How To Get Started With Marketing
So, where do we start? Marketing is about understanding your customers and their needs, and then tailoring your responses to meet those needs.
As you can see from the quote above, marketing is all about the customer — and that’s why we need to know who they are and how we can best help them.
This may sound like a tall order — but it’s not! Marketing starts by identifying your target market or group of customers.
After identifying your target market, you’ll need to establish what features make them unique. This includes things like their age, education level, occupation, hobbies or interests, etc. You should also identify what these people are looking for in their ideal product or service. Once you know this information you can begin to formulate the messages that your marketing materials will need, and how you will voice them.
A great way to promote your business is via direct mail marketing. This includes everything from leaflets through letterboxes, brochures, newsletters, or flyers placed in shops or on car windscreens. Direct mail messages should aim to grab attention, give a reason for the recipient to take action, and then include a call to action. Nowadays people don’t really do direct mail with physical mail anymore, as they usually resort to using some kind of digital media. Most companies today simply buy a complete data set of LinkedIn profiles and then target the personas that are most likely to have some need for their product.
A great example of direct mail marketing is this letter from Thomas Cook (a travel agent) on behalf of competitor TUI:
The first words of the first paragraph: “Dear Mr. X” really grab your attention. The rest of the letter goes on to explain why Thomas Cook is a better choice for the customer and then finishes with a strong call to action.
Many other marketing channels can be used in addition to direct mail. You could try online advertising (such as Google AdWords or Facebook Ads), PR, or even networking. The most important thing is to find the marketing channels that work best for your target market, and then use them to reach out to potential customers.
Marketing can seem daunting at first, but it’s not as difficult as it may seem. By understanding your target market and what they’re looking for, you can create marketing messages that will resonate with them and encourage them to purchase your products or services.
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