Marketing is another area of business that is often misunderstood.

The general attitude towards marketing is this – business is going well therefore I do not need to market. The flip side to that is business is not going well therefore I need to market.

The best approach to marketing is constant and consistent. Your marketing should never stop – ever!

If I could describe the purpose of marketing in one sentence I say it is a combination of building your business’s brand recognition and generating leads for your business.

Let’s deal with lead generation first. If you’re already very busy, why would you want to keep marketing?

I believe one of the key success factors in any business is having the right customers - customers that value what you do, pay you on time and are fun and pleasurable to deal with.

Organise your customers

By constantly generating new leads, you can always be massaging your customer list to ensure you have as many ‘A class’ clients as possible. This allows you to ‘sack’ your problem customers, the ones that complain, don’t pay on time and typically demand the most. I call these your ‘D class’ clients. They add the least value to your business and hinder your ability to retain your team members because those customers are so difficult to work with.

The other advantage constant and consistent marketing offers you is helping your ‘C and B class customers become ‘A class’ customers. You can do this by increasing the frequency of those customers buying from you.

Your customers are buying products that you sell, but not from you. This is primarily because they do not know of all of the products and services you offer. It is your responsibility to inform them through your marketing. Would you like to deal with fewer customers and generate more revenue?

Trust and loyalty

Marketing also builds trust. If you market only when you’re business is experiencing quiet times, the market will become suspicious. Your customers and prospective customers will likely be thinking ‘business must be slow, we only hear from you when you want to sell us something’.

On the other hand, if your marketing is constant and consistent, your customers and prospective customers will get used to hearing from you regularly. This is the key to building trust.

From a branding perspective, building recognition can be one of the most valuable aspects to your business. How well is your brand recognised? If I have a need for your services, will your brand identity pop into my mind? Your brand has a direct link to the value of your business. The stronger your brand recognition, the greater the value of your business will be.

Need more specific business advice? Get in touch today!