Lets establish what is the definition of Marketing
We know this is often a question you ask yourself, because clients ask us the same question. And it is a great question to ask yourself! Our only concern is, what is your definition of Marketing?
When we ask our clients, what is Marketing to them we get a range of different answers from advertising, blogging, a website, email campaigns and so the list goes on. Our clients do not normally suggest to us that Marketing is understanding who your customer is and developing an offering for them and then packaging it accordingly to take to market in the form of a website, campaigns and so on.
Then our answer is quite simple, you have not considered the very foundation of Marketing and a marketing strategy but rather the day-to-day operational activities of Marketing. And without a foundation the day-to-day activities will not bare real results. We guess it’s the analogy of the egg before the chicken. And how are you going to differentiate your business if you have not considered what makes your business different and creating a long-lasting unique value proposition.
What questions should you really be asking yourself?
Instead of asking yourself ‘where am I going wrong with my Marketing’, perhaps the first thing you need to do is establish what Marketing really is and the foundation of a Marketing strategy to really elevate your business above the rest.
Marketing is a broad term and can mean a number of different things to different people. So, we have created 12 key questions to ask yourself instead and rather focus on getting these 12 questions answered, ‘yes’ before you proceed to asking yourself a rather hard and somewhat intangible question ‘Where am I going wrong with my Marketing?’
Questions to ask yourself can include but limited to the following:
- Have you ever conducted a customer satisfaction survey?
- Have you ever conducted market or competitor research?
- Have you identified what your business opportunities are based on your strengths and your competitors’ weaknesses?
- Have you identified your WHY?
- Do you know what problem your product or service solves?
- Do you know who your ideal customer is and supported by a customer avatar?
- Have you identified your UVP to differentiate your offering?
- Have you considered a pricing strategy to package your offering for market?
- Do you have a promotional or activity plan in place?
- Have you set goals and objectives for your business?
- Have you defined your marketing message/s?
- Do you track, measure and change your Marketing activities?
These questions should help you establish whether you do have the key foundations of a Marketing strategy in place. If you answered 70% of them correctly you are on the right track and perhaps you really just need to pay attention to the areas, you said no to. If you answered below 70% you may just need to review your Marketing strategy and business with these questions in mind to help you identify where you may be going wrong.
The Marketing Lifeline empowers entrepreneurs to reset their Marketing mindset from an operational one to an ownership one. The Marketing Lifeline offers a 12-week online programme including their Mi Lifeline Learning Membership for start-ups and entrepreneurs to help you get your Marketing right, without being an expert. We like to think of taking the pain out of Marketing and putting back the FUN in the fundamentals of Marketing. If you would like to chat or have a question for us, get in touch with us at help@themarketinglifeline.com or visit our website at www.themarketinglifeline.com
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