Marketing 101

Attending a recent business conference I was rather fatigued around all the marketing solutions using smoke and mirrors to sell their products.

Sure they do have success stories but honestly as a small business owner myself you have to ask yourself are they going to add anything to my bottom line?

Often not. Chatting to a few, the team are more interested in selling than listening to your actual needs.

For once I'd like to hear someone go, "You know what? Our product isn't for you, but these guys can help". Genuine, authentic business help.

The one that always gets me is Fax Marketing. Pay $900 excl gst to get your fax sent to businesses around Auckland. Whoa?!?! How are you going to get a return from that? I am sure some of the recipients are actually reading them but mostly they are throwing them out.

Spam through email sucks but via fax? Can't be any better. Soon you will be able to pay people to run into an office, scream out a product and why you should buy it, then move on.

Hang on - that's what door to door salesman already do...

Marketing isn't hard, it just takes some work, lucky for those that don't mind getting their hands dirty they can reap the rewards.

Simplistically:

1) Talk to your customers.
2) Listen.
3) Help them.

You need to obsess about your customers, what are their problems, how can you help? or how can others help?

This obsession will help create word of mouth, you will attract like minded customers, no need to worry about advertising.

Just get your first customer. Then use one customer to get another and so forth.

Admittedly it has a slower pick up initially but with consistency it will snowball. It's not hard and it never has been!

Leave the smoke and mirrors to your competition.

* Ben Young from bwagy is the author of the upcoming book The Best Ideas are Free.