Marketing is not a magic trick game where the only people that ever succeed are those with huge marketing budgets or powerful connections. The marketing game is actually based on universal rules that l like to call the 4 c's of marketing and if you follow those rules you're almost destined to win this game.It will take time but you will win in the end.
The 4 c's are customer, competition, communication and finally cost.
They might seem a little vague to you now, so let me take some time and go through them with you.
First, we have the customer.
The customer is probably one of the most important figures in your business. It's the customer that gives you money for what you're trying to market (whether it's a product or service you provide). That's precisely why you should always remember that customer, in any business, is king. What most people don't realize is that if you communicate with your customer (more on this later), he'll actually tell you what he'd like to spend money on.
Then, competition.
Are you watching your competition or are you ignoring it? The competition that you have are people or companies that provide a simillar solution to the same market as you are. Most people don't like to talk or even think about who they are competing with, but there's at least one thing that your competitors are very useful for: telling you what works. Just think about it: chances are that they have already spent a whole lot of money and valuable time on testing and implementing all kinds of solutions that make them money. All you have to do is watch them and see how they market. That's how you find out about those money makers and once you know what they are, just implement them into your business. Easy, right?
The third is communication.
We've touched upon this before, but talking to your market is the key if you want to have a successful marketing campaign. Just imagine this: you ask people what they want, they tell you, you make what they want and sell it to them. I know it seems oversimplified, but that's exaclty how easy it is.
Finally: cost.
I am not going to bore you talking about this last "c" too much because it's sort of obvious but you should always be aware what your average cost per sale is. How much does it cost you to make a sale? I mean, the cost of material, your staff, your time, your equipment, etc.
There you have it. These are the 4 c's of marketing. They seem simple and almost too obvious, but there is one thing I would like to say about them: pay close attention to them and I promise you that your next campaign is going to be a smashing success.