This post provided by Jason Dirkham
Marketing has always been one of the more complex sides of a business. Getting your name out into the world and building up some recognition can feel just about impossible, especially when you already have loads of other work on your plate. Of course, though, those who want to find success with their company are going to need to get their marketing right. This article will be exploring the way that the field you work in will impact your marketing, giving you the chance to start tailoring your approach to the products or services that you sell.
The Type Of Product
The type of product you’re going to be selling will be one of the biggest impacting factors when it comes to your marketing. There is a range of different types of products out there, from physical items to services that are provided over the web, but you need to make sure that you’re taking the right steps with the area you choose or you could end up wasting a lot of time. You can find some of the most common examples of the product types being sold nowadays.
- Physical Products
Physical products can be tricky to market without the right direction to follow. Your objective for this work will be to ensure that as many people as possible know about the product, while also giving the suggestion that your products are better than the alternatives on the market. Marketing can be done both digitally and in the real world when you go down this route, with social media, magazines, and billboards all being excellent places to sell your goods. It’s usually worth avoiding specific locations with this unless your demographic forces you to.
- Digital Downloads
Digital products have been increasing in popularity over the last few years, with more and more people being able to access the tools to use them. This could be music, artwork, and a host of other items, and it usually makes little sense to stray away from the internet when you’re marketing something like this. Social media will be the best, though your website, blogs, and SEO will also play a role in bringing your digital products to the masses.
- Real-World Services
Real-world services have always been hard to market, with many business owners assuming that they can follow the same route they’d take with normal products. In reality, though, services like this tend to be highly localized, and this means that you need to focus your attention on your local area. Companies handling SEO for Lawyers, construction professionals, and just about any other real-world service can be found in the modern world.
- Digital Services
Much like digital products, digital services have been becoming a lot more common in recent years. Marketing something like this will be difficult without the right approach, and it’s usually best to keep your efforts online when you sell digital services. Social media will be an excellent choice, but you may also want to look at options like PPC and backlinking to make sure that people can find you.
The Demographic
Alongside the type of product your selling, you also need to consider your demographic. Most companies will have more than one demographic that they’re aiming for, and it’s very rare that someone will fit into a single group like this, making the whole thing quite complicated. There are a number of factors to consider when you’re figuring out the demographic you’re aiming for, and you can find some information below to help you to decide how you’ll be marketing your business to them.
- Age
Age has always been one of the biggest defining factors when it comes to someone’s demographic. It’s very unlikely that a 70-year-old is going to want the same products as a 20-year-old, and you’d need to use different marketing methods to reach out to them. As a general rule, the older your demographic, the more you will want to distance yourself from digital marketing. Of course, though, you also have to think about the other factors that go into a demographic.
- Gender
A person’s gender will also impact the demographic that they find themselves in. There are a lot of products out there that are aimed at one gender, and it wouldn’t make sense to sell a product like this by marketing it to everyone. For example, if you’re selling makeup, it wouldn’t make much sense to advertise your products on car blogs or techy websites, as these tend to have male-heavy audiences.
- Location
While it may not seem obvious, your location also plays a large role in determining the demographic you belong to. For example, it’s a bad idea to market expensive luxury products in parts of a city that are struggling with poverty, as all you’ll manage to do is annoy the local residents. Instead, it would make much more sense to choose a wealthy place for adverts like this. This goes deeper than money, though, as those in different places often have specific needs.
The demographic you’re working to market towards can be hard to nail down. It’s important to think about the type of person who would buy your products, while also trying to build an understanding of what will appeal to them. Of course, though, you still have more work to do before you can get on with your marketing.
The Tone
While it may seem strange, people will often have different expectations from companies, and this is simply because of the products they sell. For example, a clothing company has the opportunity to be more relaxed than a financial service provider, as people will expect this sort of attitude. This makes your tone crucial when you’re starting out in the world of marketing, and you need to work hard to ensure that you’re speaking with the right tone across your marketing platforms.
Social media is just about the only place where this starts to go out of the window. Your posts will need to be written in the right tone, but comments and replies offer a little more freedom, as fewer people will see them. If you need help figuring out the right tone to use, it could be worth taking a look at some of your competitors. You will want to have your own personality, but you can still use other pages as a rough guide.
ROI
Marketing companies will often advertise their services alongside the results that they’ve provided for other businesses. Of course, though, while this can give you a vague idea of the value you’ll get from them, it can also be a little misleading. The market you’re part of will dictate the return you’re able to make on your marketing investments. For example, you’re far more likely to make more a good return on PPC adverts for niche products than those that are already saturating the market.
Other Companies
Small businesses should always use their competitors as a learning resource. You can teach yourself to avoid the mistakes they’ve made, while also adopting the methods that they prove to be successful. There are two different approaches that can be taken when you apply this to your marketing, though.
- Falling In-Line
When a successful company tries a new marketing method, it doesn’t take long for other brands to start following suit, and this can be a good way to make it look like you’re ahead of the crowd. For example, Wendy’s has become well-known for providing social media interactions with attitude in recent years. Many other companies have tried the same approach, finding that taking a lighthearted approach often wins out.
- Standing Out
Of course, at the same time, though, many people won’t like the idea of copying the big companies out there. Going in completely the opposite direction can be a good way to make yourself stand out, and will have the potential to make your business very popular overnight. You will have to take a risk, as you won’t know if the methods you choose will work, but they could be very successful.
People across the world are struggling to market their businesses effectively. It can cost a small fortune to get the right reach and many companies find themselves making little progress as a result. Thankfully, though, you have a lot of resources available to help you out, and the market of marketing is always expanding.
This post provided by Jason Dirkham
