Four Classic Marketing Tips that Work

In the last couple of months we’ve all had to become better multi-taskers, we miss meeting up with our friends and eating at our favorite local restaurants. While many things might feel uncertain, marketing should not be one of them.

Let's take a look at 4 timeless marketing tips will help you stay relevant and get results for your business.

Tip #1 Focus on Client Retention

Fact: new customer acquisition is more expensive than client retention.

Getting new leads takes a lot of time and money. Don’t forget that your most valuable customers are the ones you already have.

If you’re not doing this already, you should be prioritizing client retention. Stay connected with your existing customer base, especially your key clients, and nurture the relationships you have.

Here’s how to do that:

• Reach out to them personally. Talk to them (over the phone or Zoom) and do a lot of listening. Be in tune with their status, their challenges, pain points and emotions. Think about how you can add value to their needs or provide something useful to them. (They may not need your products and services, but they would appreciate your emotional support).
• Ask “Did you know…” questions. Make sure customers know the FULL extent of your services. Maybe historically they’ve only purchased one type of product or service from you, and that has been your sole focus in your relationship with them. But there may be things you can offer them that they don’t know about. Ask yourself “what else can they buy from me?”

Nurturing your client relationships and asking “Did you know” can go a long way.

Tip #2 Know Your Audience

Fact: Marketing that works is focused on your audience—who they are, how they buy, what they want and expect.

Knowing your audience is not a one and done. You need to step back and take inventory; because the products and services your audience wants today might not be what they wanted a few months ago. Some things that may have changed might be:

1. Their mindset and goals
2. Their budget
3. The things they are buying

Be ready to adapt your messaging and offerings. Match what you offer to what people are looking for. Place your message and brand where they're looking, and make it easy to take action online.

Tip #3 Clarify Your Message

Fact: Your customers should NOT have to think about whether or not they need you.

For every benefit of your product or service, you need to answer their question, “what's in it for me?”

• Clearly define your benefits.
• Show how it makes your customers' lives better.
• How it solves their pain and frustration.
• How it saves them time and money.
• How it gives them peace of mind.
• How it makes them a better version of themselves.
• Back it with a guarantee no one can match.

Beyond that, make it easy to work from you. Tell your customers exactly how to get started (and remove all the barriers). Simply put, it should be shockingly easy for someone to do business with you!

Tip # 4 Stand Out from the Crowd

Fact: Competition is real, but there is no direct substitute for you and HOW you do business.

You may be feeling overwhelmed about how much competition there is in your space. Yes, business competition is a reality we all face. But you have an opportunity to set yourself apart, not by WHAT you do, but by HOW you do it.

Imagine the average customer experience in your industry.

• What’s the average insurance buying process look like for a customer?
• Or what’s the average onboarding with a financial advisor.
• Or the average dryer vent cleaning visit or lawn service.

Write down what the average experience looks like, and then ask yourself, “How can I provide a drastically different experience for my customers than the status quo.”

How can you make doing business with you:

• Easier
• Faster
• Friendlier
• More efficient
• More personal
• More professional
• More specialized for their industry
• More structured
• More flexible
• More fun!

Bring the WOW factor. Leave your prospects and the people that interact with your brand saying, that was an incredible experience.

Lastly, don’t forget to talk about what makes you different regularly in your marketing. Your customers need to know how you are different, and this is how they find out.

If you are looking for a partner to help you put these timeless marketing principles to work for your business contact Harvest Media. We love to bring stability and consistency to our clients' marketing and watch them reap the benefits.