Marketing is a simple process when you boil it down to the fundamentals. Whether you're an author, business owner, or non-profit director, you can achieve marketing success following these three simple steps. Ask yourself:
- What is your value?
- Who needs your value the most?
- Where do those who need your value congregate in large numbers?
Let's briefly look at Step 1: "What is your value?" Before you can convince people to spend their money on your product or service, you must convince them that there will be a justifiable return on their investment. There has to be a clear result that people can see is waiting for them on the other side of their purchase transaction.
Nobody really cares about the content in your book, the features listed about your product, or how much money you're trying to raise for a charitable cause. Instead, people want to know if reading, buying, or donating will make their life better. What is the positive result that you offer? The result can be tangible or intangible, but it must be something that appeals to people's self-interest.
If you skip the first step of defining your value, then your marketing will act like a gun that just shoots blanks. You'll promote to prospective customers, but they'll respond like unconvinced skeptics. You will wonder, "Why isn't my marketing working? These people should love what I have to offer." The problem is that you didn't clearly explain what's in it for them.
When people believe that you can give them a result they want, then your marketing will become more effective. Defining your value is the first step to unlocking the true power of promotion. Next week, we'll look at the second step to successful marketing, which is defining who needs your value the most.
