Why Marketing Is So Important to Your Business

For your business to be successful, your potential customers need to hear about your services or products. Marketing can help get the word out and attract potential customers. There is a better chance you will be discovered by more people if you put a substantial amount of effort into your marketing.  Many companies invest about 1% of their revenue in marketing, when in truth, they should be investing 7-10%. Investing time, effort, and capital in marketing can be one of the smartest business moves you can make. Because people tend to trust their colleagues, friends, and family, when people spread the word about your company, chances are you’ll see a growth in your customer base, which will ultimately result in an increase of revenue. We will give you some great ways to step up your marketing.

Constantly and Consistently Market Yourself.

Keeping your pipeline full at all times is vital to staying in business.  The best way to make that happen is to market yourself everyday.  Your pipeline might be full now, but more than likely, there will come a day when all of the projects are finished, and then what? Sales tends to come in waves, so to alleviate the down times,  market yourself all the time. Too many companies regard marketing as “medicine to be taken when something is wrong.” I was reading an interesting article the other day from James Archer talking about how many successful companies keep investing in ongoing marketing.

First Steps

• You first need to spend some time figuring out your own business so you are able to best market yourself.
• You then need to figure out who your ideal client is. This can help you find the most effective ways to reach them.
• You also need to have a great website that makes it clear you are the person to hire and makes it easy for people to hire you.

So, What Exactly is the “Ideal Client” and How Can I Figure Out Who My Ideal Client Is?

The most important factor in driving your marketing efforts is finding out who your “ideal client” is. Once you discover this, you can focus on that particular “persona,” Then you can stop trying to appeal to everyone because that is never going to work. To find your “ideal client,” ask yourself who it is you WANT TO HELP or who you are MOST QUALIFIED to help…and there you have it!  Once you have figured out who your ideal client is and what they want from someone like you, you will be able to easily uncover effective ways to reach them. For more information on how to identify your Ideal Client and optimize your website click here.

You can

• be visible where they are. This might include visiting the websites or social platforms your ideal client visits.  Making a guest appearance on a podcast, interview, or a guest blog on a site they regularly frequent. You might consider placing ads on these sites as well.  If you are looking for clients locally, you might want to consider being physically present where they are or doing a guest spot on a radio show or on the local news.
• learn their pain points, which brings the emotion factor in.  The sales process is emotional, not rational. Again, knowing their pain points helps you to know where to gear your marketing efforts.

How to Step Up Your Marketing

1. SEO, SEO, SEO!: (search engine optimization). It has been proven that most shoppers begin their buying process with a Google search. With the Keyword Planner in Google Ads, if you know who your ideal client is, it is much easier to know what keywords to use. This is by far one of the smartest business moves you can make. Make sure your blogs, posts, website, videos, infographics, and pictures all have keywords.
2. Great and Consistent Content: Good content is what sets you apart from your competitors.  It has been said that content is one of the most important things on your website. When someone visits your website, they make a judgement about you. Another benefit of producing great content on a consistent basis is that it increases the number of people that find your website through a search engine.  Not only does good content establish you as an authority, but Google loves new content.  You will rank higher if you put fresh content out regularly.
3. Warm Calls and Warm Emails: Warm calls are more targeted than cold calls. A warm call is a call to someone who has “raised their hand,” or showed some sort of interest, such as filling out your contact form. Cold calling is just contacting any prospect whether they are interested or not. Cold calling is actually the most ineffective use of a salesperson’s time, whereas warm calling has been proven to increase revenue. Warm calling is all about making a connection.  People want to business with a person, not a company. When have you ever done business with someone who has cold called you? And has it worked out? Another good example is salespeople that come to your door.  Are you more likely to buy from someone you know or have connection with or a random person? Forbes magazine suggests doing one warm call a day in order to be more successful. To read more about the benefits of warm calls over cold click here.
4. Incentives for Referrals:  Offer happy clients an incentive to send more work your way. People generally like to help other people out- especially when there is some sort of benefit to them. People who are happy with your work will want to spread the word about you. Marketing is all about word of mouth and getting recognized.  Incentives can be as simple as a recognition or thank you or as extravagant as a gift card or monetary value. Don’t overlook the value of recognizing the people who send you business. A well-thought-out incentive program could be a major benefit to you. This is the best kind of marketing because it doesn’t require much work on your part.  Let your good service and expertise speak for itself.
5. Focus on the Benefit, not the Product: Today’s market has changed drastically.  Businesses need to be more market-driven rather than product-driven. The selling process is emotional, not rational. No longer can you differentiate yourself by the product.  You need another way to differentiate yourself – and that something else is customer service. Today’s clients want a relationship. They want to feel as if you’ve really invested in them, understand their concerns, and genuinely want to help.  It’s all about making a connection. Customers are willing to pay a little more for that extra touch. If they don’t find it with you, they’ll look elsewhere. Look at your competitors and offer something that they are not. Customers notice when you are offering something the competitor is not. Rather than focusing on the product and its features, focus on how it will benefit the customer. Knowing your ideal client can help you figure out where you need to direct your marketing endeavors.

Businesses owners face many challenges every day. Here is an article about some other challenges businesses face and some solutions.

The price of not doing anything is too great.

The heart of any successful business lies in its marketing. Without good marketing, you could have the best product and services out there, but if no one knows about them, what good is it? Marketing not only builds brand awareness, but a good marketing strategy can raise sales and grow your business. Marketing can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. While it is not a bad idea to invest in marketing, there are certainly some things you can do that don’t cost a lot of money.  While there are many benefits to a good CRM system, a few of them are that it increases your sales and marketing ROI and allows you to provide excellent customer service. Here’s an article we wrote about the benefits of a CRM. enCloud9 can help your business to increase their productivity, sales and marketing ROI, and provide excellent customer service through the use of Microsoft Dynamics 365. We’d love to hear about your business and how we can help.  Our experts can custom design a CRM solution to meet your needs.