A colleague of mine describes it simply as problem-solving!
Meaning that your marketing, more specifically your marketing message, should do 4 things:
- Clearly identify the problem you solve.
- Paint a picture of how much better life becomes once that problem is solved.
- Subtly make the case for why YOU are the right person to help them solve that problem.
- Create urgency and motivate action!
However, if you’re anything like I was a few years ago – creating marketing that combines all 4 elements seems difficult, overwhelming and at times – frustrating.
(Now I’m on a mission to change all of that!!)
Imagine your marketing is a bucket. A bucket that you are pouring your leads & prospects into. And unfortunately, sometimes that bucket springs leaks and your hard-earned leads & prospects leak out.When your marketing doesn’t contain ALL of the above 4 critical elements that’s what’s happening. Your leads & prospects are slipping away even though you’ve worked hard and perhaps invested money to acquire them.
What if you could plug those leaks with just a few marketing tweaks so that you could actually get more client?
Welcome to the first in a 3-part series about tweaking your marketing and plugging those leaks!! In this series, you’ll learn some simple changes that you can make to your existing marketing that will allow your prospects to actually hear your marketing message and then hire you!
In order to make these tweaks, you’ll first need to diagnose your current marketing using my Traffic Light tool then once you understand where your marketing is ‘leaking’ prospects, then you’ll be able to make those course corrections.
In this blog post, let’s talk about the first element of your 3-step Client Attraction Formula – your consistent outreach!
What is ‘consistent outreach’? Basically, this means that it’s your responsibility as the business owner to be visible – findable – for your dream client; it’s not their job to find you. It’s not the field of dreams and you can’t expect prospects/leads fall from the sky!
When you aren’t consistent, you’ll end up wondering why your competition got hired instead of you even though you do a better job or get better results!
Three common marketing leaks with respect to consistent outreach are:
1. Hiding in your secret entrepreneurial laboratory (behind your computer) and hoping that clients will find you! Hope is not a strategy! Very often clients are fearful of being visible and of being judged. Being judged is part of being a business owner – it comes with the territory. Remember, you are out there to attract your dream client – not everyone.
In today’s noisy marketplace, you need to stay Top of Mind so that your prospects remember you when they need you! That’s one reason why business owners need to have strategies such as email lists, blogs, podcasts, Facebook groups, etc. to stay connected with their audience.
What are you doing CONSISTENTLY to stay top of mind with your leads/prospects?
2. A 2nd common marketing leak could be that you are focusing all of your marketing at ‘attracting’ leads & prospects. The truth is that less than 10% of the people you are marketing to are ready to purchase from you now – the other 90% might be interested in purchasing from you at a later time. These are the leads that you will need to ‘cultivate’, i.e. build that know-like and trust factor.
In marketing. customers typically take a journey with you that looks something like this…
Captivate – is about attracting those leads & capturing their information so that you can move them to the next phase, cultivate.
Cultivate is about building the K-L-T until they are ready to purchase from you.
Convert is about inviting them to work with you.
Follow-up is a much-overlooked part of marketing. Just because a prospect says no to your initial invitation; doesn’t mean that they won’t ever work with you.
Delight is an important part of your marketing. Customers who have a wonderful experience with you will send you not only testimonials but referrals – essential elements to your overall marketing strategy.
And at each stage of the journey, we actually have to communicate with them differently. Why? Because at almost every stage of their journey, they are at a different stage of the Know-Like-Trust factor. We wouldn’t speak to a cold lead the same way we would with a hot lead.
And if you’re spending your marketing efforts only speaking to cold leads, then you are wasting a large portion of your efforts.
3. The 3rd and perhaps the biggest marketing leak of consistent outreach is that often business owners choose a marketing tactic (or method – LinkedIn, Facebook, speaking, networking, etc.) before they have created an overall marketing strategy (Profitable Marketing Roadmap).
There are 2 essential considerations when choosing a marketing tactic from the huge variety. The first consideration is where are your dream clients hanging out? Are they attending networking events or association conferences? Are they on LinkedIn or Instagram? Do they prefer video or reading articles in magazines?
The 2nd consideration is more about you … or what is your content style? By this I mean, where do you shine? Would you rather write content or do you shine when you are on stage connecting to an audience? When you start & stay within your content style – you will shine and connect much better with your audience. (This is one of the elements of your Entrepreneurial DNA).
So, are you choosing your marketing tactics randomly?
Or do you have a strategy?
A Profitable Marketing Roadmap?
As I mentioned earlier …. Now it’s time to diagnose your business. Using the idea of a TRAFFIC LIGHT – how would you rate your Consistent Outreach?
RED – you are NOT consistent at all (for example: you only post occasionally on FB; and never In groups; you have an email list but you don’t remember the last time you sent them anything; you don’t do FB lives or any videos)
GREEN – people say, ‘you seem to be everywhere’ (for example: you post regularly in FB groups and online, you send out regular blogs; you regularly attend networking)
YELLOW – you are somewhere in between.
Thank you for reading all the way to the bottom of this blog and hopefully you’ve paused along the way to diagnose your marketing and this portion of a 3-step client attraction formula.
Stay tuned next week for part 2 where you’ll get to diagnose your solution to the problem!
Diana
PS. You’re invited to my upcoming workshop to help you plug your leaks & learn HOW TO TALK ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS SO THAT PROSPECTS LISTEN AND HIRE YOU. Early bird special for the Ottawa event, until Feb 21, $197!!!
More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/539859946735792/
