Marketing is Easy, Straight Up

When I think about marketing, I think about almost every aspect of a business.

I’ve said it in other articles I’ve written, but I think it’s true when I explain it like this:

Business is marketing and marketing is business.

They work best as one, and that’s a simple truth, in my experience.

Marketing connotates sales, though, which to many sounds distasteful. On top of that, it seems like a whole other job to do. You already have your hands full taking care of doing what you need to do to provide your product or service.

Worse, “snake oil” or “used car” keeps surfacing in your mind, only adding to your desire to run away and forget about dirty, dirty sales forever and ever.

Then you remember, without a sale, you have nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. It’s all over, without sales, you have no business.

Oops, maybe sales aren’t so bad. (Keep telling yourself.)

Maybe marketing is my friend. And just maybe, you think, I don’t hate hitting people up for work so I can make a living. Hmmm.

This is especially true if you can say, “I’m great at what I do, so all I really have to do is tell people about how my product/services can be of service to them!” Easy. Peasy.

At least this is how it has always worked for me, but I think you can adopt some of my simple and inexpensive marketing style to use in your marketing too.

Marketing is easy.

Here’s why:

*When you believe in what you offer, understand it inside and out, and are excited about what you do, it’s easy to talk about. It doesn’t feel like selling at all.

*When you understand other people’s needs, wants, and desires, and you know exactly how you can help and what you can do to make their life easier, it sure doesn’t feel like sales then.

*When you work for the right reasons, bringing customers an honest and relevant value, marketing happens with little effort. For me this means: I have always worked “to delight customers” and with that as my objective, all the other stuff, like sales, follows.

*When you work with an “attitude of gratitude,” you will experience a more positive work world. Just saying “thank you” to your customers, is the easiest thing to do when you appreciate their business, and, it goes a long way with people.

Maybe I’m old fashion but, I know I like, and remember when I get a “thank you.” Saying thank you is inexpensive and easy marketing!

Go Ahead, Surprise a Customer

*When you surprise your customers by providing more than expected, outperform the expected outcome, and maybe throw in a little extra unexpected something to thank them along the way, you’ll find your extra effort always comes back to you. Pretty soon, your customers are marketing for you, and sales just get a little easier again!

NOTE: At one point, I remember determining that if I could gain 1 new customer via each job performed, I could sail along, selling with no sales effort at all, but just by doing the very best job I can, on the job, I am already doing.

I suppose this is “word-of-mouth” advertising, technically, but looking at it on a much smaller scale, like I did here, actually works. It’s a favorite of all my marketing genius and works very well, overall. It’s a good goal to start out.

Word-of-mouth marketing has literally saved me thousands of marketing dollars over the years of owning a business. Dealing with prospects led to you in this way, makes selling a breeze once again, because these calls already know they want to work with you!

Well, I’m sure I can go on and on with this list of my “marketing is easy” philosophy, but I think this is a good place to start. Hopefully, it gives you some things to think about for your operations.

Marketing for your business means finding a bridge to connect with customers at the center of value. It comes down to value, straight up.

You value your customers, and they value you. Now great business can begin.

Show Them You Love Them

To go one step further, I have another rule I try to follow at all costs (often no cost) and is yet another key to easy marketing that goes far beyond the effort it takes you. Ready?

Yes. That’s it. Yes. I try to answer “yes” to customer questions, needs, concerns and even problems. Solve it whether you are looking at doing something you’ve never done before or not. Learning how to say yes and cover whatever a customer needs, makes you shine.

It definitely helps the word of mouth fuel and reflects well on your abilities.

Sure, once in awhile you may be kicking yourself and realize that while you solved a client headache, you’ve now acquired a full blown migraine for yourself. But overall, you will do well in becoming known as a “can do, will do, and I got you covered, kinda guy.”

It will increase your perceived value, strengthen brand image, and distinguish you from other companies with a no, and sometimes more narrow, attitude. Yes goes well with thank you and customers love those words!

Try ‘Yes’ as Your Go-to Answer

I’m not saying to be unreasonable in YES…if it is totally out of your imagined possible bounds, then, still handle it! Here’s how.

Tell your client you have absolutely no knowledge or skill whatsoever in this area and you don’t want to have anything go wrong for them, but, YES you can find some referrals to handle this kind of work/job/service. Then follow-up by providing contact information to them.

Or, maybe you have a subcontractor to handle their needs and you already know, trust, or do business with them. Then your YES can include that, not only will you get an expert service in an area beyond the scope of your abilities, but YES, you can handle that as well, coordinating with the subcontracted service, thereby streamlining the process to make it easy and done with confidence in your client’s best interest.

You know, maybe that’s what it comes down to. Marketing is taking your customers’ best interests to heart in how you conduct your business and do business with them.

Here’s a perfect holiday time example of marketing and business working in tandem, and adding that extra customers’ best interest approach along with it!

I guess it’s appropriate that this writing includes a discussion of marketing including gratitude, love, and a “yes” approach as we near Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. but, I thank you anytime that you take time to read my stuff. Truly. So thanks.

Oh, and for more on my personal marketing journey, look for the soon to be published, “This is Marketing. On the Cheap.” Interesting to today’s theme, I introduce my “Thank You Marketing Campaign” and discuss building my boutique business from nothing but “marketing from the heart.”

Yep. That’s what I started with, and what still works for me today: heart, thank you, and yes.

Feel free to adopt these philosophies for easy marketing into your marketing mentality. Let me know what happens.

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Sue-Ann Bubacz

Sue-Ann is a boutique business owner for more than half of her life! She loves creating original content to help businesses grow. For business content, meticulously written, edited, and delivered on deadline, get in touch.

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