The Secret Marketing Tools Leading Entrepreneurs Don’t Want You To Know About

Posted on October 02, 2009 by admin

Marketing is all about creating and delivering customer value. It involves establishing a relationship between you and your clients. Creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings are vital components of any good marketing strategy.

The central idea behind marketing is the idea that you will create something of value to your clients who, in turn, are willing to pay enough to make the venture worthwhile considering opportunity costs.

If you are new in business then you may not be all that familiar with marketing strategies. While it may seem daunting learning a whole new set of skills, don’t be tempted to get someone else to do it for you. Marketing is the most important thing you can do for your business – especially at the start – because marketing is the pathway to growth. Without it, you remain where you are.

Know Your Customer

The first and probably most important factor is your start-up customers. You want to know who your customers are (also known as demographics) and what they want, in the most objective terms you can manage. What your customers want is especially important to know but also difficult to accurately gauge. Surveys and focus groups can help, but even these can be uncertain. Some things to discover about your customers include whether they’re willing to pay more for higher quality or quantity, what products they’d like to see you carry, how much money they’re willing to spend on your products, how often they want your products or services, and what motivates them do business with you over those of your competitors.

1. Know Your Competitors

Keep track of what your competitors are doing, especially in areas where your business overlaps with theirs. Focus on what they do in comparison to you so that you know what they do better and worse than you. Both can provide you with a useful competitive edge.

2. Get Your Pricing Right

Ask yourself: how much your products and/or services are going to cost your clients. If you understand pricing then you’ll know what you should charge. Take a good look at your range of products and services and their value. Playing the game of lowering your prices below your competitors will only lead to disaster, especially if you try to lower your prices through coupons and discounts. If you discount too much, no one is going to want to pay full price again and there go your profits.

3. Get Good At Publicity

Whatever advertising you do, make sure there’s a way to track the number of people who see your promotions. Do your research so that you know where and how to sell effectively. This may take some trial-and-error but it will be worth your efforts.

4. Hold Yourself Accountable

While your new business idea is great and the potential is exciting, the task ahead can sometimes seem daunting so you may procrastinate and find other things to occupy your time. Successful entrepreneurs find ways to be held accountable, whether it’s through membership in a mastermind group or hiring a coach to keep them on track. Do what it takes.

5. Spend Your Time on High-Payoff Tasks

Naturally, in order to stay in business you must continue to bring in revenue. However, many entrepreneurs spend too much time on activities that don’t generate income. Try to delegate or outsource all the tasks that don’t include generating money or building relationships. Then you can use your time to serve your clients. You will find your time for planning, forecasting, marketing, training, and so forth will increase and in turn, your productivity will increase.

6. Prove Benefits/Value And Deliver A Solution

It sounds simple but ask yourself the following question: what am I offering and who am I offering it to? State clearly and quantify 3 or 4 key benefits you provide, and who specifically realizes these benefits.