Tips for Developing a Marketing System Successful marketing lies in focusing on three main components and creating an efficient business system.
By Mohamed Tohami Edited by Russell Sicklick
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
It's quite common for small business owners to focus on product development. They're passionate about it and have experience in it. But, they completely overlook having a marketing system that can lead to increased profits. The key to successful marketing lies in focusing on three main components, and knowing what you are actively doing.
Marketing message
You need to determine who your targeted audience is and what problem you are solving for them. And, what makes you different and unique so that they will choose you over your competitors. Providing you complete this initial step successfully, you won't encounter any problems later in the sales process. You will not stand out from other competitors in the market if you don't know your customers and the problems you're solving for them. This will hinder your ability to make sales.
Related: 5 Building Blocks to Create Compelling Marketing Messages
Lead generation
It is the process of converting a complete stranger who doesn't know anything about your company or product to someone who is interested in learning more about it. Business owners complain that they are not achieving their targets even when most of their customers are satisfied and their feedback is always positive. The usual questions I ask them are, how do you get leads and are you constantly running ads. I usually follow up by asking, how are you expecting people to learn about your services if you're not advertising to them. There is no point in creating content on social media if it doesn't reach the people to the degree you want it to. A business without advertising will never grow in the way it expects. It will be left in the dark. Businesses that spend money and invest in advertising are more likely to attract consumers. Without lead-generating commercials and advertisements, you will not be able to achieve significant results.
Related: Tips to Improve Your Lead Generation Process
Customer generation
Any business needs a sales system that assists interested leads in becoming more aware of your product and converting them into paying customers. Essentially, it helps build trust between you and your potential clients step by step. An essential element of the customer generation system is your sales presentation. What is your message about your product, what are your proofs, what is your pricing and what are your advantages over your competitors? Is there an additional benefit that you are planning to provide? Anything besides the main product that is backed up by studies and proofs from customers who have dealt with you before and are satisfied? If so, have you won any awards or been a guest on a TV show? In order to motivate your interested leads to buy from you, you will need to present powerful proofs and unique advantages. When you have a well-defined system in place, it becomes easier to measure your numbers, spot errors and quickly fix them.
Nothing has happened yet
Let's suppose that despite creating advertisements you haven't generated any leads. Your lead generation objective remains unfulfilled. When you have a system in place, you'll be able to tell whether you're targeting the wrong audience or solving the wrong problem. Simply, it could be a marketing message problem.
Suppose this was not the case. You received a great deal of inquiries about your products and services, but no one bought them. It's a very common issue for business owners. They either have pricing problems or do not have enough proof, or a strong sales presentation or good offers in order to convert leads. You need to improve your sales presentation for leads so that you can increase conversion rates. Simply, it is a customer generation problem.
Once the leads convert into customers, everything should work smoothly. As you work on this system, you will discover a wide range of errors that must be addressed to improve your business.
As long as you follow the three main components of this marketing system, any business issue you face can be solved. However, if there is a problem with any one of them, you will not succeed in improving your sales and profits.
Related: Need A Robust Sales System? Build These 6 Stages For Your Startup
