking about how I can win, but how they can win as well. When you're marketing your business, make sure you pay it forward. In other words, find a way for both parties to win. A win-win situation not only creates customer loyalty, but it also breeds company evangelism. My personal credo is to help people find and pursue their passion and I try to incorporate that into everything I do. For instance, in networking and marketing my startup, I recently came across an exceptionally talented, up and coming artist, Turhon McDowell. Creating a win-win situation could be anything from exclusive discounts, featuring them, to helping them pursue their passion. In this case, I offered to introduce him to the equally talented producer David Veslocki, feature him in our marketing campaign (giving him publicity), and the opportunity to work with well-known artists. Great companies have this engrained into the fabric of every business transaction.
Be visible, be available. In my relatively short career as an entrepreneur, I've learned from a lot of mistakes. One of those mistakes was spending the majority of a work day at my desk. Between being pinned down by paperwork and working on clients' projects, I forgot to be visible and make myself available. Most entrepreneurs, including myself, have a tendency to bite off a little more than they can chew; What makes it worse is the do-it-ourselves mentality most of us sport. In reality, this is the last thing business owners and entrepreneurs should do.
The more we make ourselves visible and available, the more we set the standard for employees to do the same. What good will your marketing strategies do if you spend the majority of your time behind a desk? By being visible and available, you make yourself approachable to talk with customers and prospective customers. You should never be too busy to meet your customers where they're at.
Involve others. I often include others in my projects, whether that means hands on, or running my ideas by them. By collaborating and involving other people in your endeavors you will transform good ideas into great ideas, which becomes marketing itself. If you involve other people, soon they will involve their family, friends, and acquaintances. Before you know it, you'll have a network of people contributing and talking about your products and/or services. French field marshal Ferdinand Foch said, "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." Great people harness the passion of others' and turn it into a powerful movement; a movement that turns strategies into loyal customers and evangelists.
Think differently. In an age where people are bombarded with telemarketing calls and saturated with advertising, you can't afford not to think differently. It's not enough to post an ad, or make a few cold calls, because you're most likely competing with millions of other people. I'm sure there is a success story of turning a hundred cold calls into millions of dollars in revenue. One of the biggest reasons for Apple's success is because they think differently, not only in the products they make, but how they market those products. Apple competed with PCs by reinventing the computer, not by imitating the PC. In order to stick out, you need to think differently. Instead of using the marketing strategies as everyone else, why not set your product apart by doing something different?
We have come a long way since Uncle Sam's propaganda and we still have a long way to go. 360* Marketing will help you navigate the field that is marketing. Part 2 of 360* Marketing will deal with the psychology behind marketing and how you can better profile and target your market.