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Play By The Marketing Rules
Target your audience through
well-planned marketing strategies.
by Alyice Edrich
All materials copyrighted
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Ad Disclaimer
Marketing often gets confused with advertising because they seem so similar in nature, but there is a distinct difference. Marketing is
the paid and unpaid process of notifying a target audience about your product or service with the intent of creating a demand and
converting that demand into profits while advertising is a paid promotion that is part of your marketing strategy.
Marketing is a strategic game of cat and mouse and to catch that mouse means playing by the rules—the marketing rules. But the rules
aren’t something set in stone because marketing means different things to different companies. A company with a large budget can test
various marketing plans at once, while a company with a small or tight budget will only be able to test one marketing plan at a time.
Define Your Budget
A marketing campaign is only as successful as its marketing budget. Or is it? Sure, the more money you have, the more you can spend
targeting your audience, but more doesn’t always mean better. Take the time to figure out how much money you can afford to spend on your
marketing campaign for the year, then split that money up into various marketing campaigns throughout the year.
Know Your Target Audience
The first rule in marketing is to know your target audience. Trying to market to the masses means lost profits because not everyone is
going to want or need your product or service. Defining your target audience might mean marketing to a smaller group of people, but if
it’s a group of people who want or need what you offer, you’re more likely to get a higher response rate and increase your profits
ten-fold.
Listen to Your Existing Customers
While you want to build awareness and name brand recognition for your product or service, the bottom line is to increase sales,
inquiries, and leads. Your marketing campaign shouldn’t just inform your target audience that your company, product, or service exists,
it should be designed to increase profits, and one way to do that is to listen to your existing customers and use that information in
your marketing campaign.
What needs have you met? What do your customers like best about your product or service? What needs have you not meet? What complaints
do your customers have and how can you resolve those issues? These are just some of the ways you can listen to your customers.
Show Customers True Value
Customers measure the service or product of a company against the competition, then goes with the company that offers the best value. It
doesn’t matter if that value is in dollar signs, quality of product or service, or how it meets a specific need, value is very important
to the customer. You can communicate value by educating your target audience about your product or service through various means, such
as: a website, a print or electronic newsletter, articles in print and online publications, free samples, and/or free or low-cost
seminars.
Stay On Their Minds
There’s a saying in marketing that goes something like this, “it takes customers seven times to see your product before they’ll consider
buying it.” Think about it. The last time you purchased a new product or service, did you buy it the first time you heard about it or did
you put it off? Your customers are hit with hundreds of marketing messages every day. Don’t let yours get lost in the mix.
Marketing is not a one-time deal. You can’t develop one marketing campaign, run it in December and then hope that campaign carries you
through the year. You have to constantly market your product or service to keep it in the forefront of both your potential and your
existing customers’ minds.
Stay in touch with your existing customers by offering them “customer only” discounts and/or customer mailings notifying them of new
products and providing solutions to their dilemmas through articles geared towards pre-selling your products or services.
Be Adaptable
Finally, be adaptable. If your marketing campaign isn’t working, don’t keep wasting money hoping for a miracle. Adjust your marketing
campaign until it begins to show signs of success.
About The Author:
Alyice Edrich is a mixed media artist, freelance writer, and aspiring photographer. She enjoys creating things that bring joy
to others. Visit our her blog, Coming Home, to check out her latest art. Or
stop by her resume site, AlyiceEdrich.net to learn how you can hire her for your
next project.
* This article is available for your publication, for a F-E-E.
This article may NOT be reprinted without monetary compensation and written permission from the author.
For reprint rights or comments/questions about this article, please contact the author.
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