4 Quick Marketing Tips

Invest in Being Real

Are you more concerned with your image, or your identity? An image can be fake - it can simply be a mask. There are many brands that talk-the-talk, but don’t walk-the-walk. I’m sure some of your competition fall into the category.

Work on your identity – the real you beneath all the branding and hype. I’m talking about your corporate belief system, your organization’s culture – what you really stand for and believe in.

Customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and knowledgeable – they respect integrity, and can spot a fraud in a heartbeat.

Don’t Be a Copycat

Good ideas are commonplace and companies jump on the bandwagon with great alacrity. For every good idea, there are thousands of imitators. By all means learn from other companies but also learn to adopt, adapt and innovate. Real success is born out of originality. Find your own niche and capitalize on it – find your own way and stand out from the crowd, rather than ride the coat tails of others.

Love Your Customers – Even When They’re a Pain

Someone once said, “this business would be great, if it wasn’t for the customers” and we’ve all thought that on occasion. But, the reality is obvious, we need our customers and we need them to keep coming back time and time again.

So, make friendliness part of your value system not just something you ask your employees to be. Be that company that is known for its friendliness to all customers. You must frequent a store, or a business, where all the staff are just so darn happy and pleasant. I’ll give you a clue as to which one it is – it’s the one you keep going back to!

And remember, your products and services should be customer-friendly too. Easy to use, easy to set up, come with user-friendly instructions, a help-line number – these are the things that make what you sell friendly.

Be Brave

“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.” Paulo Coelho

Don’t get stuck in a marketing rut because it feels safe and comfortable. Be courageous, try something new – the worst-case scenario is that you will learn from it if it’s not successful. We all have to pay for experience and failures can be worth every cent! You know that if you carry on doing the same old things, you’ll carry on getting the same old results. If your current marketing strategy is working that’s all well and good, but if it isn’t then bite the bullet and try something new.