Over the course of a week, I may speak with 30 or so individuals in a variety of professions and gain some valuable insight into what their current strategies are.
During my initial CNA (Client Needs Analysis) I always ask: “What’s been successful for your advertising?” Talk with any one in any industry about their advertising, and you’re likely to hear, “We don’t do any marketing.” In this regard, it’s similar to asking someone if they buy on price or cost: you’ll likely get this question: ‘What’s the difference?’ (There is quite a lot, but that’s a topic for another column.)
Think of marketing as everything associated with your home-based business that tells consumers:
- Who you are
- What you do
- How to get in touch with you
This can encompass everything from your business cards to the sign on the table at the church craft show you put out for your newsletter or mailing list, to the ink pen with your phone number and your logo on it. It even includes your website (presuming you have a website, that is), – or at the very least your Facebook and Instagram, and LinkedIn pages your vehicle signage (wraps and magnetic signs), the tchotchkes (or however that is spelled!) and promotional products you hand out at networking events, and don’t forget your email signature – and even what you say when you tell someone about home-based business at BNI or Toastmasters.
Most people do not realize that all these items (and a few more) comprise your company’s marketing strategy because everything I shared tells your prospective clients/customers: who you are, what you do, and how to get in touch with you. They market your home-based business to others.
One of the elements of Marketing is your advertising. Advertising is what you do to bring in business now! The Center for Sales Strategy says that you can have two elements to advertising: your strategy and tactics. Strategy says why buy from you; Tactics are why they should buy now. And the strategy and tactics you use have nothing to do with you/your company and has EVERYTHING to do with your customers and prospective clients. That’s worth repeating when you advertise, what you say has everything to do with your customers and prospective clients and nothing to do with your home-based business.
At any point in time, wherever you live, there are thousands of consumers in the market for your products/services right now. Moreover, in any given city there are dozens and dozens of new consumers consistently moving into the area. Having a consistent strategy will keep you fresh in their minds, and employing tactics can move the needle and compel them to visit website and/or social media to initiate a sale.
Any effective advertising will immediately allow you to see results via your Google Analytics (provided you use them), as you’ll see an increase in web searches, hits, and page views. For every great ad that accomplishes this in spades, there are dozens of others that are horribly written and produced that go unheard and unseen by the intended audience because they are not written from the customer’s perspective, or they use horrible cliches and trite jargon no one cares for any more.
To paraphrase a former colleague: there are many ways to do advertising incorrectly and only a few ways to do it right.
The more you integrate your advertising (that is use multiple media – digital, radio, e-mail, blog, newsletter, etc.) the more likely you are to engage more consumers at various stages of their journey toward a buying decision. Good luck in your marketing and advertising efforts.
Bottom Line: Every home-based business employs some form of Marketing, though not all will Advertise.
Questions to Ponder:
- How do you choose to tell prospective consumers and customers who you are, what you do, and how to get in touch with you?
- Do you Advertise your products and services from your perspective, or from your customers’ perspective?