Today we’re going to look at building a foundation for marketing. As you start creating your marketing plan, what are some fundamental things you need to look at before getting into the nitty-gritty of execution?
One thing to think about is this: What words do people think of when pondering your company? Healthy? Safety? Results? Enthusiasm? Go ahead and jot down what you believe people think about when they’re pondering your company. An even better thing to do would be to ask directly. So in the next week or two, approach your clients and have them tell you what words come to mind when they think about your company. It’s really good to know what the marketplace thinks of you. That’s step one.
Step two is to be ridiculously specific about articulating your target market. Now, I understand that you might have multiple product lines servicing different target markets, but let’s focus on your most successful product or service and start from there.
There are three sectors we must focus on for each target market: demographic, psychographic, and geographic.
Demographic – this could be your target market’s family size, income level, education, gender, things of that nature.
Psychographic – your target market’s interests, attitudes, values, etc.
Geographic – physical location you’re targeting, such as counties, cities, or even zip codes.
The key is to start broad but then pare down until you’re as specific as possible. Get ridiculous. This is kind of a joke, but maybe you want to target someone that’s left-handed, wears glasses, and has green eyes. Bad example, but what I’m trying to say is that you have to get laser-focused on who you’re going after. There are going to be times when you don’t hit your exact target, but you at least have to know what you’re shooting for. This is especially true if your marketing plan includes direct mailouts, internet marketing, or anything else that allows you to pick and choose exactly who will see your message.
Once you know your target market, the next step is to figure out your brand promise or guarantee. This is the final part of the foundation. What are you promising to deliver? What do you guarantee? Think through that and write it down. It’s important to understand how you’re going to track or measure the brand promise or guarantee. Let’s say you are going to guarantee delivery within 24 hours. Well, how do you track that? How are you going to make sure that you’re executing that promise? Keep in mind that this is not something you’re striving to achieve. It’s something you’re going to do each and every time, 99.9% of the time or better.
That’s it for getting a foundation in place in terms of creating an awesome marketing plan. Go out, take action on this immediately, and have a better than amazing day.
