I absolutely love marketing. You would hope so, as it’s my chosen career. But more than that, I can’t imagine why people don’t enjoy marketing. However, most business owners that I speak to find marketing a chore. Some even tell me that they hate it.
I got thinking about this recently when one of my clients shared with me that I’d reignited their passion for marketing and they were really enjoying doing the work with me supporting them. Other clients have also shared with me that they enjoy the process when they work with me.
But is it that I’m a fun person and therefore I make marketing more enjoyable? I don’t think so. I think there are other reasons why people like marketing when they work with me.
If you don’t enjoy marketing and you’d like to ignite your passion for it, then here are my top 4 tips for how to find the love in what you do.
1. Don’t Be Too Formulaic
I’m all for a good content plan, but don’t be too rigid with it. I’ve spoken with some people who have become so focused on ticking their process driven boxes, that they’ve forgotten they’re communicating with people. As people we’re emotional and unpredictable, and your marketing needs to have that same feel.
It is much better to have a well built brand, some strong messaging and an understanding of the value that you offer, rather than a spreadsheet of content that you churn out week after week after week just because you don’t know what else to do.
Get your brand set up well, build your key messages, and then find as many creative ways as possible to get that message out there.
Social media is not the be all and end all when it comes to marketing. Some businesses generate no leads at all through social media and they’re hugely successful. Rather than seeing marketing as a tick box exercise where you have to get your posts, your blogs and your newsletter scheduled, instead play around with different channels and think outside the box. You’ll enjoy it more, and your customers will probably notice it more as it’s different from other accounts they follow.
2. Be a Risk Taker
Forget about Unique Selling Points (USPs). We don’t talk about them in marketing anymore. It’s far better to focus on differentiation. How are you different as a business?
Whereas on your list of USPs you might have:
- We’re cheaper
- We sell a unique range of socks
- We have 24/7 customer service
- Everyone gets a free pen with their order
- And so on
…that isn’t really enticing, is it?
Why not instead think about how you’re different? Are you more outgoing? Do you publish a monthly comic strip instead of a blog? Are you more honest?
It doesn’t matter what it is, but find a way to stand out, and don’t be afraid to take a risk.
The bolder you can be and the more you seem to stand for something, the more people will notice and talk about you. And that’s a huge part of your marketing taken care of. Playing it safe is not only more boring to work on, but it isn’t as appealing to your audience. We remember things that stand out.
3. Think Big
Stop thinking about ideal customers and avatars. I know so many businesses who spend ages trying to perfect their customer personas, focusing in on the minutia of who these people are. But all the time they’re missing huge opportunities by narrowing down their focus too much.
Trained marketers talk about customer segmentation. That means you need to look at your whole market first. Think about it: if I asked you to tell me about your ideal customer, you’re going to tell me about one type of person or business. However, if I said, “Tell me about your customer segmentation,” you’ve got to think about your whole potential market and then make the best decisions of who you can sell to and when. You’ve suddenly opened up doors just with your mindset.
The more you can start to look at all the potential people you can sell to, the more you’ll open up a world of possibilities. And that’s when you can grow sales without having to do much extra work.
It’s also a far more satisfying process.
4. Work With a Marketing Agency
If you have any marketing budget at all, work with a marketing agency that actually knows what they’re talking about. If you’ve never worked with a properly trained marketing professional to come up with content ideas, to create a new marketing campaign or to devise some PR activity, then you’re closing your business off to so much potential.
A good agency won’t just do a lot of social media for you, or get you ranked highly on SEO. We’ll look at what you want to achieve and we’ll make it happen in ways you’ve probably never even considered.
Good marketing isn’t about having a mega budget. Of course, money helps. But creative thinking gets you very far too.
Think of all the advertising that you’ve ever reacted to. I bet it had a creative force behind it, and that’s why you remember it. And that’s the key to good marketing.
If you’d like to explore how Lindsay Woodward Marketing could help you to find more enjoyment in your marketing, and you’d like to see better results for your hard work, then let’s set up a no obligation meeting. I’d love to chat. Book in here: https://calendly.com/l-w-marketing
