Its true. Too many people today spend their time focusing on building relationships with the networks of people who don’t give a damn about what they write leading them to the wrong marketplace.
After finishing the most recent chapter of my book, I took to the Twitter streets to get some insight from a couple of best-selling authors about what they feel is the most important thing to focus on, after your writing is complete. Although their advice was tailored to writing, I think it goes much further than that.
The first response I received was:
Carrie Wilkerson, a true inspiration for many and the Author of The Barefoot Executive, is someone who can grow on you from the first time you have the privilege to interact with her. I’ve focused a lot on Carrie these past couple months, and the reason is because there’s a ton everyone can learn from her. Even the response above can shed some deep insight to companies wondering “what next?”.
Out of the 100 or so industrial companies I’ve worked with, many of them are hit with this question early in the process of a product release. They’ve built something phenomenal, they’ve spent countless hours making sure its right, and now they sit and wonder what the hell do to with it.
Here are 3 tips to keep you focused on creating your marketing plans:
1. ) Build your Plans Now
Gather evidence to justify the avenues you take to market your business or product. This ensures you’re ready to go as soon as possible. Otherwise, you might fall second to a competitor.
2.) Prioritize the Investments
Invest in integrated programs that explore multiple platforms to maximize exposure and identify opportunity. Prioritize as pre-product, product-release and post-product programs to build and sustain awareness in your target market early, allowing you to build upon these programs and utilize the same exposure for future marketing activities.
3.) Emphasize Measurement and Evaluate your Channels
Today, the most effective marketing programs are online programs whose performance can be measured and analyzed. Online programs are built around impressions, clicks and conversions. You can easily see what is working and focus marketing dollars on the most successful programs, which will help reduce waste while increasing results.
Best-Selling Advice #2
The second bit of advice came from another professional who I often turn to for inspiration and for ideas on my own business, Chris Brogan. Chris is something of a ninja when it comes to building a market for business. He writes one of the most respected marketing blogs in the industry and is a pioneer for inventing new ways to build a network.
I exchanged a few tweets with Chris, and felt they were worth noting:
Come on! The second tweet absolutely kicks the shit out of any advice many of us have received. If you don’t think so than maybe you shouldn’t quit the day job. But seriously, its so true. Many times we get so consumed in attempting to emulate something that doesn’t make sense for our own success that we lose vision of our own marketplace.
Its true, there is a market for everything. Its just about putting the time in to identify the market and engage in it. Here are 6 things that anyone can do to find the marketplace they seek:
1.) Engage in your Target Market
Spend time learning and listening in on what conversations are happening in your target market. Find our what they are facing and consider how your marketing plans need to adjust from what your audience is telling you.
2.) Be Clear about What you Do
How can someone know if you’re a right fit or them until they clearly understand what you do. Refine your marketing message and your engagements to speak clearly to your target market.
3.) Be Adaptable
Odds are that your target market is not approachable int he way you originally dreamed up and thought. Fit your marketing messages and engagements to what you’re learning from your audience. Change it based on what problem it solves and how it connects with your target audience.
4.) Source Yourself
Finding the right audience for your product sometimes requires you becoming the audience yourself. Spend some time sourcing your competitors from your buyers point of view. Learn what the current market looks like and if you’re truly a fit with what’s already there.
5.) Help Now, Learn Later
Offer your expertise at every opportunity possible. What better way to learn if you’re in the right marketplace than by engaging in it with your expertise. Monitor discussions and opportunities for you to become part of. Take the feedback you get and adjust your marketing message.
6.) The “Worth It” View
Review the strategies and tactics that you’re currently putting into place and decide if they have the ability to be repeated on a consistent basis. if not, you may not be in the right marketplace.
In Closing
So the advice I received today was directly related to writing m y book, but you can see how one can expand on the information and turn it into some extremely valuable business experience. You never know when great information will smack you face!
Thanks to Chris and Carrie for the help today.
