Is Good Marketing Simpler Than You Assume?
Good marketing is clean, effective, capable, and driven by data and results. However, and here’s the real confusing part, it’s also about romance to a degree. All sales are. Trying to convince someone that their life or ambition would be just a touch more complete with what you have to provide in it is an art, and if you can get it right, it’ll make all the difference.
So it’s worth asking a question before we get started with longform advice - is marketing, good marketing that is, simpler than you assume? What if simply nailing the fundamentals is enough for most businesses? Well, for your particular service a large-scale, complex, multi-service approach could be better. But then again, the only way to find that out is if you nail the basics.
In this post, we’ll discuss how to do that:
Understand Your Buyer Persona & Identities
Marketing often leans in the direction of demographics, and that can be true to an extent. Perhaps a middle-aged guy is more likely to buy that tape measure. But are they the only people worth targeting? It’s not always clear.
After all, knowing your customers goes beyond age, location, or gender. What really matters is understanding what drives them - their motivations, what they struggle with, and how you can fit into that picture. Getting a good grasp on who your audience is helps you communicate in a way that makes sense to them. It’s easier to connect when you know what makes them tick, as this guide to building a buyer persona deftly shows us.
Try To Push One Or Two Messages Per Campaign
If you want to convince someone of something, do you hold yourself back if it’s important? Not usually. If the police incorrectly identify you as a culprit in some kind of crime, you’re hardly going to restrain yourself and play it cool so as not to look suspicious by being too persuasive. But the truth is that with marketing, being overzealous can sometimes come across as desperation.
It’s good to balance that temptation to say it all at once, as campaigns that try to cover everything can end up saying nothing at all. It’s better to stick to one or two messages that really matter. What do you want people to walk away remembering? Keeping it simple means your point is more likely to get through - be you perfecting your sustainability drive, offering subscriptions with no fixed contracts, or providing to an underserved market. Hammer that point home as well as you can before you move on, because that helps you lay a foundation and show a track record of provable claims.
Aim Not Just For Conversions, But Exposure & Familiarity
Why do you market your business? To drive sales? Well yes, most likely. You’re not silly or unaware for wanting to put that at the center of your ambition. Yet everyone wants to see conversions, but that’s not the only measure of success to pursue. Sometimes, focusing a little more widely is worth it.
Getting your brand out there and building recognition is just as valuable in the long run. The more people know about you, the more they’ll trust you when it’s time to make a decision or just think of you first. Think of how everyone knows about Coca-Cola, but they’ll still spend thousands to have their logo at the side of a stadium during a football match. Familiarity breeds confidence, even if they don’t buy right away, and it’s about confirming and reconfirming your presence to people, especially if you’re new in the market.
Have At Least One Marketing Campaign Active At All Times
Some suggest that it’s best not to say something unless you have something important to say. Have you ever tried to ask these people the time or make small, positive talk about the weather? Exactly.
It can be easy to slip into the habit of running campaigns only during product launches or slower periods, but keeping something active year-round, even in small targeted ways, helps maintain visibility. It doesn’t need to be big either, maybe a small ad campaign or some targeted emails can keep you ticking over and continuing to show you’re here. The idea is to stay in people’s minds, even in the background, so when they’re ready, you’re ready too.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily understand that good marketing is simpler than we assume. From there, you get to define what that means for yourself.