Business and Marketing Go Hand-in-Hand
And, it's even better when others help with marketing for you.
I'm having a lucky streak lately (or maybe as some of my friends remind me, really, all my hard work is paying off!) and what a pleasure to get a little Socially Awesome feature here , and a little Podcast interview to Study the Solopreneur there !!
I'm even launching my first Co-created online course with Ryan Biddulph very soon ( hop on board now, please!) but the question recently asked of me for a possible article quote has me thinking...
Thinking enough, in fact, I'm bringing this discussion to Lisa's Inspire to Thrive blog. I want to share some of the ideas floating around in my head today. Because, you can say, in a way, the whole first paragraph above is a form of marketing. Content marketing, more specifically. Since it lives within what I believe is going to be a valuable piece of information on a topic I know you're interested in. You are here on this site. Right?
So let's talk about marketing and sales. Oh yikes, some of you are cringing already. Not good.
I'm going to suggest you turn that cringe to a binge and eat up all the marketing you can. Go ahead drink it up with great relish. Float in it and enjoy the ride on marketing's wave all the way to your business's success.
You see, marketing is the best pal your business has now and forever-absolute besties. And Mr. Marketing's lovely spouse is called, " !" Sales and marketing are in an intimate relationship. But, this is good news for your business because aligning these departments is integral to your business growth.
Operations Marketing
One way you market your business is simply operating it to the best of your ability. Your honest effort and positive performance reflect on your business and brand in a way that no other marketing campaigns can quite accomplish. A touchpoint with your business happens with the everyday actions and interactions from usual operations.
With every touchpoint with your business, you are marketing who you are to do business with and establishing why someone likes and trusts working with you. When buying and using your product or service, your most important customer touchpoints take place. You have an opportunity to create an experience that adds to your value and likability with customers.
The chance to create an impression to make people remember and want to use you again takes place in the normal course of doing business. These interactions are your easiest and most effective marketing in my view and often overlooked completely by businesses.
Don't Stop Marketing at the Sale
What a serious mistake to take a sale for granted. For those who view a sale as the endpoint and not as a starting line for customers to work with you, boy are you missing out. I see this a lot in business, don't you? Think about it, do you consider the sale, the win? Too many businesses do just that and much to the detriment of their own well-being.
There's two ways I see this go. Either you buy and get dropped like a hot potato. Or, you buy and become a dartboard for throwing purchase offer after purchase offer at you, over and over and over again. And over again some more. OMG WIFFM? Remember that one, sales grubbing pushy sales salesy salesman types?
Every reasonable person understands that a business is in business to make a buck. But, the interactions with people, even more so in the digital space, become imperative in doing the duty of sales in a more positive and productive way-for customers as well as for your biz.
If we agree that businesses exist to sell, we can then talk about a non-pushy less salesy selling model. You know, the one that entices people to want to work with you before you ask. Because when business operations and marketing work in tandem, things like reputation and work ethic start to tell your compelling story.
This develops naturally, not by reaching quotas for sales or customer count, but by finding keys to customer happiness.
Happy customers are repeat business and easier than starting from square one with a new customer. Not only do satisfied customers buy more or often, but they also sell you to others. And everybody knows, a friend-to-friend referral is the best kind of marketing of all.
Marketing Means Business
So, are you seeing how business, marketing, and sales are wrapped up together as essential and integrated business operations?
Aligning marketing, sales, and business functions with an intense focus on customer touchpoints elevate the brand experience with likability in a linear, customer-centric fashion.
It's simple and makes sense and, therefore, a strategic approach means you merely need to connect-the-dots. The end result is meaningful interactions that build your business and create a reputable brand.
In this post about simple, complex marketing , it highlights a system to create a loyalty loop as demonstrated by Drew Davis. In his marketing lessons on video, he's in search of best practices. Then he shows you, with examples from real companies, how to create a loyalty loop of raving fans for your business.
Drew often showcases common sense solutions spotlighting opportunities for easy marketing, just one of the things I love about his productions. He also points out how many companies totally miss the mark and a chance for making big impressions from truly easy marketing by indifference in management or employees, alone.
Paying close attention, then, to touchpoints is one core solution to walk the experience. Try to uncover and discover the true customer journey when interacting with your business, from initial introductions to sales. Because remember, the sale is only the first step in the customer experience you design.
Remember, each touch is a customer interaction with your business . So, make each one matter; be memorable!
Make Marketing Meaningful
Leveraging easy marketing to make your marketing meaningful starts with deep clarity in how you understand and define your business.
Clarify your business and marketing message by honing in on your UVP (unique value proposition) and then by identifying core business goals . Your value proposition is central to promoting your company vision both internally and externally. But also, make sure core goals align with your UVP and connect the " " to " how you do it " for reinforcing a unified marketing message.
Perhaps most important is understanding " who you serve " since the whole purpose of your business revolves around your customers. Without customers, you have no business. But also, from a marketing perspective, customers are central to everything you produce and how you communicate. To fill the gap between your product or service and customer, you need to evaluate exactly what you offer and what the benefits are.
Understanding your products/services and consistently translating that meaning to customers so they they want to buy from or work with you is marketing at its very core.
When customers lead the marketing charge, results start speaking for you, as do happy customers, the heart of all marketing.
Business and Marketing - Going Hand in Hand Together
Inevitably, the way you conduct business operations, interact with customers, and communicate your business message creates the foundations of marketing, organically. Word-of-mouth is still your best marketing opportunity but today happens digitally, sometimes instantaneously, and is usually unsolicited in nature. Let customers lead your marketing.
What's your take? I'd love to know more in the comments below!
