Marketing is changing and so should your skillset. With the rapid change in digital marketing, you need to stay on your toes if you want to be successful in marketing today like altern marketing. In this article, we cover ten overlooked ways to market with greater efficiency that could put you ahead of your competition.
10 unheard ways to achieve greater marketing skills are:
1. Care about your customer knowledge
The customer is always right has been a marketing slogan for a long time. If you are not able to understand and serve your customers better, then you will have a hard time growing your business.
2. Invest in listening skills
Study your competitor, study your customer and get to know their habits. The more you know about them the greater the chances of success.
3. Build your personal brand
Like it or not, we live in a world where reputation counts. Being in touch with your market is vital if you are going to sell them something. Good listening skills will give you the opportunity to understand what people need and that will help you deliver what they want. “How To” guides help people learn new skills or grow in their chosen field. These guides can be written for other businesses. They will help you learn about your market and also give you an opportunity to showcase your talent as a writer.
4. Write thought leadership articles
Thought leadership articles are written to showcase your knowledge and ability to deliver quality content. This is a great way of showing people that you trust you won’t rip them off, so they should do business with you. If you are an expert in a field, then write about it in a blog or on business publications. Being known as a thought leader in your industry can create opportunities for partnerships and joint ventures with other industry players.
5. Join online communities and share information
You will learn more about what people want to know and also get them sharing your information. You will be a better marketer because you know your customer’s needs and wants. By doing this, you will create a customer base that can help you grow your business. Online communities are built around common interests and hobbies such as sports, music, entertainment etc. You can join these communities and share information that you think will be helpful to the members of the community (members will appreciate it).
6. Be consistent
Consistency is a key to success in a number of areas in life and marketing isn’t different. Consistency will help you build the image of your brand in the minds of customers. Consistent branding across all channels will also allow you to build trust with your customers. You need to be persistent when marketing your business and service offerings. Consistent marketing will help you stay relevant and top-of-mind for your customers – two key factors for lead generation.
7. Don’t limit yourself to social media
Social media is a great tool for customer engagement but it shouldn’t be the only tool you use to develop relationships with your customers. Use other forms of communication that can help you create a personal connection with your customer such as phone calls, emails and face-to-face meetings or visits.
8. Don’t oversell yourself
It’s tempting to have a sales-y approach whenever you are trying to influence someone but it can backfire. Focus on what your customers really need and then provide that solution through your business strategy. We have all seen that online marketer who sends out automated sales messages without knowing their prospects or their needs. Don’t fall into this trap. When you are trying to grow your business, it’s important that you create a relationship with your customers.
9. Don’t wait for people to ask for things from you
People buying from you is not a sure thing. You need to make it a priority to develop and nurture your customer relationships. Make sure that you stay connected with your customers via calls, emails and social media interaction. No one likes to be sold to and that’s why you are selling something – don’t wait for them to contact you first. This can be very frustrating especially if the product or service is expensive and it has no immediate value for your customer.
10. Don’t be afraid to start small
In marketing, you can’t make the big bucks overnight so don’t set yourself up for failure by not giving your business a chance to grow. Marketing is a long-term game plan and so is success. Starting small doesn’t mean that you won’t make a difference. Many successful businesses started at their homes and with very little funds. Yes what you do may seem small but it will definitely help you grow your business.
Conclusion:
If you are still stuck on which idea to explore, then you can conduct market research. The goal of your market research is to collect data from various sources within your market that will help you determine what challenges your customers are facing and how you can provide a solution that will resolve their problems.
