Marketing Strategies - Multi-Faceted Marketing Strategies
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The greatest product in the world still won’t sell itself -- especially if you’re just getting your business off the ground. You also don’t have time or money for trial and error. When you embark on activities designed to sell your product, you are engaging in marketing. What works for one business doesn’t guarantee success for another; you must keep the specifics of your industry, your product and your customers in mind and develop a strategy that accounts for all of those facets.
Know Thy Customer
You should feel like you’ve been inside your customer’s home and could carry on a comfortable conversation across the dinner table the first time you meet. Take advantage of as much demographic research as possible that reveals what your customers buy, earn, watch, read and when, and how much they are willing to spend on whatever you are selling. If your customers span several age groups, you need to separate them out, because the habits of a 20-something won’t typically mirror those of someone three times his age.
Know Thy Competitor
Find out as much about your competition as possible, then identify what makes your product better or different. It may be a novel product feature or your pricing strategy. This is called positioning your product and its features and benefits. If you are entering the market after your competitors, you will have to convince customers to try your product at least once, which means they need a reason to select your item over one they have either already purchased or are considering purchasing. Sometimes positioning your product simply means targeting a different group of customers. For example, a competitor may position his product as an affordable alternative, leaving room for you to aim for a more elite market.
Pricing for Profit
Pricing your item will be the most difficult but most important thing you do as part of your marketing strategy. You must set your price high enough to cover your costs as well as make a profit, or you won’t stay in business -- at least not for long. It must also be what your customers are willing and able to pay, which means if it’s considerably higher than your competitors, there has to be a reason that resonates with your customers. One strategy is to set an introductory price to entice customers to make that first purchase, then get feedback to see how much more they are willing to pay -- if at all -- or modify your product strategy to reflect a different price. You also need to set your distribution strategy, which will also affect your pricing. If you sell your product online, for example, you will have to consider order-filling and shipping requirements.
Communicate to Get and Keep the Customer
Expect your customer communication to be never ending. When you first start the business, you will need public relations activities to get the word out about you and what you are selling. You can purchase some affordable advertising in newspapers or online venues to promote your products. Engage your customers in social media for free two-way communication; an added bonus is that this is an easy way to get feedback throughout your product life cycles. In a cyber-universe that connects easily and spreads information rapidly, monitoring your customers' reactions and responding to feedback is important.
Tags:
Marketing, Marketing Strategies
Know Thy Customer
You should feel like you’ve been inside your customer’s home and could carry on a comfortable conversation across the dinner table the first time you meet. Take advantage of as much demographic research as possible that reveals what your customers buy, earn, watch, read and when, and how much they are willing to spend on whatever you are selling. If your customers span several age groups, you need to separate them out, because the habits of a 20-something won’t typically mirror those of someone three times his age.
Know Thy Competitor
Find out as much about your competition as possible, then identify what makes your product better or different. It may be a novel product feature or your pricing strategy. This is called positioning your product and its features and benefits. If you are entering the market after your competitors, you will have to convince customers to try your product at least once, which means they need a reason to select your item over one they have either already purchased or are considering purchasing. Sometimes positioning your product simply means targeting a different group of customers. For example, a competitor may position his product as an affordable alternative, leaving room for you to aim for a more elite market.
Pricing for Profit
Pricing your item will be the most difficult but most important thing you do as part of your marketing strategy. You must set your price high enough to cover your costs as well as make a profit, or you won’t stay in business -- at least not for long. It must also be what your customers are willing and able to pay, which means if it’s considerably higher than your competitors, there has to be a reason that resonates with your customers. One strategy is to set an introductory price to entice customers to make that first purchase, then get feedback to see how much more they are willing to pay -- if at all -- or modify your product strategy to reflect a different price. You also need to set your distribution strategy, which will also affect your pricing. If you sell your product online, for example, you will have to consider order-filling and shipping requirements.
Communicate to Get and Keep the Customer
Expect your customer communication to be never ending. When you first start the business, you will need public relations activities to get the word out about you and what you are selling. You can purchase some affordable advertising in newspapers or online venues to promote your products. Engage your customers in social media for free two-way communication; an added bonus is that this is an easy way to get feedback throughout your product life cycles. In a cyber-universe that connects easily and spreads information rapidly, monitoring your customers' reactions and responding to feedback is important.
