When a little marketing tweak can make you big $$$$s!

Sometimes in business we get blindsided or stuck in old ways of thinking. This is especially true if we’ve been in business for some time – ‘we’ve seen and done it all before’ and consequently we lose focus, rest on our laurels, or lack that critical, creative or objective thinking essential to long-term business success.

‘Business as usual’ or ‘this is the way we’ve always done it’ are always warning signs for my marketing ears and are often death knells for many businesses who are going through the motions. Rigid, fixated mindsets have a lot to answer for! 😉

Of course, I can sympathise entirely with businesses or individuals who maintain or hide behind this thinking. It’s a comfort thing in many instances – a ‘risk averse’ attitude that acts as a buffer to change or a defense mechanism against unscrupulous salesy types. Change, after all, can be a scary thing if its leaves us feeling exposed, or if we’re unprepared to take a risk or deal with what eventuates (even real success can be scary to some) – just a faint sniff of ‘sales talk’ is enough to put your average customer off. We’ve all been there.

Of course, there’s also the egotistical angle that our systems and processes can never be improved upon. ‘It’s always worked well for us’ is the prevailing thought, even if there’s a better solution on offer with greater benefits. We prefer to stick to what we know don’t we? Pride often comes before a fall.

However, a little tweak in mindset (and following it through to your marketing strategy) can often be the difference between moderate marketing success or business defining, paradigm-shifting, revolutionary change in your business and future financial success.

That’s not being glib. Here’s an example that further explains how ‘tweaking’ your thinking can lead to bigger and better results for your business (sometimes overnight):

A ‘Synkd’ client of ours; an SME, lacked focus on their target market.

In truth its not that this client lacked the ability to identify target segments – they had several. They simply struggled to understand the concept of focusing on one specific segment for maximum return on their investment (a key factor for small business where budgets are tight and quick results are required). Typical of most small businesses, they weren’t comfortable with this ‘niching strategy’ which is one the most effective ways for small businesses to dominate a niche and gain market share. To use an increasingly relevant quote in troubled economic times from Lawrence Light (former CMO @McDonalds): ‘It no longer makes economic sense to send a message to the many in hopes of persuading the few’. Wise words indeed.

The client struggled to overcome the mindset and strategy of focusing their efforts on one target segment – as opposed to targeting ALL customer segments ALL at once. (Remember this is an SME who simply can’t afford multi-level marketing channels or the time to invest in tracking and maintaining all of the results.)

Marketing bonus tip: If you want to be ‘everything to everyone’ then you end up being nothing to no one – but that’s another blog entirely. (Discover more marketing tips @ #jamiesynkd)

Lacking focus on their most lucrative segment weakened their marketing dollar investment and its overall effectiveness. This scattergun approach affected all subsequent marketing performance from the business and was reflected in depressed sales and your typical ebb and flow sales performance experienced by many SMEs.

It wasn’t all bad news though. In fact, this SME was attracting online email leads enquiring after their wares.

The problem was that they were the wrong type of customers – price-conscious customers.

The client’s problems were actually threefold. 1. Customers never progressed any further through their sales funnel, 2. customers were never converted to make a sale (because the SME was targeting ‘everyone’ as a potential customer so no conversion tools we implemented) and finally 3. the client’s ‘offer’ neither added ‘perceived value’ nor was it ‘compelling enough’ for their target customer to take further action.

After completing Synkd’s Avatar workshop (strategically designed to get you more focused on your target ‘ideal customer’), the client had identified that their most lucrative target segment lived on Instagram – just one simple insight that wasn’t being acted upon. Strategic thinking is critical in business; taking action is arguably even more paramount!

Within 24 hours an Instagram account was set up complete with uploaded photographic examples of their unique products. Being in the visual industry though, the client still needed to ‘tweak’ and project a more professional and targeted online brand image to their target market. Perception is everything.

The result? Happy to report qualified lead enquiries came through after a further 24 hours with a view to arranging face-to-face meetings and securing joint venture work with customers the client wanted to work with – not have to work with! Big difference!

So how did the little tweaks make big $$$$s I hear you say?

No longer is the client marketing in areas where the target market simply weren’t operating (which was actually costing them indirectly in wasted time, resources and dollars). They ‘tweaked’, saved $$$$s in the process and ‘moved the mountain to Mohammed’.

A further crucial ‘tweak’ – the client gave the customer specifically ‘what they wanted to see’ in the place where they ‘hung out’. This resulted in qualified leads who didn’t need further conversion strategies after seeing the Instagram images. Customers wanted to arrange meetings right there and then because they were already convinced by what they saw – they were ‘energised’ and ready and willing to move to the next step in the sales pipeline.

Ask any sales professional and they’ll tell you getting in front of the customer face-to-face is the ‘ideal’ scenario as its a strong sign of ‘intention’ or ‘potential’ to buy. Of course, online marketing has redefined that old dynamic but its still a truism that people still buy from real people. Having potential prospects ask you directly for meetings is no bad thing – especially when they are the decision-makers!

Finally, the strategic ‘tweak’ of choosing the ‘right’ marketing direction for your business – aided by identifying and focusing on your ‘most lucrative’ customer helps you to market ‘smarter’.

A more focused and targeted marketing outlook allows for more strategic marketing success. This helps you stand out from the crowd because you’re targeting customers who really do need your offering. Combine this with communicating the benefits of your offering and this acts as a beacon for your customers, attracts sales and generates marketing $$$$s over the long-term – its not just about the immediate, one-off returns. The marketing outlook should be broader for greater returns spread over the ‘lifetime of your customer’.

Being smarter and more strategic with your marketing, especially in times of limited and decreasing budgets with ever more demands on your time, is crucial to the success of your business and marketing strategies.

So get focused and get marketing smarter!
Thanks for staying with me.

Good luck out there Mastering your Marketing!
Your Marketing Man,
Jamie Thomas