Would people miss you?

So, would people miss your marketing if it stopped?

That’s a tough question. However, it’s an important one. The reason it’s so important, is that the most effective marketing is value driven. Value driven marketing focuses on the needs of the prospective client or customer. It provides them with what they want and it does so, in an engaging, effective way.

In short, it’s something they want to receive, unlike most marketing, which is an annoying intrusion. I’ll give you 2 examples in a moment, of how people are creating valuable marketing for their marketplace. First, let’s look at what people are attracted to.

We know that people value marketing that delivers:

• Useful, targeted information.
• Solutions to their most pressing problems.
• Helpful advice from trusted sources.
• Genuinely special offers, which provide real value based on their wants / needs.
• Truthful, honest engagement.

We know that people dislike:

• Cold calls.
• Being pestered on social networks.
• Spam emails and junk mail.
• Uninspiring sales pitches.
• Selfish marketing pitches, poorly disguised as special offers.
• Impersonal outreach.

Great marketing doesn’t really feel like marketing

I was thinking about this recently, after reading a blog post from Evernote. The post was all about how to be more productive with their app. As an Evernote customer, the more value I can get from their app, the longer I’ll remain a client. And not only that, by getting more value from their product, I’m massively more likely to recommend it. (Which I do).

But it goes even deeper.

I follow Evernote on Twitter. This means they have access to me whenever I check Twitter, with my permission. Why do I give them my valuable permission and attention? Simple. Their Twitter feed is filled with useful ideas, tips and advice on how to be more organized and productive. In short, I’d miss Evernote’s marketing if it stopped. Their marketing is useful. It’s permission based. It adds value.

Compare Evernote’s approach, to the usual push and pester style of marketing, used by small business owners. There’s no comparison. One is the opposite of the other.

It works for me too

I’ve used the value driven approach to marketing since the 1990’s. Initially via an email newsletter. Today, via my blog and the email version of the blog. And not only is it effective, it’s increasingly effective. That’s to say, it produces greater and greater results every year.

Plus…

I haven’t had to sell my services to anyone in over 20 years! Yes, people hire me all the time. But I never have to sell to them. The difference is huge. One is about attracting clients, the other is about chasing them.

If you’re not already doing so, make your marketing so valuable in 2018 that people would miss it if you stopped. Put a strategy in place to attract clients and customers. It’s more effective, more fun and less stressful than chasing them!