I want you to think about this for a minute. In today’s oversaturated marketing world, you only have a few seconds to grab your prospect’s attention – let alone convince them to stick around for a minute and listen to the rest of what you’d like to say.
So essentially, your marketing better be good, or else you may be just throwing money into the wind. I hate to put it so harshly, but that’s the cold reality. And if you’re a small business, you probably can’t afford to waste any resources, let alone money, on ineffective marketing. So essentially, the marketing you do has to bring results – it has to have an edge.
For starters, you may want to understand both the demographics and psychographics of your target market. Demographic data such as income, age, and gender, as well as psychographic data like values, attitudes, and lifestyles, provide clarity and empower you to make better marketing decisions.
These also play a vital role in this simple yet effective marketing methodology that I will share with you right now. Here goes, it’s simply: Deliver the ‘Right Message’ at the ‘Right Time’ to the ‘Right Audience,’ using the ‘Right Medium.’ Let’s go ahead and break it down.
'Right Message'
Constructing effective marketing copy is a science in itself and too lengthy a discussion to have here in this conversation, so I won’t go there right now. Just know that it’s a critical element to getting your message right, and unless you have some education and experience in this area, it’s probably in your best interest to bring in an expert to help you.
Whether you are outsourcing your marketing or doing it yourself, make sure all your marketing materials can stand up to the ‘WIIFM’ or ‘What’s In It For Me’ test – where ‘Me’ stands for your ideal prospect in your target market.
This test or rule of thumb goes for all of your marketing materials. Whether they are online or offline, from your website to your business card, it must be all about ‘Me,’ your ideal prospect, not you. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but frankly, your prospect doesn’t care that much about you. They only care about what you can do for them. That’s harsh, I know, but that’s the cold reality once again.
'Right Time'
Unless your product or service is seasonal, such as landscaping or holiday decorations, getting the timing right may be quite challenging. People tend to buy when the timing is right for them, not necessarily when we want them to buy. And sometimes there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason why they buy when they do.
So getting to know our ideal target market’s buying patterns as best as possible can be very helpful – hence psychographics and demographics. The easiest way to do this is to ask a cross-section of your target market until some buying patterns emerge. Then, find out what they want and when they want it.
And yes, we as marketers can attempt to persuade our target market that now is the right time to buy. However, we can’t physically make them do anything they don’t want to do. So giving them what they want, when, and how they want it instead of manipulating and forcing it upon them is marketing at its best, with integrity.
'Right Audience'
Can you see a model of your ideal prospect in your mind’s eye? What do they look like? Where do they hang out? Are they hungry for and can afford what you’re offering? What problems does your product or service solve for them? Ask yourself these questions until you have clearly defined your ideal prospect from your target market.
'Right Medium'
Know enough about your target market to clearly understand how they want to be both marketed to and communicated with. Do they prefer email? Direct mail? Phone calls? Or any combination of those and/or other marketing mediums? If you’re not sure which medium to use, you can always ask your target market.
Additionally, you can research what others who also market to your target market find as the most effective mediums for them. Just remember that whatever mediums you choose, make sure you measure and track the results for yourself – this way you really know what works based on your own experience.
So once again and in closing, remember, regardless of who is responsible for your marketing, make sure it delivers the ‘Right Message’, at the ‘Right Time’, to the ‘Right Audience’, using the ‘Right Medium’. Apply this marketing methodology to all your marketing efforts and watch your results soar.
I am always looking for more effective marketing. Some of the pearls of marketing can always be found from Online Marketing Muscle. It really is simple we tend to complicate it. Thank you dean for keeping it simple.