You’ve got drive. You’re full of motivation. Your ideas are phenomenal.
It’s no wonder you’ve found yourself to be an ideal entrepreneur.
But how is your marketing?
Nobody needs to tell you about wearing more than one hat. You’ve been the janitor and the CEO; the accountant and the secretary.
And even if you’ve reached the point where you can hire employees or experts to manage your company’s marketing, you still need to know some critical components of basic marketing. Whether you’re just starting out and wearing every hat, or whether you’re running a multi-person team, these are the seven things every entrepreneur needs to know about marketing.
While there is much, much more to marketing, these basics will serve you well in the beginning and as you progress. And whenever you hit a snag in sales, returning to these basics can get you back on the right track.
Who Is Your Audience?
This may be one of the most critical things every entrepreneur needs to know about marketing.
You know you have a good product or service. But your audience has to know it too, or you won’t make any sales.
So before you spend another second on a fancy marketing campaign, make sure you know who you’re really talking to.
Get really specific with this step, and envision an actual person who represents your audience.
- What does this person worry about?
- What frustrations do they have?
- What do they value?
- How much money do they have?
- How do they spend their money?
- What solution would be so good they would be willing to part with their money?
In all of your marketing content, you should be speaking to this person about these issues. Know their fears, and then calm them by presenting your expertise, product, or service as the solution.
Be Trustworthy
Avoid gimmicks, and be transparent whenever you can.
Remember when you spent all that time above learning exactly who your audience is? You probably care deeply about your customers after that process. Let them know it!
Answer their questions, show your humanity, tell stories in your marketing, and be authentic. Create a culture of transparency from the get-go, and your audience will love you for it.
Share Something for Free
Confession time. How many samples at Costco have you gone on to purchase? Costco knows exactly what it’s doing by showcasing delicious products, and letting customers try them for free. Once you have a yummy taste, you’re going to want more.
So let your customers sample your product or service. You can do this in a number of ways:
- Create a free, downloadable guide that solves a problem in your area of expertise.
- Provide a free webinar or workshop.
- Give a free consultation.
- Give away a related item to your service or product.
- Provide a free video or email course to solve a problem.
- Create a list of highly-helpful resources that will help your ideal customer get to where they want to go.
Create a Helpful Website
You know that your company needs a website in this day and age. But don’t just throw something up and call it good. Your customer should experience a few key things on your website:
- Their attention should be grabbed immediately.
- They should understand immediately that you can solve their problem.
- It should be easy to get to the problem-solving point (your product or service).
Make the website a helpful experience for your customer from start to finish with these guidelines:
- Make it easy for your customer to navigate.
- Make your message immediately clear — and your message should always be about how you can help your target audience.
- Include quality content writing that moves people to action. Hire someone if this is not your area of expertise.
- Include an opt-in offer (remember our freebies in the previous step?).
- Add testimonials.
- Make it easy for your customer to contact you. Put your location and phone number at the top of every page, and include a contact page with your email address.
Prove Your Worth
Your word can only go so far. After all, your customer likely doesn’t know you yet. So you’ll need to prove that you can actually do what you say you can.
Do this with testimonials. If you’re just starting out and have no testimonials, ask people to try your product for free in exchange for a testimonial if they like it.
Quote happy customers on your website and in your social media. Video testimonials are impactful as well.
Get Social
Nearly every company needs a social media presence these days. But you likely don’t have to be on every platform.
Go back to the work you did when you were identifying your ideal customer. Where do they spend their time online? That’s where you need to be. Some businesses will absolutely need a YouTube channel, while others will do fine with Facebook and Instagram. Some will need to rule Twitter, and others can skip that platform altogether.
Once you know your ideal customer, what their needs are, and where they spend their time online, you can know where to focus your social media energy.
But whatever platforms you choose, commit. Provide consistent, quality content that benefits your target audience and invites them to engage.
Create a Real-Life Community
You’re going to need support as you navigate your entrepreneurship. Find a group of people who will cheer for you, mentor you, talk you out of terrible decisions, and buy you a drink when you make a mistake.
Find this by joining your local chamber of commerce, clubs, or volunteer organizations. Ask somebody to be your mentor.
You can also find a group of likeminded entrepreneurs in a coworking space. Consider renting a desk or office at your local coworking location. Not only will you find yourself more focused and productive in that space, you’ll find likeminded people to befriend — people who are also focused on what every entrepreneur needs to know about marketing.
The Coworking Connection offices in Murietta and Temecula have multiple options for renting open desk space, offices, and conference rooms. Give us a call at 1-800-762-1391. Our affordable options will expand your current possibilities and capabilities.