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.
Contact:
E-mail: nigeriaslifecoach@gmail.com
Blog: www.101youngentrepreneurs.blogspot.com
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