Marketing Articles

By Marc Aronson

Certainly, it is vital for any business to clearly identify its target markets. If you define your market segments correctly, you have a chance of creating communications that will drive in business. However, in order for your marketing to generate an abundance of business, you must understand ALL OF THE COMPONENTS OF STRATEGY, especially in this sluggish economy.

Do You Know What Marketing Strategy Actually Is?

When I ask business owners about their marketing, they usually respond with a description of their TACTICS and seem to think that their tactics is their strategy. “Oh, we have a website and a blog, advertise on the local radio station, post YouTube videos and send direct mail.” These are all tactics. On the other hand, when I question a business owner about their marketing, virtually never do they respond with their STRATEGY. Why? Few business owners know what marketing strategy actually is. Tactics is certainly an important part of any marketing plan. However, in terms of importance, it is only about 40 percent of the pie. Strategy is about 60 percent.

Strategy, is all about defining target markets, observing and placing yourself in the shoes of your prospects, and determining what you need to say. Although tactics are important, businesses spend too little time on developing their strategy. This is a costly mistake. If you doubt what I say, take a look at the content of most advertising and find me an ad that accomplishes the two most vital strategic objectives of marketing campaigns:

1) Cause more people to buy the type of produce or service you offer, and

2) Convince your prospective customers they would be making a huge mistake to buy the type of product or service you sell from anyone but you.

Should You Use the Same Marketing Principles as the Fortune 500s?

How many commercials, advertisements and websites do you see achieve these goals? Take GEICO commercials. Do their cavemen make you believe you would be making a huge mistake to purchase car insurance from anyone else? Of course not! Do their ads work? Sure. Why? Because they employ two effective tactics that operate well together... attract attention and outspend the competition.

Anything unusual displayed in an ad or commercial attracts attention. This is what the cavemen in GEICO ads do. However, if you saw a single caveman commercial just a few times, it wouldn’t hold your attention because cavemen aren’t important or relevant to you and don’t provide a convincing solution to a perceived problem. It’s only GEICO’s $700 million dollar annual ad budget that makes these ads achieve results. But, how many small businesses can afford to spend huge sums of money to ingrain ads in consumers’ brains if their marketing and ads don’t achieve the two goals I mentioned?

What Smaller Businesses Don’t Know about Marketing

Most business owners have no idea how to develop headlines that will grab attention and hold it. Few know how to write copy that teaches prospects what they need to know to make a good purchasing decision. Finding an ad that builds a case for the respective company’s products or services, and backs their arguments with convincing evidence is a rarity. And how about attracting those who are not yet ready to buy? What a mistake it is to ignore future buyers! You need to know how to entice those who are not yet ready to buy into providing their contact information so you can contact and nurture them enough to eventually buy from you.

Where Your Marketing Treasure Lies

Not spending enough time on developing an effective strategy is a huge problem. Failure to learn the strategic principles necessary to create communications that will drive in an abundance of business without spending a fortune, however, is the biggest secret. You can unlock this secret by visiting our website. There you will find your treasure. It’s called The Marketing Formula.