Rule of Marketing: FOCUS ON YOUR AUDIENCE TO SKYROCKET YOUR MARKETING
Today we are focusing on the #1 rule of marketing. I’m focusing on marketing because it’s the number one question that I keep getting asked by entrepreneurs who are joining my free Facebook group of over 4000 entrepreneurs, where we help each other share valuable information and keep each other accountable. We share tips and tools.
I get asked questions in my dm’s, in my emails, and specifically when people have to join DBS. One of the questions that we ask is, what is your greatest challenge, and nine times out of 10 the challenge is something that is focused on marketing. Now people see it in different ways. They may not come out and say, “Well, I need support in marketing”, or “I need help in marketing”. They may say things like, “I need to increase my visibility”, or “I need to get my brand or my products in front of more people”. “I need to attract more people”; “I need to get more people buying my products and services”. All of this is marketing.
WHAT IS MARKETING?
Marketing is not a one-size-fits-all. It’s not one thing that everybody has to do. You have to figure out which one strategy works best for your business and in what order as well. How you choose that strategy is by, setting some realistic goals, and getting clear about your ideal clients. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. Marketing is a series of steps that you take to get you from where you are to where you want to be. It’s not just one thing. It is a combination of things that you have to do.
Because the content that you’re going to share also would be a mix of content. This includes
videos,
infographics,
short content,
long content.
It is still a mix of things that work together to get you from where you are, to where you want to be. Ask yourself, “what am I doing to connect with my audience, to ensure that I am in front of the right people at the right time, on the right platforms, to get me the sales that I want?”
WHAT IT IS NOT
It’s not about getting on social media. It is not even worth doing videos, (as much as I like to encourage you to do videos), it’s not even about getting a website. It’s not about any of those things. The number one rule of marketing is- Get to know your audience. So it’s not just starting a social media page. It’s not just posting every single day. Because even if you decide to focus on Facebook and post the same thing every single day, you’re still not going to attract the best people to your business. And you’re still not going to make the type of sales that you want to make.
If you do not know your audience like the back of your hand you’re going to find it harder and harder and harder to sell. This is not about you, it is about them. About what challenges they have, and what you are providing to them to solve this challenge. So, get that ego out of the way. This is why I encourage you to validate your offers before you put them out.
Validating your offers is a great way for you to find out if this is what they need. And if this is what they want. Because it might sound like a great idea to you in your head. Even on paper, it might look like a great idea. But the only way for you to get sales is to know if this is what your audience needs at this particular time. And if the way that you are presenting to them or the price that you are asking or the way that you are offering it is what they need.
The number one rule of marketing is to get to know your clients. Focus on your audience, because we have already established that we are not trying to sell to everyone anybody. We are trying to sell to a specific niche of people. The more specific that you can get about who you are selling to, the easier it is for you to sell every day. It’ll be much easier for you to connect with your audience so that you can get the results that you want.
Once you decide to focus on your audience, being of service, providing them with value, building a relationship, and building know like and trust with your audience. Then the sales come!
You need to get into the mind of your audience. When you are doing videos, sending emails, writing blogs, doing interviews, writing content on your social media, you are speaking on their behalf, speaking the language that they are speaking when they are talking about whatever challenges they are experiencing.
But that only comes if you are intentionally connecting with your audience.
WHERE TO BEGIN
Focus on your audience and get to know them inside and out. This is the #1 rule of marketing!
Ask them questions. On any of your social media platforms, ask them a question about their lives, their day, their challenges, etc. Ask them questions so that you get to know them.
In addition, share valuable information consistently, to build trust.
And third and foremost, share stories to connect with them.
Because one thing you would realize is that a lot of people that you serve, are people just like you. Most times when we start businesses, it is to help people who look like, sound like, live like, have a challenge like us. Most of us started businesses because we were experiencing a particular challenge. And we realized that we could solve this challenge.
So, share stories with your audience. Share the ups and the downs, the good and the bad. Share your triumphs, your testimonials, the behind-the-scenes of how you do things, your why, your thought process, your goals, and your morals. Sharing these things will build trust because people buy from those they trust and can relate to. And how do you build trust? You build trust by having conversations and sharing stories.
LET’S GO ON A DATE
Think about if you’re going on a date with someone, you spend time on each of those dates sharing stories. You share stories about your childhood, your school days, your past relationships, and what you want to do in the future. And by sharing those stories, you form a bond with that person and then you build know, like, and trust. And you start to trust that person because not only have you shared your story, but they have also shared their stories with you.
It’s no different when you have a business. As a rule of marketing, you want to share stories and you want your audience to share stories with you as well. People buy based on trust. They trust you because you have shown up consistently. And you have consistently shared value that has helped them overcome some challenge in their life, even if they haven’t solved the big challenge. But you’ve helped them solve some small challenge or given them some aha moments. You’ve shared some tips, tools, resources, and experience and told them how you overcame them, which may have opened up their eyes to something that they can do as well. That is how you build trust and once you continue to build that trust, it is so much easier for you to grow your business.
You need to be able to identify your audience share stories and build those connections and speak to them directly using the words that they use when they are talking about their challenges. Once you do those things. That is half of your marketing right there. From those conversations and the valuable information that you’ve put out, then you can decide on the strategies that will make sense for your audience because you know them like the back of your hand, and they know me.
When you decide to start your business, one of the things you should consider is how you are going to reach your audience to showcase your products or services. Most people start their business and immediately launch a Facebook page not taking into account the huge potential of a website for their business.
As an entrepreneur, one of the things you have to master early on in business is an understanding of what content is, where it can be found, how to share it, and when to share it.
The easiest way to get new clients is to give away a lot of free stuff. There I said it. I know you must be cursing me at the back of your head and saying....is she mad? There is no way I can give away a lot of free stuff in my business. I will go broke!!!