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Marketing doesn’t sell your product, you do.

laughaboutitinc


Spending money sucks and no business owner really wants to do it.  Spending money on advertising might suck more.  Why?  Because you are taking a chance with your money, and naturally, you want to see an immediate return on it.  This is a mind-set that costs many companies a lot of needless dollars.  Once you understand what marketing really does, you will spend your money more wisely and let go of a lot of stress. 

 

Let’s start with a basic misconception about advertising your business.  An ad, no matter how well presented or how many people see it, does not sell your product or service.  That’s your job, or you have a staff that does it for you.  What a good ad does is provide more sales opportunities, and makes selling a lot easier when those opportunities arise! 

 

Before I go further, I should make it clear that there will be people who see your ad and reach out to you because they are reminded that you offer something they need.  There will be moments when someone sees your ad, suddenly decides then and there that they want what you have, and calls you.  Is this common?  Sadly, this is not nearly as common as you may wish it to be.

 

Here is a more likely scenario.  A person who has a need for your product or service will do research.  They may ask their friends for advice.  They may look up the product or service online.  Most will go to Google, but many will go to other search engines as well.  According to ConsumerGravity.com, 81% of Canadian consumers go to search engines before purchasing.  And here is a more important statistic: 80% of consumers look for a personal relationship when shopping and use that to help them choose where to shop.  When a potential customer looks up your product or service with a search engine and sees your company name, unless they are already aware of you, it means very little in comparison to the rest of the companies listed.  But if they are familiar with your name and brand, something magical happens.  You stand out from all of the other companies listed.  You and the potential customer now have a personal relationship and they are more likely to call you first. 

 

Another common scenario happens when you or your sales staff approach a prospective buyer, be it in your location or out in public, and use that time to explain what it is you offer.  How can you have a relationship with someone you’ve never met?  This is where your marketing comes in.  If that person already knows your name and brand, they already feel an amount of trust before you engage and will be more willing to listen.  If they’ve already heard of you, then you must be doing something worthwhile.  Your sales just got easier, and they will happen more often.  That is how marketing works.

 

Every successful company uses branding to sell their wares.  These companies know that advertising puts the seed of thought into people’s minds and creates the familiarity needed to encourage them to reach out when they buy.  The sales happen in the store, or on the phone, or in meetings and sales calls.  This even works with word of mouth.  If a potential client asks someone for advice and your company is mentioned, if that customer is familiar with your name they are way more likely to call you.

 

So now that you know what marketing actually does, the choices you have to make concerning your own marketing budget become easier to navigate.  Now you can start asking the smarter questions:  Which marketing option reaches the most people?  Which reaches the most people who are likely to buy what you sell (your market)?  Which is the most engaging means of advertising, or the most creative and likely to be more effective?  Which one has the best price with the most options covered?  These are the questions you want to ask when spending your marketing dollars.  Which of these options will make more potential customers feel familiar with your brand? 

 

Get your brand, information and logo out there and be seen over and over again.  In time, your sales will grow and they will keep growing.  That’s good marketing.

 

 

 

 

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