No matter your view of President-in-waiting, Donald Trump, he never goes unnoticed. He is a master of keeping focus on both himself and his business. Love him or loathe him, he always has an impact.
In 2017 how can you ensure that you create the right awareness amongst the right audience for both you and your product?
Put your Brand in the Limelight
Commit this year to attending at least one networking event each month. Select those events at which your ideal prospects are most likely to hang out.
Go for quality rather than quantity when it comes to number of attendees whom you meet at a function. Aim to strike up a good rapport with two or three individuals and then foster that relationship after the event.
Get into the habit of listening first to the other person and asking them questions. Strive to understand who they are and the nature of their business and its challenges. This puts you in the best position to identify their needs and possible opportunities for your product.
Be ready when asked to succinctly describe your business, from the perspective of how it serves customers. Make this attention-getting. For example, as a Marketing Consultant, I might introduce myself as a “Dream Maker”, assisting entrepreneurs to realise their business vision via the best Marketing approach.
Develop a Voice
In business one of the most effective ways to build your brand profile is to position yourself as an expert. It works because from our childhood interaction with our parents, we are conditioned to follow the lead of those whom we perceive as authority figures.
Become active on Twitter and Tweet regularly about your industry – demonstrate that you have a strong viewpoint. Follow key global figures in your industry and comment on and share their Tweets.
Build a database of your existing customers and continually grow that database with names and e-mail addresses of ideal prospects. Keep contact with your list via a regular article on an industry topic. This keeps your brand top of mind.
Place these articles on a blog on your website and on your social media pages.
Practise the Personal Touch
Ironically in our fast paced world of drones and voice assistants (like Amazon’s Alexa), demonstrating that old fashioned, personal touch can prove very effective in creating the right impact.
Instead of a standard e-mail to thank a customer for a large order or for their continued support, why not send them a handwritten note. This indicates to customers that you value them and is certainly memorable. (You can even implement this approach with your staff).
Use social proof – it works
No matter how eloquently you sing the praises of your product benefits, there’s nothing more credible than a testimonial provided by someone who is happy with your brand.
Make a point of collecting testimonials and then capitalise on them in your Marketing. Include them on your website, in your sales presenter and find a way to display the best ones in your reception area or front of store. Testimonials can only work for you, if they are visible.
Once you make generating impact and awareness a priority for your business, you will discover a myriad of ways to stay in the spotlight.
Shirley Anthony is the author of The NEW Entrepreneur: A Practical Marketing Guide For Growing Your Business Now.
About the author: Shirley Anthony is the owner of consultancy, Marketing Breakthroughs, and has implemented projects in 25 industries, amongst them banking, cellular, food, travel, cosmetics, information technology and engineering. She now also offers a Marketing Mentor Coach programme.
