Is Your Marketing Too Basic?

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing 

Last week I talked about making your services more tangible.

This week I want to expand on this theme as I did on the teleclass I led last week on this topic.

In developing this teleclass I became aware of a new distinction about marketing for Independent Professionals. What I realized is that Independent Professionals, if they are marketing themselves at all, are primarily engaged in Basic Marketing.

Basic Marketing includes these three components:

1. Development and use of a Marketing Message. You clearly communicate who you work with, the challenges they face and the solutions you provide.

2. Development of Marketing Materials. You have a web site that effectively communicates about your business and your services.

3. Marketing Activities. You are regularly engaged in implementing one or more marketing strategies such as networking and speaking.

That's Basic Marketing. And of course, some do these three things a lot better than others. What most don't realize though, is that Basic Marketing is essentially passive. That is, you communicate to the best of your ability about your service and then wait for prospects to contact you.

In a good economy, Basic Marketing can work, often quite well. In a down economy, it's not enough. You need to be more proactive. Advanced Marketing takes things to the next level.

Advanced Marketing includes these three components:

1. Your Marketing Message is much more outcome based. You don't just talk about what you do, but you make promises of what your clients will get if they work with you.

3. Your Marketing Materials outline tangible services and programs. You don't just "help managers become better leaders," you have an in-depth "Leadership Transformation Program."

4. Your Marketing Activities are not a random collection of strategies designed to "get you out there." Instead, they are intentionally designed campaigns which qualify prospects and consistently convert them into paying clients.

Look, I understand; Basic Marketing is hard enough! And Advanced Marketing can be lot harder. It takes more thinking, planning and acting.

One thing to understand is that Advanced Marketing is built on the foundation of Basic Marketing. It's virtually impossible to jump into Advanced Marketing if you first don't have the fundamentals in place.

If you want to maintain your business in a down economy you must continually work on improving your Basic Marketing. However, if you want to actually increase your income, you need to add some Advanced Marketing approaches to the equation.

To solidify your Basic Marketing:

http://www.actionplan.com/actionplanclub.html

To move into Advanced Marketing:

http://www.actionplan.com/paradigmshift.html

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The days of just doing great work for your clients and praying for referrals are over. In a challenging economy you need to communicate about your business with even more impact. Make a commitment to master the fundamentals of Basic Marketing and only then will you be ready to successfully tackle Advanced Marketing.

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What results are you getting from implementing Advanced Marketing in your business? Please share on the More Clients Blog. Just click on the comments link below.

Comments

[Lya Sorano]

Very good advice, Robert. I was made aware of your company by Barb Giamanco of Talent Builders, Inc., who is a social media cum sales guru -- and an apparent follower of you!

You will never run out of clients . . . .

Last week, I tought a class on Marketing Plans and why they are needed. Ten attendees, owning at least 12 different - and diverse! - businesses. Not one had a marketing plan, not all were sure they needed one and there was great skepticism about the use of social media for business purposes.

If I ever get their contact information from the class organizer, I will refer them all to you!