3 Steps to Marketing Success in 2010!

Posted by MillsCommGroup in Articles

Marketing can feel overwhelming and for many of us it’s not technically in our job description.  With so many different marketing tools, both on and off-line, how do we know which ones will give us the biggest bang for our buck (or precious time!)? If you’ve asked yourself this question, you are not alone.

In January, we gathered downtown with Erica Mills of Mills Communications Group to answer this question.  Using Mills Communications Group’s ‘1, 2, 3 Marketing Tree’ as our guide, Erica showed us how to market our businesses so they’ll grow in 2010.

Here are the steps, in order of importance:

1 : Define WHAT success means for your marketing.

2 : Figure out WHO you need to reach for your marketing to be successful.

3 : Figure out HOW to most effectively reach your ideal clients/customers.

Here are some key takeaways:

• Market your essence, not your everything. To do this you have to get really clear on what you offer as well as what you don’t offer. You can’t be everything to everyone or you’ll end being nothing to no one. Not good!
• Figure out who your ideal client is and focus, focus, focus. Marketing is an exercise is making strategic choices about who we want to spend resources to attract and retain. You will likely end up serving clients that you didn’t target and that’s totally fine.
• People buy benefits, not features. Speak in terms of the benefits you have to offer. Example: We sell jeans that will make you feel fabulous. vs. We’ve got two pieces of denim sewn together with a fastener. The first talks to the benefits of buying the jeans, the second speaks to the actual features. Who cares about the features—we all want to feel fabulous!
• You don’t have to do everything, nor should you. With all the options out there today, it’s easy to feel like you have to do it all. Don’t. Figure out where you can build strong relationships with your ideal clients and just do those things. For a small business, more than three is usually too many. Do three well, rather than a whole bunch poorly and your bottom line will thank you!

Mills Communications Group makes marketing simple, effective and totally doable.  For free marketing resources and to download your very own ‘1, 2, 3 Marketing Tree’, visit www.millscommgroup.com.  You can contact Mills Communications Group at 123MarketingTree@millscommgroup.com or call 206-351-8504 for help making your tree grow.