Why Your Marketing Isn't Working
Your website is up and running, your social media is on a regular posting schedule, you’ve sent the emails, newsletters, mail-ins, and now you sit back and wait for customers to come your way.
*crickets*
Wait, are customers still not interacting with you? What gives?!
Chances are, if you own a business, you know what marketing is, but it bears repeating:
Marketing is any action a company or business takes in order to attract an audience/customers to the company’s product or services through high-quality, targeted messaging.
Marketing delivers value through content avenues to show the value of products, strengthen brand loyalty, and increase sales. Marketing acts to make customers aware of what you offer, engages those people, and helps them decide to buy your offerings.
Sounds easy enough, yeah? So why is YOUR marketing strategy not working?
Lack of Targeting
Reading that headline, you may say to yourself - “Well I try to help EVERYONE with my business.”
And that’s the problem.
Your product or service isn’t meant to fit every individual person. Instead, having a marketing strategy that will succeed starts with one base idea: your customer.
So who are your people? Who are you targeting?
Target Markets are Where it Starts
A target market is another way to explain a segment of customers you believe want/need what you offer. By identifying these people who purchase your product, you can build a customer persona. This includes analyzing their behaviors, preferences, and then taking that knowledge to make tailor-made marketing messages in the areas they are active.
“But why can’t I target everybody? You never know!” Look, I get it. I spent a couple years targeting everybody in my business, too. Let me give you an example:
Marketing is like fishing. You may think a big net is best, but casting a smaller net is best for catching those specific fish. Yes, you may catch FEWER fish, but the ones you catch will be of higher quality. A smaller net can target certain fish and minimize waste or damage to your net. You will have made your efforts more efficient, effective, and have only the fish you want to have.
What’s the big deal with target markets?
When companies don’t have a specific target, they end up pouring money and resources into a product or service nobody is interested in. In return, the business loses money and their investors. It’s an immense loss for everyone involved.
Who are Your People?
Have your marketing efforts been called “Vanilla” recently? Are your sales not scaling cost effectively? Are you experiencing poor customer retention?
These are some of the effects of not knowing your customers. Elevating the customer experience for your people is the best decision to get (and keep) clients. It’s also a great way to foster customer loyalty with repeat customers telling their friends and family about your products and services.
Understanding your customers is all about deciding who to target, where, with what, and how they best receive information and using that information to build a detailed analysis.
So how do you get to know your customers better?
Hop on a call: I know, I know. Not everybody loves phone calls, but hear me out. Scheduling regular calls with your clients as a form of checking in with them lets you go deeper into their business ideas, needs, and challenges.
Swim in the data: Let’s face it, in 2023 we’re basically drowning in data and analytics. Everything is online, and that means your customers are, too. By using a mix of analytics from your social media and in-depth insights through your email sequences, website, and sales pages, you’ll be able to see exactly who is purchasing your offerings (hint: this is called a buyer persona which we will talk about in depth in another blog).
Respond to the 5 stars AND the 1 stars: If you have the option to leave your company a review, chances are you’ve racked up some incredible ones and some… not as incredible ones. Regardless of WHERE or when these were posted, take time to create personal responses to customer reviews. This works to humanize your brand and shows you care about the experience your customers have.
Personalize that thang: Nothing is a one-size fits all (except those weird bubble shirts from 2002. Remember those?). Tailoring your discounts, deals, and packages allows for your clients to know you’re listening to them. If you offer a full website content package boasting of 5 rewritten pages but your client only needs 3, what do you do?
Repeat after me - you personalize that thang!
Your customers are crucial to your success - invest in them.
The Value is Weak
If you’re not sure what a value proposition is, here ya go:
A value proposition defines the benefits of your company’s products or services and defines clearly how your company differs from the competition.
An effective value proposition isn’t empty claims, it’s specific and reflects what your customers value most about your business. Your people will walk away with firm knowledge about how you make their life better.
There’s not much impact with “We’re dedicated to our customers.” Okay? And? Give us some MEAT on those bones! A thousand different companies can say the same thing, so what makes you special? Weak value propositions do not communicate specifically how their company benefits the life of their consumers.
Let’s get specific and see the difference:
Generic: “Tiffany Writes, LLC believes everyone should have a voice.”
Specific: “Tiffany Writes, LLC gives a voice to women owned business owners and women entrepreneurs by providing clear, consistent, and SEO rich content.”
See the difference?
Don’t be afraid to get into the nitty gritty with your specifics - make it clear for your customers!
Talk to Me, Dude!
Ah yes, the most important aspect of business (and actually life): communication! And often, communication can look drastically different from one company to another (remember the one-size doesn’t fit all things? Exactly).
Companies can communicate through social media, text message marketing, web-based live chat boxes, email marketing, or direct mail. Consumer-brand relationships are not too dissimilar from friendships meaning it’s a two-way street in how we interact with them.
However you choose to communicate with clients, do so with integrity. If a customer is unhappy and leaving nasty reviews, don’t avoid the problem! Approach it with an open mind willing to listen and learn. Reply within 24 hours if you’re able to - answering those questions and queries left in your email or through DMs will add value.
Don’t Forget to Post That
We’ve all been there - you forgot to post your Instagram post… again. The important one with your newest service. Well, you can just post it tomorrow?
Consistency always sounds like a basic idea, but for many people, staying consistent takes a lot of effort and time. Being consistent in your business is vital to provide stability to yourself and your customers.
So how do you stay consistent? I gotcha.
Decide what your vision for your business is. What are you trying to accomplish? How will you do this? Build this out step by step and keep it in the forefront of your mind as your plan for everything else.
It’s time to create that plan. Think of this like a blueprint for your brand that will allow you to post, create, etc. when you most need it. Also - don’t overthink this step. If your goal is to post five Instagram posts per week, find an automation service you enjoy (shout out to Pallyy for saving me).
Establish systems and processes that allow you to stay on task. The more you’re able to systematize your daily operations, the more you’ll see consistency shining through! Consider creating a checklist per month and then narrow it down to weekly. Hang that big wall calendar you were eyeing, or visit your local stationery store and grab a smaller planner.
Build a plan. Stick to it. Or like Nike says - “Just do it.”
Summary
Now that you have the steps to move forward, your marketing plan is getting ready to shine! Take your time to thoroughly analyze your current marketing strategy and build it from the bones up to build a brand that positions you as a trusted expert in your field.
Identify those problems so you can find the solution.
Unsure if your marketing is working for you? Let’s talk about it.
