One of my favorite chick flicks is How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Sometimes on the blog I feel like Andi, the resident “how to” girl, but I don’t often share what not to do. So here is how to do a sh!tty job at marketing.
No vision
If you want to start behind the eight ball, forget about your brand’s vision. You won’t know where you want to go, what small wins look like, or what the big 5-10 year goals are.
No understanding of your customer’s problems
Your customers have 99 problems and you can’t name one.
No elegant solution to said problems
Your products/services are what they are, they don’t need to be thoughtfully customized to help your clients.
No thoughtful plan
You don’t have a vision anyway so you don’t need a plan to achieve it!
No collaborators to help innovate and implement
You can work in a vacuum without feedback and hope for the best.
Okay was that fun for you? It was a silly exercise for me but it did raise a lot of points to hopefully make you think about the reasons you do need to tackle some of the basic fundamentals of marketing in order to be successful. Ready for the reprise?
Clear Vision Statement & Value Proposition
With a clear Brand Vision and Value Proposition, you not only make you and your brand stand out from the pack, you also give new clients a reason to believe in and trust you. To help you get started, here is a previous blog post on how to write a business goal.
“You see, the key to this game is being able to read people.” – Ben, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Understanding of your customer’s problems
Your customers have 99 problems and you can name at least three of their biggest pain points!
Elegant solution to said problems
Your products/services are thoughtfully customized to help your clients. Thanks to research and being a good listener, you totally get them and your products and services are specifically designed to help solve their problem(s).
A strategic plan
With your vision in mind, you have a roadmap with specific strategies to generate leads to reach your target market so you can achieve your business goals! If you feel overwhelmed, like you don't know where to start, or have never created a marketing plan before, Brand Boost, a signature, 5-step process, helps professionals communicate the value they bring so customers have a reason to work with you over someone else. The first class of Brand Boost members just graduated. Here is what one member had to say about it:
"With a step by step approach Brand Boost enabled me to create a wealth of targeted content. It gave me a basis of intention to build my website copy around, inspire blog posts, and publish email marketing campaigns. As an unexpected bonus, I'm feeling trained and ready to respond on point when a quick pitch is needed!" - Linda Smallpage, Founder, Boutique Photographer
Brand Boost is offered twice a year with the second launch slated for September 2021.
Collaborators to help innovate and implement
People who collaboratively celebrate wins and chart goals are more likely to achieve them. The doors are open to join Ascend, a Marketing Mastermind group to help professionals collaborate and implement the strategic marketing initiatives needed to achieve your business goals.
With weekly accountability calls and unlimited community support, you’ll get the feedback you need to help make critical decisions and keep you on track. Learn more about Ascend here.
Photography by Julie M Gile.