The Marketing Strategy Explained

Every first conversation I have with a potential new client usually always starts the same way.

They tell me the reason why they don't trust people like me (marketing people).

What their bad experience usually (not ALWAYS) boiled down to is they made a bad (uneducated) decision.

So now, because they made a bad decision as a consequence, I have to earn their trust.

Most business owners will invest so much money in people, a great location, great technology etc etc...but when it comes to marketing (the one thing that grows their business) they cheapen out.

Again, I am talking MOST, not ALL, and probably not you. ( I hope not you.)

But if you are that person, just because you had a bad experience which potentially came from a bad decision YOU MADE, you are NOT off the hook.

I know this sounds harsh, but it's reality.

If your business is going to experience sustainable growth in today's world, you have to let go of status quo and the consequence of your own bad decisions.  You have to move past it.

To prevent bad experiences in the future, LEARN about marketing.

Learn as much as you can. It is then you will get ripped off less, you will start to understand the process, and your decision making will be better! 

Your success in your business is determined by your mindset!

One of the most important things you will do for the profitability of your business is to create a consistent marketing strategy.

You must have a mindset that understands this, embraces it, and adapts to it. 

A great marketing strategy has two parts:

•  Short-term gains
•  A long-term growth strategy

The long-term component comes from merely having a marketing strategy or a marketing process as I call it which is consistent.

Consistency is key here.

Marketing efforts that are consistent and have a long-term focus pays your business dividends over time and reinforces the short-term gains you’ve paid money for (online advertising).

Once you build a great online presence and your customer can find you at the top of the search, coupled with paid ads your business will experience great growth. 

I have been working with business owners for the past 10 years and I have learned a ton!

One thing I have learned is, the most powerful thing we can do in our marketing is to be thorough, focused, and consistent.

This will blow my client’s competitors out of the water.

How?

80% of small businesses are not consistent at marketing; their efforts aren’t very strategic – they are mainly 100% focused on short-term gains with no long-term strategy, they are reactive and not proactive.

(Even larger companies that you THINK are impossible to beat!)

Their efforts can be just as sloppy! So don't be intimidated just because you think they are BIG and you are little! Trust me!)

One the Internet the playing field is leveled.

The consumer looks for an online solution to their problem, makes a decision within seconds and clicks.

At eye shot the consumer has NO idea what business is "bigger". Bigger is an illusion online - anyone can compete.

It's all about marketing strategy and what you are willing to invest in bringing YOUR business to the top of a search. 

The long-term strategy component is the Achilles heel of most small service-based businesses and this weakness makes it very easy for me to rank my client's website above theirs.

Marketing Strategy: Being in the Search = PROFIT

Your potential customer takes out their mobile and conducts a search for your products and services.

Most of the time they will do a voice search. If you want to grow your business, it’s very important you appear in this search – but not just IN it, at the top of it, because that is where the action is.

If you have a service-based business whereas you know people are actively searching for your products or services your tool of choice should be Google Adwords and perhaps Local Service Ads.

Google Adwords will bring daily leads into your business and provide a great return for your short-term gain strategy.

If your website doesn’t appear naturally at the top of search results for top keywords your target market would use, Google Ads will PUT you there. 

You have to develop a pay-to-play mentality.

If you aren’t ALREADY doing Google Ads (ppc advertising) – this alone will make a positive and quick impact on your revenue.

This is where the short-term growth comes from.

Additionally, we use a Facebook ad campaign to build immediate awareness to everyone in your selling area.

If you have a service-based business that has a "selling cycle" the consumer does not immediately decide to buy your products and services. There is a consideration process.

This is why we also use Facebook ads to retarget those who have previously visited your website and already familiar with your business.

Marketing Strategy: The 3 R's of Marketing

My goal in this lesson is to divide a marketing strategy into two categories, long-term growth and short-term gain.

However, there are instances whereas the two collide, or perhaps hold hands. 

Your customer or client list is one of the profitable assets you will own in your business, which is why it's super crucial you are constantly focused on growing it. 

Naturally, it takes a timeframe to grow a good-sized list, which is why it's considered a part of long-term growth.

However, you can leverage your customer list in a way which makes it part of the short-term gain category as well. 

One thing I feel it necessary to mention, this piece of the marketing pie is one of the most overlooked and neglected. 

The importance of continually growing the customer list is often neglected.

The opportunities of leveraging the customer list are often neglected.

This means lots of potential profit is left on the table. 

Leveraging your customer list properly is using what I call the 3 R’s of Marketing.

The 3 R’s of Marketing are:

1. Reinforce your marketing messages with existing/past customers. 
   
   
2. Remind past customers and prospects of your product or service and it's value. 
   
   
3. Rekindle relationships with your past customers and keep them coming back to your business instead of going to competitors.

Staying in front of your existing and past customers is very important and once again reinforces an investment you’ve potentially already made to bring them into your business.

Let's talk for a second about remarketing, which is a very important piece of any marketing pie. 

Remarketing, also referred to as retargeting, is an online advertising method of reaching out to people who have done one or more of the following:

1. Visited your website and/or specific pages 
   
   
2. Clicked on your Google or Facebook Ads 
   
   
3. Signed up for special offers or have joined your list
   
   
4. Have already became a lead or a customer 

Remarketing offers an opportunity to recapture potential leads or customers if they visited your website but for whatever reason did not contact you out of interest to buy.

Or maybe they did contact you but still haven't committed to purchasing, there are many scenarios. 

How you use a remarketing strategy relies on many factors including your business model and the price point of your product or service.

For example, if you have a window replacement company and your average sale is $6,000 there is a consideration process for the customer.

It may take them some time before they decide to actually buy. 

When the purchase price is higher this creates a sales cycle meaning, there are more steps in between initial contact and the action of buying.

Sometimes the consumer is going to price-shop or they may not be ready to spend that amount of money at this time.

However, it does not mean they won't at sometime in the near or distant future, and THAT is why staying in front of them and reminding them of your business is a crucial part of a successful marketing strategy.

PSST (Guess what? Your competitors are NOT doing this.) 

What if you have less expensive services like lawn maintenance or you have a handyman business? 

If you had for example a lawn service whereas someone needs your service multiple times in a calendar year, in this case it's important to stay in front of them to remind them of your business.

You also need to make them special offers to continue to use your business versus a competitor. 

Additionally, whether you have a low or a high price point and have multiple products or services, retargeting is very effective for cross-selling. 

Now let's go over some marketing strategies you can use to remarket to existing customers or leads.

1. Email Marketing - Yes, email marketing is STILL effective as I type this in April of 2023.

I use email marketing in my marketing practice and it brings sales to my clients. Use it to present special offers to leads and customers and also to educate them on other products and services perhaps they have not purchased yet.

Another way I like to use email marketing is education in general. Use this strategy to be seen as a leader in your industry. 

2. Facebook Advertising - You can upload your customer and lead lists directly to Facebook and present offers and marketing messages only they see.

3. Google Retargeting - Anyone that has clicked on your ads or visited your website can be retargeted with a special ad (offer).

Additionally, like Facebook, you can upload your customer or lead list directly to the platform. 

Creating a Marketing Strategy: Your Website

One of the most valuable assets to your business is a website that’s highly searchable for top keywords your target market uses to search/find what you sell. This will pay your business back in dividends year after year.

As a matter of fact, not enough business owners understand that a website is not merely an expensive business card.

A website’s job is to make your business money and if it doesn’t, it is broken – bottom line.

Your website is part of a longer-term marketing strategy because it takes an investment of time for it to rank for top searches.

It also takes an investment of time and commitment to keep your website in the search. 

This investment has a financial reward that is literally like compounded interest – it will give back to your business year after year. 

This is another component whereas if you are in a competitive market, THIS will separate you and put you ahead of competitors.

Trust me when I say most business owners, even in today's world whereas everything is done online, have no understanding of the importance of their website showing up for Internet searches.

This misunderstanding is costing them THOUSANDS in lost opportunities each year. 

Use this opportunity to gain traction in your competitive market. 

Marketing Strategy: Google Business Profiles

Another very important piece of the long-term growth marketing side (even though it does have short-term rewards) and lead generation, is tools like your Google My Business Profiles and having a very strong focus on receiving good reviews.

Also, leveraging your Google business place properly and all the bells and whistles that comes along with it.

As a matter of fact to be specific, I have one service-based business client in my practice who owns a small business which grosses a little over a million dollars a year.

One year we decided as a lead generation strategy we would put a hard focus on getting good reviews.

Those reviews put his Google Business Place 1st in the search, this grew his visibility, ranking and CLICKS.

Those clicks turned into customers!

The graphic above is a representation of 3 months of data from an client’s Google Business dashboard. 

As you can see 416 clicks to their website and 225 click-to-calls.

This is a 400% increase over the previous year and merely because we stepped up our effort to get good reviews. This effort lead to an additional $200,000 in sales revenue that year!!!

A well-optimized Google My Business place brings HUGE profit to this small business year-after-year and it can to yours too!

Don't ignore this goldmine! Leverage it well and generate sales for your business!

Lead Generation: Cold, Warm & Hot Leads 

Cold Lead: When someone is learning about your business for the first time they are considered to be a cold lead.

Warm Lead: If they have reached out to you in the past but perhaps haven't bought from you yet, they are a warm lead.

Hot Lead: If they have bought from you in the past, they are considered a hot lead. (If someone has bought from you once, it is very likely they will again.) 

Remarketing ads reaching out to warm and hot leads on Google and Facebook are much cheaper in cost. 

For example, if I have a client that does home window replacements an initial (cold) lead could cost us anywhere from $6 upwards of $28 per click. (In some cases and demographics it could be more.)

However, if we create a Google Adword campaign remarketing to someone that has visiting your website or Google ad landing pages I can get a click for as low as $.50 and this is why it is a no-brainer.

With every client in my practice a remarketing campaign is a no-brainer.

A small budget is ALWAYS allocated to remarketing to potential leads who have visited our website. We create remarketing campaigns for Google Adwords and Facebook.

Let's go back to our home window replacement business. Let's say someone is considering new windows and they clicked on one our Google ads and went to our landing page to read about our business.

Perhaps they even submitted the form to get a free quote on new home windows. They received their free quote but still not exactly ready to sign on the dotted line.

Then one day they are on Facebook looking at their feed and then BOOM they see an ad from the window replacement company they just received a quote from.

This is how you reinforce your company's marketing message and positioning.

ALSO! Here is another great reason to use remarketing! You can use it to shorten your sales cycle and generate sales faster!

If you have a product whereas the cost commitment is large, let's say a window company for example, you have a sales cycle in your business.

The consumer sometimes takes a little while to make larger purchases.

They may need to think it over more or get other estimates.

The rule of thumb is anything over $500 however, the higher the cost of your product, the longer your sales cycle could be.

If you know anything about sales generation a huge part of the sales process is follow up. This is how a lot of sales are gained in a business and coincidently, the lack of follow up is how tons of sales are lost.

But let's just say someone asked you for a free quote but then getting new windows just got put on the backburner because they got busy doing other things.

However, when they visit their Facebook feed or even YouTube they continue to see ads from your company. This will serve as a reminder and a constant follow up!

One day they may just click that button and say I am ready to buy!

By the way this is the type of marketing strategy your competitor isn't doing!

This is why it is a wonderful and untapped opportunity for your business. 

Lesson Overview