Four marketing tips to kick start 2014

Provide value don’t just sell

There is nothing worse than reading someone’s blog or following someone on Twitter when all they do is sell. People love to buy, but they hate being sold to. Are you guilty of selling to your audience rather than engaging with them and creating an atmosphere conducive to buying?

Apply “VVVS” to your marketing, which is value + value + value + sell. Add value three times for every sales pitch. The greater the value, the easier it will be to prompt your target market to take action when you ‘sell’ to them. And it doesn’t have to be a hard sell either. If you’ve given people enough value, all you have to do is present the opportunity for them to buy. Are you offering value, or just plain selling?

Stand out in the Sea of Sameness

Chances are I can buy what you offer (or close enough to it) from someone else. You need to have a clear reason why I should buy from you rather than your competitors.

What makes your business unique? List the ways you’re different from your competitors. Then, once you’ve got a full list, cross off all of the things that your competitors also say they do! It doesn’t matter whether they actually do it or not, if they also say it, it’s not unique in the eyes of your target market. Whatever is left is your point of difference – your Unique Selling Proposition.

Once you’re clear on what makes you different, ask yourself “Is this actually important to my target market?” If it isn’t, put some work into making yourself stand out. Remember, if you’re perceived to be different to your competitors, they’ll no longer be in competition. Cool huh?

Want more articles like this? Check out the attracting new business section.

Guarantees help guarantee a sale

As with Social Proof, if prospects are on the fence, a guarantee is a great way to push them all the way over.

Don’t just guarantee things for the sake of it though. Use guarantees as a way of handling objections. Is there a common objection that you hear from your prospects when it comes to buying? Are they unsure whether your product will do what it says it will? Is money an issue? Something else? If you create a guarantee that takes away your prospects’ biggest objection, you’re moving them closer to a sale.

No more than three clicks

If it takes more than three clicks to find out how to buy from you, you’ve lost potential customers. Whether it’s from an email campaign, your blog or even from the homepage on your business website, people need to be able to purchase within three clicks.

How many clicks does it take from your homepage to your sales area? Is it clear and easy to get there? And during clicks one and two, are you giving people enough information to be able to make a decision? Go and check!

This article is the first in a three part series. Next month I’ll offer three more marketing tips, and three more after that. So get ready to attract more customers in 2014!

What are your top marketing tips for 2014? Why do customers choose to do business with you rather than your competitors?