Marketing Strategy

Few small businesses use their marketing strategy effectively. Granted, we're a bunch of entrepreneurs who focus on our great product. Yet, we never concentrate on marketing it. When all is said and done, marketing will be the most important tool you can do for your business. An effective marketing strategy can bring in more revenues than a well-handcrafted product. [Now, don't get me wrong. You shouldn't be shortchanging your product. Good marketing can bring people into the door, but a great product makes sure they stay with you as a customer.] Most entrepreneurs first build the product, and then wait for a mass of customers to come. Usually, the "build and they will come" mentality rarely works. Marketing, like all things, has a gradual step to it. You won't be able to market your product to the mass market, and have them coming in droves to your company. A good entrepreneur with an effective marketing strategy understands the bell curve model. You can't attract the masses just yet, you'll have to bring in those inital few customers first. Only then will you be able to reach the masses. Patience is absolutely essential. How do you start a marketing strategy? Before marketing to those first few customers at the start of the bell curve, you'll need to get your marketing foundation intact. Of course you can skip this part and head straight to marketing methods, but you'll accelerate your marketing efforts quicker if you build a strong foundation first. What's involved in the foundation? First, think about marketing to yourself. You could create a customer profile, but it'll be futile because you never know if it's right. You'll have a much better standard if you market to your own needs and aspirations. If you want to market to somebody outside of your needs, do yourself a favor and hire somebody that fits that profile. Or get in touch with a targeted customer, and find out their exact needs. Your marketing will be much better as a result. Then begin the branding stage for your marketing strategy. Find out the essence of your company. Why does your company exist? What aspirations do you have for it? What message do you want to give to the world? Once you can answer these questions, it's time to put a face on your company. Give it a name. Then illustrate your company. Create a corporate identity. Create colors that matches your company's essence (read more about colors in this article). What emotions do you want to bring out in people? Capture it with your unique logo. Next, create a marketing plan that wraps this all up, and organizes your information into something you can always retrieve for future marketing purposes. Remember, marketing is an art that requires patience to build a classic piece. Doing it quickly, as you'll learn, never works. Start with the foundation, then work your way up. Understand this, and you'll have an effective marketing strategy.

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