These days, picking a marketing strategy to focus on isn’t easy. There are so many choices out there, and so much to consider — Do I want to be stuck on social media all day responding to DMs or creating video content, or would I rather be more behind the scenes, writing blog posts instead? And is this strategy even sustainable in the long run?
To add fuel to the fire, many business coaches push their “proven four-step system” like it’s going out of style, making new entrepreneurs believe that the only way to be successful is to follow their exact marketing plan down to the very last detail.
Here’s why that approach won’t work for everyone.
You are unique and so is your business. And thankfully, you are also the expert on your business. So, your strengths and personality should be taken into consideration when building your marketing strategy so that you have the greatest chances of success.
Being intentional with your marketing is important because marketing should be an investment in your business. Unless you get a return on your investment, it’s simply a business expense and a waste of money.
Let’s say you’re single and you’ve just signed up on the leading online dating site. You put in a catchy intro line and write a very thought-out profile of yourself featuring all of your best characteristics. When it comes time to add a picture, you go through your phone to try and find the right picture but nothing is good enough, so you attempt to try and take the best selfie ever. After you’ve taken at least 10 pictures, you’ve found one that will do the job. The next step is to post the ad and wait to see if you get any takers.
Read also: Is your personal brand a leader brand?
Your intention in joining an online dating site is to find a compatible mate. Every step of the process in filling out your profile is intentional to try and achieve your objective. After a few days on the site, you notice that your profile is attracting a certain type of personality that you may not be attracted to, so you decide to change your intro headline or try some different photos, in an effort to paint a better picture of the type of person you are. You may try and edit your information, to try and avoid the type of people you’re currently attracting or simply fill out the ‘chemistry analysis’, to help you with the filtering process. Regardless of what you do, it is all done intentionally for an ultimate objective.
Marketing in business should be no different. Here are a few steps in helping you be intentional in your marketing.
1. Have clear, focused and definable objectives
Increasing sales is not a clear objective. It’s a necessity for the survival of your business. Be specific with what you want to achieve with your marketing efforts. For example, securing five new clients that spend over $50,000 per year buying farming equipment in the next 12 months, that is a defined objective.
2. Track your results so you know what’s working.
Here’s one a lot of newer entrepreneurs forget. If you’re trying out different marketing strategies, as is common when you’re just getting started, you need to also track your results. If you have no idea where your best clients are coming from, you won’t know what to continue with and what to stop focusing on.
I think there’s a misconception that you have to do everything in order to be successful as an entrepreneur. I don’t really think it’s true. You just have to be smart about what you spend your time on, and having a system to track your results is the best way to do that.
3. Be attractive, be different and be creative
Back to our dating site analogy; you are looking at two profiles. One with a picture and headline that reads “I’m a confident and spontaneous person who enjoys sharing the simple things in life but also enjoys the thrill of exploring the mysteries life has to offer”. The other profile has no picture and a headline that reads; “I’m up for pretty much anything. Just ask”. Which of the two do you click?
4. Be aware but have faith
Not every entrepreneur or business person is a good marketer. This is why it’s important to find a team of marketers that you trust. Finding a team that understands and who is vested in your business, by sharing the same desire to grow your business, as you do is a huge step in the right direction.
Being intentional is about knowing exactly what you want out of your marketing efforts, and being willing to invest the time and money in doing so. By finding the right marketing team to creatively help you achieve your objectives, you can ensure that your marketing funds are being put to good use and not just another line item on the expense sheet.
Last line
By following these tips, you should be able to create an intentional marketing strategy that gives you the results you’re looking for. So, you can spend more time working in your business vs. feeling overwhelmed trying to grow it.
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