One of the most important factors of a good marketing campaign is knowing what business you're in. This sounds a little strange at first, but many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking they're in one business when they are reallly in another business altogether. Think of an up-scale steak house. It sells slabs of animal muscle. If it wants to be successful, though, it will "sell" status and special occaisions and the memories that creates.
The business an E is in can be determined by the benefit the consumer gets from his product or service. So a BMW dealer is not in the car business, he's in the status business. A pizza parlor may be in the convenience business and the special experience or reward business. When I ghost-write a book, I am in the credibility and status business. A casino is in the entertainment business.
When we know exactly what business we are in, it makes it much easier to create a marketing campaign because we know exactly what we are selling.
Once we know what we are selling ( "providing" may be a better word), then we can determine the second factor, who will be most likely to purchase that from us. Are they probably a certain age? Do they have a certain income level? Did they go to college? Do they have a young family? Are they retired?
A firm understanding of the "what" and the "who" leads naturally to the "where". Where do the people who match that description congregate? Do they belong to certain clubs? Do they live in certain areas? We have to approach them where tthey are.
Knowing the "where" gives us the "how". How do those people in that place prefer to communicate? Will they read a direct mail piece? Do they answer "unknown" phone calls? Will they redeem a coupon? Are they devoted to Foursquare? Do they click Facebook ads?
It will probably be important to have both on and offline marketing strategies, and definitely a specific strategy for each niche we serve.
The business an E is in can be determined by the benefit the consumer gets from his product or service. So a BMW dealer is not in the car business, he's in the status business. A pizza parlor may be in the convenience business and the special experience or reward business. When I ghost-write a book, I am in the credibility and status business. A casino is in the entertainment business.
When we know exactly what business we are in, it makes it much easier to create a marketing campaign because we know exactly what we are selling.
Once we know what we are selling ( "providing" may be a better word), then we can determine the second factor, who will be most likely to purchase that from us. Are they probably a certain age? Do they have a certain income level? Did they go to college? Do they have a young family? Are they retired?
A firm understanding of the "what" and the "who" leads naturally to the "where". Where do the people who match that description congregate? Do they belong to certain clubs? Do they live in certain areas? We have to approach them where tthey are.
Knowing the "where" gives us the "how". How do those people in that place prefer to communicate? Will they read a direct mail piece? Do they answer "unknown" phone calls? Will they redeem a coupon? Are they devoted to Foursquare? Do they click Facebook ads?
It will probably be important to have both on and offline marketing strategies, and definitely a specific strategy for each niche we serve.
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