Marketing seems to be getting more and more complicated. There is an ever-expanding universe of ways to try to reach out to prospects. Segmenting the marketplace now includes categorization by means of communication on top of the traditional demographic profiles. Marketing specialties are multiplying.
What’s an entrepreneur or small- to medium-sized business to do? There aren’t limitless funds to hire experts, buy “big data,” do finely honed customized market research, etc.
Over the years, it has become clear to me that the best marketing – the marketing that actually contributes to sales and revenue growth – follows the KISS principle:
1. Place your value proposition – why people should buy from you – in the context of your marketplace.
2. Make your message clear, concise, and memorable. If you have a slogan, make it mean something.
3. Worry less about engagement and more about showing how your company/product/service will bring value to your prospect. Engagement will follow.
4. Be responsive. And be timely with your response.
5. Align all your outreach (blogs, tweets, posts, white papers, advertising, and content marketing in general) so that your central message is consistent and your expertise shines through.
6. Your objective is to have your company/products/services noticed. Don’t worry about having to follow the commonly accepted wisdom on how to do it.
7. Never forget that the sole purpose of marketing is to increase sales, revenues, and market share. Measure each initiative against that goal.
If you internalize and use these basic rules as your marketing guide, you can harness your resources, avoid unnecessary expenditures, and have measurable results.
