Introduction
Marketing your business is a lot like marketing anything, really. It's all about identifying your target audience, keeping them in mind when you're creating content, and making sure that the things you put out there are what they want to see and hear. As simple as that sounds, though, it can be easy to get caught up in trying to do too much at once or focusing on all the wrong things. If you take these six essential steps when marketing your business—namely by trusting your gut feeling and staying focused on what works for you—you'll be able to avoid those mistakes and get results faster than ever before!
Trust your gut feeling.
As a business owner, it's easy to get caught up in all the details of running your company and lose sight of the big picture. You may have a million things on your mind, but it's important not to forget about the importance of trusting your instincts when making decisions or taking action. Your intuition can help guide you in making good choices for yourself and those around you--so don't ignore it!
Sort out what you're great at and remain fixed on that.
- Know your strengths and weaknesses.
- Know what you can't afford to do, and what you can't afford not to do.
- Figure out what you enjoy doing, and don't feel bad about admitting that some tasks are just plain boring--you're human!
Try not to attempt to be everything to all individuals.
It's smarter to do one thing well than numerous things ineffectively. When you're trying to figure out your target market, think about what you're good at and how that can be applied across multiple industries or niches.
Don't jump on every trend.
When you're first starting out, it can be hard to know what trends are worth jumping on and which ones aren't. In any case, don't become involved with the publicity! If you try too hard to be something you're not--and especially if your business is built around one particular trend--you'll lose credibility with customers and make it harder for them to trust that what you have to offer will be valuable in the long run. Instead of chasing after whatever's hot at the moment (or trying desperately not get left behind), focus on creating a product or service that fits with who YOU are as an entrepreneur: your personality, skillset, resources available etcetera...
Stay away from buzzwords and jargon.
- Avoid using buzzwords.
- Stay away from jargon and acronyms.
- Use plain English instead of complicated words and phrases that can be difficult for your readers to understand, especially if they're not in the same industry as yours or don't have any experience with what you're writing about (for example: "Our business has been built on a solid foundation.").
Marketing your business doesn't have to be complicated, but you need to keep it simple.
You don't need to be a specialist in all things. You just need to know your niche and focus on it.
Don't try to be all things to all people, especially if you're a small business. If you do, it will make your marketing efforts confusing and ineffective because no one knows what they should expect from you or how they can help themselves by working with you.
The best way of avoiding this is simply by asking yourself: "What am I good at?" Then narrow down the answer as much as possible until it becomes something specific (e.g., "I'm good at helping clients improve their customer service"). That gives us our target market!
Conclusion
Marketing your business doesn't have to be complicated, but it does require a lot of thought and planning. The most important thing is that you're honest with yourself about what you can do well and what your company stands for. Once you have those things figured out, it will be much easier for others to understand what makes them unique too!
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