MARKETING TIPS FOR BEGINNERS

 A layman has an idea of marketing, or at least, know the marketplace
around him or her. Marketing, according to the American Marketing
Association is "an organizational function and a set of processes for
creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for
managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the
organization."
In its simplest definition, marketing is the act of selling a product
or  rendering a service.

I got first hand experience in marketing more than five years ago when
 I was marketing a book for the Hedge Publishing Ventures. I walked
the  streets of Lagos, marketing the book. I even marketed it in the
local  public vehicles which we call 'molue' in local parlance. I
worked as a  marketing executive, knocking from one door to the other,
for the  Estate News magazine.The tips I will be sharing with you. I
did not  read these in a book, I learnt the following lessons on the
street. So  get set...you will be learning one of the best proven
secrets of  marketing for success.

A marketer may be different from a sales person. A market make
organizations know what they stand to benefit by patronizing his or
her  company. A sales person on the other hand, sells to individuals,
and  not organizations. To effectively market a product, you have to
know  your customer. The first major secret of marketing I discovered
is that  not everybody is your customer. You have to know your ideal
client.

KNOW YOUR CLIENTS

Do you have a mental understanding of what your client should look
like? For Agbolade Omowole, when writing, my ideal clients are people
in corporate organizations. When speaking, my ideal clients are young
people who want to do something with their lives. When I have to give
financial advise, my ideal clients are workers. Those who have money
to  invest in a profitable investment.When I am coaching, my client is
 anyone that has a major challenge. If you do not know your ideal
client, you may waste your time marketing to wrong set of people.

Define your ideal client now. Who are the people that need your
services the most? What is their age range? Where can they be found?
What are their general desires? Who are they doing business with right
 now? Be very specific and detailed. Your product or services may not
be  able to solve a problem for everybody. Here is a clue. When you
are in  your strength zone, everything you do will work naturally. If
you have  been sweating too much or stressing yourself overly, it
could be that  you are marketing to wrong people.

KNOW YOUR PRODUCTS/SERVICES

If you do not have a background knowledge of what you are marketing,
you may not be far from failure. As a marketer, you must know anything
 and everything about what you are marketing. If your prospect ask a
question and you so not answer, he or she may decide not to buy. Most
times, consumers are inquisitive. Spend time to know everything about
what you are marketing. If you don't, your competitors will, and may
hijack your customers.

Tell customers the features of your product. Do not assume that they
will read the manual. Anytime you meet a customer face to face, try
and  guide them on how they can the most out of your product or
services.  Tell them what makes your product unique, and why they have
to buy your  products.

KNOW YOURSELF

Know when you are inspired and when you are not. It is good to fix
meetings early in the morning. Do not fix meetings on Mondays, because
 it is the first day of the week. A business executive will probably
be  putting things in place on Monday. To get the most out of
marketing,  learn to go out there when you are inspired and happy. Or
simply put,  when you are in a good mood. If you are excited about
your  product/service, the excitement will be transferred to your
customer; at  the end, he or she will likely buy.

Know your strengths and your weaknesses. Know and understand your
personal brand. Know what makes you unique. Know what makes' hot
buttons. In the words of management consultant, Peter Drucker, "There
will always, one can assume, be need for selling. But the aim of
marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to
know and understand the customer so well that the product or service
fits him and sells itself. Ideally, marketing should result in a
customer who is ready to buy. All that should be needed then is to
make  the product or service available."

Here are the key points. Know your client; know your product/service;
know yourself.

Agbolade Omowole runs Interpersonal Skills Trainings for corporate
organizations. He trains for Terry E. Gillen, Institute of Personnel
and Development UK. He is also a financial adviser at Aims Asset
Management Limited.

Contact:
E-mail: nigeriaslifecoach@gmail.com
Mobile phone: 08020777803 (+248020777803)
Blog: www.101youngentrepreneurs.blogspot.com