The most enduring lessons we’ll learn either in business or in life come from experience, and failures are often some of the best lessons of all. First, they tell us what doesn’t work, and second, they make us appreciate success more when we reach it.
There’s a lot to learn, and that’s why we’ve put together these tips – for those lessons you haven’t learned yet. We hope this won’t only inspire you in your business, but also help you create your next marketing plan. Because there are no rules that say we can’t learn from others’ experiences, and especially their failures.
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Don’t Scrimp On Advertising
“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.” – Steuart Henderson Britt
This underscores why advertising should always be a part of your core strategies. Studies show that businesses that consistently advertise perform better in the long run.
Your product may be the best of its kind, but if nobody knows that, it might as well not exist. Sad to say, it is not the best products or companies that make it to the top, it is the brands that are marketed the best.
So advertise, not just on traditional media but also on the Internet, especially in this digital age. Invest in sponsored posts and reach your target market effectively.
Build a Community
“Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they’ll come.” – unknown
Just because you build a business, it doesn’t mean people will line up (digitally speaking) to buy your products. Just because you started a website, it doesn’t mean you’ll have visitors. Just because you opened a social media account, it doesn’t mean a crowd of followers will suddenly materialize.
You have to include a solid marketing strategy in your overall plans, and you have to make building relationships an important part of it.
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There are several ways marketing experts say you can create a closer relationship with your customers. So, build a community and aim not to close a sale with every interaction, but to gain trust and build faith every time. Creating loyal customers takes time but that’s all part of it.
You can’t gain loyal customers overnight, just as you won’t usually get thousands of followers in one day. Technically, you can buy a thousand followers and have the number reflected on your page the instant you buy them, but that’s all buying followers does: increase the number on your follower counter.
Bought followers, though, will provide a huge boost to your marketing strategies if they are high-quality followers. A lot of authentic-looking fake followers on your account will serve as social proof, attracting real users to follow you.
Provide Relevant and Useful Content
“Marketing is telling the world you’re a rock star. Content Marketing is showing the world you are one.” – Robert Rose, Content Marketing Institute
Just marketing your brand to your audience is not enough. Deliver quality information to your customers not just to show your expertise in your niche, but also to provide greater value to them than your competitors.
Neil Patel said it best when he observed that “Just like the best marketing in the world won’t help you sell a bad product, super advanced SEO will be useless if your content plain sucks.”
Show the world who you are through your content. Indeed, it will also help in building trust between you and your audiences, which can help you attract more customers.
Measure the Effectiveness of Your Campaigns
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” – Peter Drucker
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While Peter Drucker himself believed that not everything can be measured, when you’re running a marketing campaign, measuring its performance is important to achieving your goals.
Not measuring your campaign’s performance is like trying to improve your golf game without keeping score. You won’t know where you are in relation to your marketing objectives or if you are even progressing or not.
There are No Boring Industries – Only Boring Marketers
“Your industry isn’t boring, your marketing is boring.” – Ashley Friedlein
You can’t help being in a “boring” industry but you can spice up your marketing and avoid sleep-inducing promotional materials. Granted, you can’t compete with more exciting industries like entertainment or news that talk about the names celebrities are giving their kids or the latest on Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but you can still be a leader in your industry.
Consider how Charmin makes humorous posts a focal part of their marketing strategies. Even in their industry, marketing plain and dull toilet paper, they managed to not only grab the attention of their viewers but also endear themselves to them through their funny and lively posts.
#astronomy, indeed. Or should it be #asstronomy?
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Your Customer is the Star
“If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.” – Bob Hooey
Customers are the lifeblood of all businesses. They are important and should be made to feel important. Treat them right, treat them with respect, and show it in your every interaction with them.
Great customer service can make people feel appreciated and valued. Happy customers aren’t likely to end business relationships with you. They can even turn into loyal, long-term brand advocates.
Set the Value, Not the Price
“The reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is that you haven’t given them anything else to care about.” – Seth Godin
It’s not easy communicating the value of your products or services to your customers. If you’re able to build value around your brand, though, the price will not be an issue and your customers will be only too glad to part with their hard-earned money.
Case in point, Starbucks coffee. Starbucks is expensive and yet their customers are always happy to pay for the experience. Indeed, it’s the experience they are selling and not just the cup of coffee. Look how happy those people are.
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“Free” is a Good Marketing Strategy, Sometimes
“When a consumer derives value – especially from something that was given to him for free – he becomes the best kind of evangelist.” – Mitch Joel
The reciprocity principle of psychology states that people are compelled to give something back when they receive a gift or service for free. Take advantage of this human tendency and give something free to your customers every now and then. This feeling of “indebtedness” is said to be stronger when nothing is asked in return.
This can also be your chance to demonstrate the value of your products. When your products do not disappoint, your happy customers will be happy to spread the word about your brand.
Add an Emotional Message
“Your top of the funnel content must be intellectually divorced from your product but emotionally wed to it.” – Joe Chernov
Emotional advertising has been known to make people more likely to share your content and buy your products. In fact, a neuroscientific research study shows that decisions are generally based in emotion, not logic.
Generate leads for your company using emotions that your audience will relate to. Choose happy emotions and let your viewers associate your brand with it. This can be a good brand marketing and is great for your overall image.
Ever wondered why Coca Cola always makes ads that center around happiness, rather than sugar water?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GOIlluYvy8
Boost Word-of-Mouth Advertising
“A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO
People trust the recommendations of people they know more than an advert. Create such a good impression with every customer you come in contact with that when it’s time to recommend someone, it’s you who’ll come to mind.
Build your brand reputation and gain the trust of your customers. On your social media channels, you can display reviews you’ve received and let those reviews speak for your brand.
Another way to create a good impression is to have plenty of followers. When people see that you have a lot of followers, the tendency is for them to follow you as well. If a lot of people are already following you, they’ll conclude that you must be someone they should follow, too.
You can make this strategy work for you when you buy social media followers. Over time, these fake followers will attract organic followers for you. They’ll help build your reputation and will help you grow as a company.
Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes
The advice you see here will only be so many words if you don’t act on them. So, use them as a guide in your business and for inspiration in your journey.
If any of these quotes speak to you deeply, try writing it on a sticky note and putting it near your computer. It can be more effective than you might think.
Most of all, don’t be afraid to fail. Take bold risks! They are, like failures, inevitable parts of success.
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