There are three key secrets of successful marketing taken from the top experts in the field. Marketing is a tricky thing to do- especially when you are a small business owner and don’t have a ton of time or money to invest in it.
But there are some key strategies that can help your business thrive without spending too much time or money!
These ideas are tried and true when it comes to marketing and making sales for any business owner- from auto repair shops to restaurants to retail stores. These three marketing success principles will help you focus, control, and get the most out of your marketing efforts and investment.
#1 Dig The Well Before You Thirst
Have you ever heard this phrase before? I believe it’s an old Chinese proverb. Many marketing campaigns fail simply because they were not planned out in advance with a strategy to make sure it works and is worth your money and time investing in.
Don’t wait until you’re right in the middle of your slower times at your business, and then decide maybe I should do something to combat this. Sit down and have an honest conversation about what kind of marketing you want to do. What are your goals? Who do you want as customers? What has worked in the past?
Don’t Do Panic-Based Marketing
Marketing campaigns fail because owners wait until the last minute, then act out of desperation and panic to get something done to try and increase sales. Acting in panic mode for anything in business isn’t good, but especially for your marketing.
We all know the feeling of panic when you are trying to market something. It’s easy to get caught up in it and forget about our customers, what they want or need, etc. Customers don’t care how much money you have spent on marketing – they just want your product or service!
Create a marketing plan based on your goals! Take the time needed for solid marketing plans. Start early and finish strong.
#2 K.I.S.S.
I know you have heard that one before- Keep It Simple Stupid. Just a phrase, not calling you stupid- I would never do that! But your customers may lose trust in your business if you try to make your marketing more complicated than it needs to be.
Not confusing the customer is very important when trying to gain their attention and keep them coming back for more of what they like.
When it comes to sales and marketing, keep your strategies simple. The more complicated you make them, the higher the chance they will fail. Keeping everything as easy as possible can help boost sales by creating an environment where customers feel welcomed rather than pushed away.
Confusion Kills Sales
Three important words to remember.
Customers respond better when there isn’t so much going on, which helps increase action into sales. Keep things simple, and don’t try to force something onto customers if it doesn’t seem right or fits their wants and needs. Remember, you are not your customer. When people are able to do business naturally, then they tend to be happier about doing business. Communicating with your customers in a straightforward manner will help you meet their needs and increase your sales.
If you have too many options or restrictions, it will make people nervous. When faced with a complex decision, we tend to avoid making any choice at all. In fact, researchers have found that if you ask someone to choose between A and B, the brain responds as though it had been asked to solve an algebra problem! If this happens frequently enough, discomfort accumulates until finally – even for trivial decisions – we abandon ship entirely rather than continuing in our state of indecision.
Do not overwhelm customers with information and avoid too many options. Keep things short and sweet – Make sure everything is actionable – Be clear about what you offer now VS. later — This will help people make up their mind quicker instead of dragging out confusion, or worse, not making a choice at all. Make it clear so that they can act quickly, if need be, rather than confusing them further by having too much on the table!
# 3 – Go with a proven winner
Regularly changing up promotional techniques could potentially harm your company image. This is because if you do not use the same strategies as before, your audience might think that you are doing something wrong, or they may question whether you know what works. If this happens, it could risk turning them away from your brand and losing potential customers for good. It’s important to remember that even though some campaigns don’t work out how they were intended to, there will always be other promotions that can help generate leads with ease.
Business owners should try their best to implement tried-and-tested marketing techniques into their promotional toolbox in order to see the most effective results possible. These types of campaigns have been used successfully time after time again, so marketers who want guaranteed success should take advantage of these opportunities today!
If you are looking for the one promotion that has stood the test of time and continues to be the most effective for increasing sales in the month of January hands down… The #1 Restaurant Promotion Of All Time. Click the button below to see how it doubles sales for thousands of restaurants every year.
WARNING– This promotion needs to be implemented before the holidays to work in January. Remember, Dig The Well Before You Thirst!
Michael Thibault
Known as “The Done For You Marketing Guy for Restaurants.” International Speaker on Restaurant Marketing. Published contributing author of 4 Marketing Books. Industry expert on Google Searches and Review Sites. Recovering Independent Restaurant Owner and Caterer of over 21 years. And, all-around good guy.