More marketing kick-starts
In January I urged readers to kick-start the year with a different approach to marketing – focusing on customers and their problems – instead of on you and your products or services. (click here to see the previous article).

It's worthwhile revisited the principles involved so you can continue this approach throughout the year.

A customer focus means there's no hype or hard-sell to make you feel uncomfortable. It's also more effective and profitable.

This approach can be used in almost any business, although it is most effective for service businesses and industry sectors with a long sales cycle.

Two key principles are important when developing customer-focused, problem-based marketing strategies:

1. Get the attention of prospective purchasers by talking about a problem which you solve which is common to people or businesses in your market.

2. Use low-cost marketing leverage to increase the return on your time, effort and money.

When you talk about a problem, you gain the attention of those who relate to that problem. By definition, this is the target market: They have the problem now and are actively seeking a solution – or they have just realised they have the problem (you helped them recognise it) and they are beginning to think about a solution.

Ironically, all you have to do is talk about the problem. You don't have to discuss a solution. In fact, in many circumstances even mentioning a solution at this stage is guaranteed to lose the interest you're beginning to create.

Why should you do this with leverage – and what is leverage?

You can take a problem-based approach one-on-one with individual prospective clients or customers. Marketing leverage is using the same time, effort, and money to reach many prospective customers.

Low-cost marketing leverage is when you do this repeatedly (or have others do it for you) without multiplying all of the first-time costs.

What sort of problem should you choose to talk about?

Everyone is looking for free advice, often just a generic tip, sometimes quite specific guidance. Think of the things existing customers ask you about, and the questions you get from people you are introduced to for the first time.

Is there a single common thread to this, or maybe several topic areas? With your knowledge of your industry or profession, you can talk about those issues or problems in such a way that it gains the attention of many people, not just one.

Sieze on one topic or even one aspect of a topic. Use your knowledge and experience of the problem to create several key points.

Develop those points into something long enough to get the attention of your target audience, but short enough to leave the audience seeking more. Don't try to write a definitive thesis. Keep it simple and appropriate to an audience confronting the problem for the first time.

Develop the "more" part, so you have something further to offer when they come calling (on your phone) or clicking (on your website). Make sure you include those details. You may find it easier to write your longer "special report" first and do the short version later.

Don't stop there. What are the next steps in the process of them becoming a client or customer? What is it you want them to do and how easy is it for them to do?

Don't worry you may not be a brilliant writer or a whiz at marketing strategy.

Instead, get help.

Even highly-competent writers and marketers need constructive criticism and an external perspective. In any case, you'll need advice on how and where to present your material, how to turn a stream of qualified inquiry into sales, and how to leverage your efforts.

Where should you place your attention-getting piece? How can you get additional, more leveraged, use out of it? What other purposes can you put the core concepts to?

Learn the answers to these questions and you'll have the ultimate leverage — being able to apply these techniques, plus your industry expertise and your knowledge of your own market, to grow your business easier and faster.

This is possible through Individual Coaching with the Marketing Coach (yes, that's me!) and for a lot less than you'd expect — in fact, for less than what you would pay a part-time, junior office assistant.

To learn more about how it works and what it can do for you, click here.