Do you know why you’re marketing?

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When I meet a business owner for the first time, and I tell them what I do for a living, they almost always tell me that they know they need to market more. After asking a few questions, I usually find that they use the word “market” liberally as the catch all for advertising, sales and getting new clients.

The problem with this perspective is that marketing is not a catch all. Marketing is not something you vaguely do. There are many aspects of marketing, and there are numerous tools to use, and strategies to follow. But none of them matter much if you, the business owner, aren’t crystal clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Unfortunately, many well-intentioned business owners get to the point that they need to “get their marketing done” and so begin to randomly create expensive websites, buy ads, participate in promotions, attend more networking events, perhaps sponsor something local, and the like. The more web savvy and adventurous may also start on the social media path and perhaps create a Facebook profile, start on Twitter and other current tools.

If I were to ask them why they chose those activities over others, the typical answers would be that they were following what others were doing, and that they really need to start marketing because their sales are down.

Both answers could not be more wrong although I truly understand the reasons behind them.

My approach may not be conventional, but here it is anyway. At the most basic level, marketing is simply about creating the opportunity to have conversations with the people who are interested in or have already bought your product and service. And here’s the other common misconception – it’s not about selling!

You have these discussions to get to know each other better, see if you’re both finding the relationship agreeable, and looking for ways to take your relationship further. When you’re happy with each other, you start to introduce each other to others in your circle. That doesn’t sound so complicated, does it?

Now think about the context of the relationship. Looking for a bridge partner, would require a much different approach than finding your true love. So if you go with a friend to a rock concert, but with the intention of meeting a bridge partner, your odds of success would be quite low.

When you look at your business from this perspective you can see how many of our decisions come from lack of clarity, both in what we are looking for, and how we go about it.

There are essential marketing activities that all businesses need to do proactively and consistently. If you aren’t doing at least something in each of these categories on a regular basis, I guarantee that you are either already losing money, or you are leaving yourself vulnerable.

• Finding and capturing leads – you need to have a way to find, and gather information on your potential customers.
• Following up with qualified prospects – once you have someone on your radar, you need to have a way to systematically follow up with them and keep the conversation going.
• Keeping your customers happy – this one’s obvious!
• Staying connected with potential, current and past customers – you need to be able to regularly get in front of your list of prospects and customers, so that they don’t forget about you, and that you are top of mind when they are ready to purchase the service you provide
• Making it easy for others to recommend you – word of mouth is critical for small business owners who simply can’t compete with the mass advertising that larger companies do. To do this, you need to make sure your network understands what you do, who you help and how to find you.
• Looking for other complimentary businesses to partner and collaborate with – one of the rock solid ways to build your business is to partner up with other businesses who already serve your ideal market of customers. If you can refer potential clients to each other, you have a win-win-win for all parties.

No matter what the marketing activity, it can usually fit into one of these categories. I challenge you to look at what you’re doing (or not doing) from this perspective. The view should be clearer from here.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:  Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System^TM for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and  unlock their business potential for greater  personal freedom and prosperity. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful entrepreneurial adventure. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for free tips on how to unlock the business in you.