7 Steps To Improve Your Marketing Success
Business at its heart is about people adding more value to other people’s lives. Attracting more clients into your business is about people knowing, liking and trusting you. It’s simple, but it can often become over-complicated.
The intention of this post is to provide you with a simple marketing process that will attract clients for you – organically and with authenticity. I’ll break down what those steps are, and give you examples of how you can implement them consistently into your business. I’m going to assume that you already have a service that addresses your clients needs. Similarly, you know who you are marketing to.
The 7 steps is a marketing journey that is built on a foundation of how you can help, educate and inspire your prospects. This enables you to build a trusted relationship with them. Please don’t be that person that sells to someone within minutes of meeting them. Connect, build and nurture your prospects so that when they’re ready to take the next step, you’ll be there to help them.
Your Marketing Journey
The 7 steps of your marketing journey are as follows:
Know
This is reaching out to your ideal clients and making them aware that your business exists. You can do this through a mixture of online activities such as social media posts, blog posts, commenting on social media posts. Offline activities it could include networking, speaking at events, published articles in magazines. The aim of these activities is to make them aware of you and not to sell anything.
Like
This step involves moving your prospect to take some action. This could be a ‘Facebook’ Like, a comment on a LinkedIn or blog post, or for them to download a checklist or freebie from your website.
Trust
Trust can be build by staying ‘top-of-mind’ and being consistent with your marketing activities. This could include e-mail newsletters, sharing useful articles via social media, contributing regularly to relevant social media platforms. Offline activities could include regularly attending networking groups, writing a monthly column for a local newspaper or holding regular events. The aim of this stage is to educate and inform your prospects and not to be promoting your offers.
Try
This is where your prospect wants to try out your services, so make it easy for them by offering them a free or low cost service such as an audit, consultation, training session (online or offline). As a coach or consultant this is where prospects will book a discovery call or strategy session to have a conversation with you.
Decide
I’ve added in this extra step because this is where your prospect is going to evaluate your offering and your pricing. Will the value of your offer be stacked in their favour? If yes, then price is unlikely to be major issue. If no, then price will play a factor in their decision. You’ve put time and effort in to get to this stage. Your prospect trusts you, they’ve tried your low cost or free offering. You want them to buy your preferred service. Ensure you’ve done your homework on your ‘pricing’ so the next step is a no-brainer.
Buy
This is where you’ve won a new client yay!
Before you celebrate, think about ways to make a good impression now that they have become your client. Under promise and over deliver. Make your clients feel that they have made a great decision. You can do this in a number of ways by booking dates into their calendar immediately. Getting them to take action in an area you’re helping them with. Or send them bonus related material. It’s common to have buyer’s remorse within the first few days, so aim to delight your client right from the start.
Repeat
It’s much easier and cheaper to have repeat business from existing clients than it is to market from scratch. Your aim is to stay visible and ‘top of mind’ to your client base. Understand what their long term desires are and match your service offerings to this. Consider creating an e-mail list for ‘clients’ only and create content just for them. Keep in touch by sending them a personal message via FB messenger, LinkedIn or Skype. Hold an event and invite your existing clients.
Refer
Referrals can often shortcut the marketing journey. As Mark Zuckerberg quoted “People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral is the holy grail of advertising”.
If you’re providing an excellent service then clients will refer you. To increase your uptake of referrals consider implementing a referral strategy. This could include offering a referral fee, a gift certificate, special pricing, a referral letter, or providing a template that existing clients could use with an incentive for them.
To summarise marketing is a process and a journey. It starts with your prospects being aware of your services and then nurturing them through the steps of the marketing journey. Not all of your prospects will make it through all of the steps. That’s to be expected, but those that do are the ones you can help the most.
Next steps:
Read How To Improve Your Pricing & Increase Your Profits
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