With more than a decade
of experience in marketing, ranking from pay-per-click to direct mail, I’ve
seen a lot of failures and far more successes when it comes to marketing.
Today, the art of
marketing is far more complex than it once was. However, many of the same basic
principles still apply. Too often, professional marketers and small business
owners overlook the basic techniques that have separated successful campaigns
from those that never turn a profit. Here is my all time list of effective
marketing tips.
1. Know your audience.
Successful campaigns get that way because marketers know their audience. They
fully understand their needs, how to help meet those needs and how to create
demand. Knowing and understanding your audience through proper market
segmentation means a well targeted campaign that generates a profitable return.
2. Focus on the offer.
A marketing offer is the driving force of marketing promotions that drive
results. In fact, market testing has proven that the offer is the most
significant criterion for conversion. Focus on your offer if you want to be
successful.
3. Split test. Never
ever run a campaign without testing something. One of the most common is a
split test which allows you to simultaneously test two versions of something.
It can be a web page, post card, or email. Split testing is essential for improving performance.
4. Never work alone.
The most creative ideas come from working with other creative people. Don’t
feel like you need to have all the answers or great ideas. You may start with
an idea, but an open dialog with creative individuals will make it better.
5. Don’t sell on price,
many marketers fail because they sell on price alone. This leads to a
discounting war, lower profitability, and often bankruptcy. Rather, focus on
creating so much value that the perception of price becomes insignificant.
6. Consistent
messaging. Consider the entire user experience before you launch a campaign.
From email to website to offer, is the prospect having a consistent user
experience? If they are, your campaigns stand above 98% of others.
7. Create value after
the sale. As marketers, it’s our job to understand our market segment and build
relationships, not dump people off at the front door of our store and walk
away. Focus as much of your energy on building relationships with customers as
you do prospects.
8. Test. Test. Test. In
addition to split testing, you should consider multiple forms of testing in
each marketing discipline. For direct mail, test headlines, offers, copy, time
of direct mail drop, etc. Consider testing a life long mission.
9. Integrated Marketing
Works Best. You can’t rely on one form of marketing to carry you to success.
It’s okay to generate most of your leads or sales through PPC marketing if you
will but what happens when that dries out? Use multiple media sources to meet
your goals.
10. Nothing can replace
experience. You can run out and hire all of the best consultants in the world,
but you still have to do the work. Nothing can replace actual experience. It
will make you a stronger marketer and more successful in the long term.
Apply these helpful
marketing tips if you want to be truly successful. These techniques and tips
are applied by successful marketers on a daily basis. The result is an ever
growing success rate of marketing success.
Source : http://marketingscoop.com/top10marketingtips.htm