How many times have you heard that you need a fancy tool to successfully market your business?
There is no shortage of consultants online telling you that their next big tool will change your business overnight. Chances are, that tool costs a lot more than you’re willing to spend. And (just as likely) that tool comes with empty promises.
Here’s the truth: You do NOT need fancy, expensive marketing tools to promote your business. If there were some magic formula for marketing your business, then we’d all be successful. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. There’s no quick fix to attract people to your business and put money in your pocket (trust me, I wish there was!).
Here’s what you DO need to market your business like a boss:
1) You need to find out who you’re targeting and what challenges they’re facing.
2) You need to develop a strategy to attract those people to your business.
That’s it. If you accomplish those two things, you will get more clients and customers and you will make more money. If a specific marketing tool helps you achieve one of those goals, great! But you do not need that tool to be successful.
Let’s break these goals down a bit more.
Who is your audience?
When I first launched my business two years ago, I offered ten different services. Yes, ten! I wanted to be everything for everyone. Instead I was spread too thin and I wasn’t attracting the right clients to my business. I was offering services that weren’t what my audience needed and that I wasn’t the best fit to provide.
Once I got clear on my audience, I restructured my services to fit THEIR needs. I began offering a marketing consulting package, which gave my clients the accountability, guidance and support they needed to put their marketing strategy into action (without the cost of managing it for them). I also launched some new workshops and programs that were at a lower price point and gave my clients the jumpstart they needed to market their business effectively from day one.
If you don’t know who you’re reaching, then all the fancy tools in the world can’t help you market your business. Your audience has to be the focus of everything. The people promoting those big, fancy tools aren’t the ones using your products or services. They’re not the ones bringing income to your business. Forget about the noise online and focus on finding out what your audience needs and how you can deliver it to them.
How are you attracting your audience?
It’s not enough to know WHO your audience is. You also need a plan to ATTRACT them to what you’re offering. This can be done in a variety of ways: through content creation, messaging, email marketing, social media, etc. The list is endless. The key is to know where your audience spends their time and prioritize your marketing efforts accordingly. For example, if your audience is primarily using Instagram, then why are you spending all your time on Pinterest? Go where your people are and forget about everything else.
Not sure where your people are? My new workshop, ATTRACT Your Target will help you find your audience and attract them to your products or services so your business can grow. No more throwing darts at a wall – or worse – resorting to uncomfortable tactics like cold calling (who has time for that?).
Moving forward
The temptation to keep up with what everyone else is doing is strong. Even after you have your target audience nailed down and a strategy to approach them, you’ll still feel the urge to do something because you think you should or because someone else said you’ll make more money doing it.
Resist the urge. Stay in your lane. This is your business – not anyone else’s. You get to call the shots on what you will and won’t do to market it. Invest your time and energy into understanding your audience and what makes them tick. Once you do that, your approach for attracting them will fall naturally into place. Success isn’t reaching a large group of people. Success is found in reaching a targeted group. It’s not about the numbers. In fact, your business will grow more in the long run if you focus on reaching a smaller group of highly qualified people.
There will always be a passing fad. Don’t get caught up in the latest marketing craze. Remember – slow and steady wins the race.