We’re all in business to provide solutions to our customers’ problems. If people aren’t aware of the solutions you offer, you won’t be in business for long.

Too many people believe that marketing is all about “running an ad tomorrow, so I can have sales the next day.” If it were that simple, you’d already be a millionaire, and you wouldn’t need DSP’s help and support. The best marketing strategies take time and practice to develop, test, fine tune and implement.

For example, one company may generate £ millions in sales just by using direct mail. But that doesn’t mean that every business should stop every other form of marketing and only use direct mail.

That would be equivalent to a carpenter who only used a screwdriver. His one tool would work well for inserting screws but it wouldn’t do a very good job of sanding a table. One of the easiest ways of improving your marketing is to simply use the best tool for the job.

Communicating The Benefits

Marketing, very simply, is all about communicating the benefits of your products or services to your customers and prospects. It’s also about continuously educating your customers about the benefits that you offer them.

The key point in this marketing definition is “communicating the benefits,” As you observe other people’s marketing, you’ll frequently notice them communicating features. Features don’t sell — benefits do.

Features are easy. A vacuum cleaner has a nine amp motor ... but who cares? The benefit of the nine amp motor is that it’ll pick up more dirt. Customers buy it because of the benefit ... it picks up more dirt.

When you talk to prospective customers, you need to communicate information about your product or service in a benefit statement they’ll understand. When you say, “My product can do X,” what does that actually mean to your customer or prospect?

Communicate the benefits so that your customers understand and can relate to them. Telling them, for example, that your product or service makes them look better or makes their life easier is what sells, That’s what gets people to say, “I must have it.” They feel an immediate need or desire.

Targeting The Right Market

It’s important, when you start marketing, to determine who you’re trying to reach. Your target market consists of the people who are most likely to need your products or service.

Say, for example, you own a one hour film processing lab and you say, “I’m trying to reach anybody who has film.” Well, is that truly the case? Or, are you trying to reach people who have film who want it processed quickly? Think about it -because that’s the service you have to sell.

Don’t Try To Be All Things To All People

It is amazing how frequently business owners want to be everything to everyone. You cannot succeed doing that because you become a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. The secret is to select the people you want to work with, figure out what products and services they need, and offer them in the best way you possibly can. When you do that, customers will keep coming back.

I guarantee that if you implement DSP’s recommended strategies, your business will move forward. What you have to do is select a handful that’ll work best for you and start applying them. NOW! As Nike says, “Just do it!”

Once you’ve discovered which strategies will work best for you, start looking at ways to make them work better. If most of your business comes from advertising and you currently get five responses from an ad, look for a way to improve the response to ten or fifteen responses. Sometimes by changing just one word you can double your number of responses.

Some of the hints and tips you’ll discover on this website are so simple that you’ll say, “Yes, I can do that.” Well, great! The important thing is that you actually do it.

Open up your mind, think outside the box, and have fun! The only limit is your imagination.

To find out more, or to arrange your FREE consultation, call DSP on 01908 357657 ... NOW!