Marketing

I work with many people who want to get ahead in their careers and move their businesses forward.  Individuals and businesses need to promote and sell themselves!  While businesses seem to know that they must sell their products and services, individuals don’t always understand that they are in the business of selling themselves.  To get ahead, make a profit, sell your products, you’ve got to get your message out to the right audience.  Here are some ideas on doing just that.

Idea 1:  ID your audience.  For businesses:  Who is buying your product or service?  The more specific you can be, the more specific your message can be.  Focusing in on one or two niches can increase your sales faster than being everything to everyone.  For individuals:  Who do you need to impress?  Know who needs to know about you, beyond your current supervisor.

Idea 2:  Solution.  For businesses:  When you have identified who you are selling to, ask what solution are you providing your audience?  People purchase based on need, or perceived need.  For individuals:  What solution are you bringing to your company?  Employers are looking for those that constantly add value.

Idea 3:  Craft the message.  For businesses:  How you convey your solution is as important as what the solution is.  Write your message using your target market’s own words.  Listen to what your best customers are saying about your products/services.  Why are they using you?  For individuals:  Use the language of the leaders in your company to describe your solutions to them.

Idea 4:  Location.  For businesses:  Have you ever noticed ads for products that you’re likely to use appear during your favorite TV programs or are in the magazines you buy?  Put your information in places your market is most likely to be looking.  Think through how they spend their time and come up with unusual ways to get in front of your market.  For individuals:  Participate in meetings.  Make presentations.  Sit in the front of the room and get noticed.  Volunteer to help out on projects that leadership finds important.  Stay top of mind.

Idea 5:  Reading.  For businesses:  Attention spans are very short.  You have to grab it when you can.  You’ve got about 10 to 15 seconds to get your message across.  Make sure it is clear, concise, catchy and consistent.  Test it out on some willing people.  What compels people to find out more about your products and services?  For individuals:  When letting others know what you’ve accomplished or when you’re giving a report, start with a summary and the results.  You’ll be asked if someone wants to know all the steps you went through, they will ask you for those details.

The ideas are pretty basic but often overlooked.  Simple works!  What do you do to market yourself?  Any ideas that you’ve had that are great marketing ideas?  Leave your comments below.

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