Is your business aiming for 100 percent of the marketplace?
Let’s begin by discussing your ideal marketplace. There is a goal I have in my business—I want to reach 100 percent of the marketplace. Does this mean that I cast the widest net possible in order to increase my odds? No, what it means is simply this: No matter how broad or niched your market may be, there is never a time when you should limit the ways you reach out to your potential customers and current customers. You must constantly strive to reach 100 percent of the marketplace using 100 percent of the ways available to you. This is one of the most important, overriding mentalities that must be present in any business.
Because of this program, I get to talk to a lot of people during the course of a week. When I ask them to explain their current marketing program to me, I’ll often hear, “Well, we email people to try to earn new business opportunities.” I don’t know about you, but if you use one of the many email delivery systems available today, and you stop for a moment to take a measure of the people who actually open your marketing emails (a.k.a. your open rate), you probably won’t be happy with what you see. Email still works—but the rise of “spam” has made email less efficient as a primary promotion tool.
Due to overuse, email isn’t what it used to be, but even if it were still the powerful marketing tool that it once was ten to fifteen years ago, using one marketing strategy is a “horse with blinders on” approach to promoting your business. If you want to reach 100 percent of any marketplace, you have to be using 100 percent of the ways to reach that marketplace all of the time. Every marketplace is different, demographically, geographically, and beyond, so what might work in one market doesn’t necessarily work in another. As you might imagine, such a marketing approach is not easy; so as marketers, we are constantly testing and doing market research. What combination of mediums will yield the best results? You should be consistently using as many of these as possible:
- Phone. The phone is the one communication medium that is never going away, so don’t stop using the phone, ever. In fact, you should be using the phone to follow up with people who don’t respond to you when other forms of media were used. For example, pick up the phone and call a prospect who never responded to an email you sent last week. Voice broadcasts are included in phone communications.
- Email. Email seems to be the marketing tool of choice for many. It doesn’t take you out of your comfort zone by having to call someone, and it’s very cost-effective. But because of those reasons, it’s also grossly overused. So, use it, but only in combination with other mediums.
- Snail Mail. With the right target list, direct mail campaigns can yield some great results.
- Fax. Although fax machines will eventually end up with the same fate as Blockbuster Video, some people still use fax. In fact, because email has largely replaced fax when it comes to advertising, it can still be an effective promotional medium for your business.
- Texting. Sending auto texts to customers about new promotions or events is a great way to utilize SMS to reach potential customers or current ones.
- Videos. You should have your own YouTube Channel, send videos via email, place videos on your website, on TV, and anywhere else where they might be seen.
- Social Media. All forms of social media should be utilized, from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, to LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, and Yelp.
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