ZBN - Back-to-basics Marketing: Digging Deep for Answers to Win the Game

PAGE TOOLS

Print This Page
Email This Page

Share This Page:

Back-to-Basics Marketing: Digging Deep for Answers to Win the Game

By: Ray Thomas, COO, ZANA Business Network

Are you frustrated because your marketing is not getting the response you expected?

Would you love to see a few back-to-basics marketing strategies and tactics that have worked for many years and still work today?

Would you like to use proven, back-to-basics marketing tips designed to help improve any marketing campaign? These tips will help you discover the keys to unlocking the real value of your products, services and ideas, and help you to win the game.

Back-to-Basics Marketing Tip: Research, Research, Research

Digging deep is the foundation and basis of successful marketing. You must know your product or service inside and out before you start any marketing campaign.

Why? Not knowing all of the advantages of your product or service hinders your ability to properly market them to future clients. Here are a few back-to-basic steps to help you research your product/service and analyze the market.

Thoroughly evaluate your product/service for:
1. Features (the function and purpose of your product/service)
2. Benefits (how your product/service solves a customer problem)
3. Your offer (What is your quid pro quo?)
4. The competition
  1. Compare your features and benefits to that of your competitors
  2. Gather competitor marketing materials and study their message and value proposition
Know what your ideal prospect looks like:
1. What are your prospect’s desires?
2. What does your prospect know or believe about what you offer?
3. How emotionally evolved is your prospect in solving his/her problems?
4. What behavioral tendencies kick him/her into action?
Discover your market. Dig into the following areas to find niches where your product or service fits perfectly.
1. What are the major news events affecting your target market?
2. How can you utilize current buying trends and desires?
  1. In what venue (in-store, internet, catalog, etc.) and with what forms of payment are your prospects most comfortable making purchases?
  2. What is the market offering in way of product and service?
  3. What are the preferred forms or types of products/services?
3. Who are your main competitors and what are they offering?
4. Is the timing right for your product/service?

Imagine the time, money and effort wasted by not doing your research. Now start digging deep and discovering the hidden features, benefits and methods to outsell your competitors. You’ll be glad you did.

Back-to-Basics Bonus Tip

Treat your clients, customers and patients like royalty. Let’s face it. Each one of them is unique and you owe them special treatment. One of the fastest ways to destroy your image is to treat customers impersonally.
Life happens, and sometimes great customers can miss a payment. Many of us have been in that position. If you have ever received a computerized form letter or phone call threatening to shut off a utility service or to turn your account over to a collection agency for that one missed payment, you would agree that this is not a very nice way to treat stellar customers. Keep this in mind when dealing with your own good customers.
What’s the universal greeting? You guessed it: a smile. Do it both in person and over the phone. (Yes, when you smile while talking on the phone, you sound more pleasant to your customers.) Always, let your clients know they are appreciated and will be looked after by a caring person...not a computer.

Getting back-to-basics is a must it today’s fast-paced world. Look for additional back-to-basics marketing tips from ZANA Business Network.

Back-to-Basics Marketing: The Proof Is in the Pudding

It’s easy to become anesthetized to the onslaught of infomercials, email blasts, and radio spots from corporations and entrepreneurs alike. But, as a business owner, have you taken a close look at how you are presenting your wares to your target audience?

Back-to-Basics Marketing: Your Giant Selling Idea to Win the Game

Good research is the keystone to good marketing results. In other words, if you fail to do your homework, you will fail to have successful sales. If you are at the point where your initial marketing research is done, you need to use it to develop a fantastic selling idea.

Global Marketing Tips to Expand and Profit

With the numerous resources and methods available on the internet, expanding into the international marketplace may be easier than you realize. If you’re like most small business owners, you’ve entertained visions of running a successful company that meets increasing customer demand for your product or service.

Marketing Essentials: Communicating with Your Customers

Marketing professionals say that it costs five to six times more to win a new client than it does to retain an existing one. Surprisingly, most companies devote too little time to and spend too small a portion of their sales and marketing budget on client relationship management. Yet, one of the simplest ways to build a strong client relationship takes very little time and costs practically nothing. It’s communication with your customers!

Marketing Tips for the International Marketplace

If you’re like most small business owners, you’ve entertained visions of running a successful company that meets increasing customer demand for your product or service. Maybe you’ve dreamed of international expansion and impressive profits.

Seven Things to Ask Before Writing Your Marketing Plan

If you’ve ever wondered how to streamline the marketing plan development process, here are seven simple questions to help you expedite the creation of your next marketing plan. If you really do your research to answer these seven questions, your responses should provide you with much of the data you need to develop your marketing plan.

Who Will Buy Your Professional Services?

If you provide, or want to provide, one of the thousands of professional services sought after by millions of businesses, then pull out your magic wand, wave it around and imagine creating your dream business – without fear of failure. What does it look like?


Categories: Products \| Services \| Government Contracts \| Advanced