An effective marketing plan, actually begins with your message. This message is the foundation of your marketing, and when you have it clearly articulated, then you have the right to start engaging in the marketing and sales process.
If your foundational message isn’t dialed in, then you can have the best marketing activities on paper, but when you put them into practice they won’t really work very well, or at all.
Your marketing message consists of four simple but powerful elements:
- Your qualified buyers.You must define who the best clients are for your services. These are people who admit to having a problem that you can solve (or a desire that you can fulfill), have a budget and are thinking about (or planning on) getting it resolved.
- The client’s problems, issues or challenges.Why does your clients feel they need your services in the first place? Identify the top problem or pain point that your buyer admits to having (not what you think they need).
- Your promised outcomes.What exactly will your clients get if they become your client or retain your services? How will they benefit? What are the transformational outcomes?
- Stories or proof.Who has used your services and what results did they get? Success stories, client case studies and testimonials create trust and credibility.
This is at the heart of marketing, and if you don’t get this foundational piece right, then the rest of the plan tends to fall apart.
To learn more, read about Four Undeniable Reasons Why Your Marketing Plan Isn’t Working.
To your success,