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How to Figure Out What Marketing Strategies to Use

by Kristine Carey | Marketing Plans & Strategies

Maybe you’ve been there: you’re talking to someone in your industry at a mixer and they ask you if you’re using [insert name of the latest trend here] to market your business. Or you’re talking to a seasoned business owner and they say that “everybody” in your industry uses [a certain marketing strategy], making it sound mandatory. You stand there frozen: a) not knowing if those strategies are right for you; or b) wondering what you did wrong, because you tried those strategies and they didn’t work. You’re left wondering, how do you figure out what marketing strategies are the right ones for you?

Are You Testing Your Marketing Strategies?

by Kristine Carey | Marketing Plans & Strategies

As a business owner, it’s natural to have lots of ideas about getting the word out about your offerings and to want to test out new ways. You’ve tried different marketing techniques, some of which you liked more, some that worked better, and some you’re convinced will work eventually. The question is, what’s really working, and how long should you test something to know?

Testing requires two things: curiosity and measuring. Curiosity to try something new, and measuring so you’ll know how well it’s working and whether it’s worth continuing to do. Here are several things to keep in mind when you’re testing different marketing strategies:

How to Show Off What You Can Do without Bragging

by C.J. Hayden | Success Ingredients & Tools

One of my coaching clients complained, “I’m really good at what I do. I shouldn’t have to market myself.” In fact, he is quite good at his profession, but the problem is that not enough prospective clients know about him. Like many professionals, he is reluctant to talk about his capabilities and accomplishments. “It feels like bragging,” he says. “Doesn’t it make me seem unprofessional?”

If thoughts like these often cross your mind, ask yourself this — who are the biggest names in your profession? In your line of work, who might be considered unquestioned experts, those with maximum credibility? Now, how did you get to know about those people’s work?

How to Make Prospective Clients Aware of Your Work

by C.J. Hayden | Filling the Pipeline

I’ll bet you do great work with your clients. But if your clients are the only ones who know what you can do, you won’t stay in business. We all hope that satisfied clients will refer us to their friends and colleagues, but clients aren’t always your best source of referrals. So, we need to let more people know how terrific our work is.

There are many ways to let prospective clients know about your work, But for most self-employed professionals, there are only four categories that make sense: networking, speaking, writing, and media. These are the best avenues for people to become familiar with not only you, but with how your work creates tangible benefits.

Why You Don’t Market the Way You Should… and How You Can

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Mindset

Are the results you’re getting from your marketing not what you hoped for? Perhaps there is something else you should be doing. I don’t mean something more. You are probably working hard at marketing already. I’m suggesting something else.

It’s been my experience that many independent professionals just don’t market the way they should. Here are the five most common reasons, and how you can overcome them:

1. Missing information.

There’s a lot of misleading information out there about marketing.

Is It Time to Reset Your Marketing Plan?

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Plans & Strategies

Is your marketing plan producing the results you need? When was the last time you evaluated your plan to see if it is leading you toward success? Are you even using a marketing plan at all? Here are four questions to help you determine whether it’s time to reset your plan.

1. Are you getting in touch every month with at least three times as many new clients as you need? Not every prospective client will say yes. You need to have a marketing pipeline filled with prospects, contacts, leads, and referrals that you can draw from.

Don’t Let Commitment Phobia Wreck Your Marketing

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Plans & Strategies

Effective marketing of your business requires commitment. No matter what marketing approach you choose, you must be consistent and persistent with it, if you want to see results. You’ve probably heard that advice. But this sort of commitment doesn’t always happen in practice.

Do any of these phrases sound like something you may have said about marketing at some point?
“I tried that a couple of times, but I didn’t see results right away, so I stopped.”
“I was using X to market my business, but then a friend suggested Y, so I started doing that instead.”
“I don’t know if this is the best way to market myself, so I don’t want to risk doing it.”

Social Media Marketing Doesn’t Work Without Content

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Plans & Strategies

For self-employed professionals, trying to use social media marketing without regularly producing good, original content is a waste of time and money. You’ll find plenty of social media “experts” trying to convince you that anyone can use social media to get clients, regardless of whether you have content of your own to share. But that’s simply not true.

The purpose of using social media marketing for consultants, coaches, and other service professionals is threefold: 1) stay visible, 2) build credibility, and 3) get prospective clients to feel as if they know, like, and trust you. Far too much of what you’ll hear about using social media relates to purpose #1, but simply staying visible to your desired audience is not enough. If it was, we’d all be getting business by simply running ads.

Before You Market, Stop and Think

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Mindset

One of my coaching clients recently asked my opinion about whether she should try out a new marketing approach. She’s a psychotherapist who has always gotten clients primarily by referral. She had been contacted by a couple of people who were trying to sell her on using social media to increase her therapy practice. Instead of advising her about this, I asked her some questions (see below).

Thirty minutes later, she was shaking her head, wondering why she ever thought that a social media campaign was a good idea for her type of business and personal situation. Before she talked to me, she had been ready to pay a hefty sum for a training program and invest a considerable amount of time to dive into a whole new way to market her business. But my questions made her stop and think.

Seven Ways to Build Marketing Relationships

by C.J. Hayden | Marketing Plans & Strategies

“Relationship marketing.” “Get business by word of mouth.” “People like to do business with people they know, like, and trust.” You’ve heard these adages many times before. But what does it really mean to build relationships with people in order to sell them something?

Does it work to make personal connections with a hidden agenda? How do you go about creating relationships for marketing purposes without feeling sleazy? Here are seven tips for building marketing relationships you can feel good about.

1. Start with the best audience. When you choose the right target market for your business, relationship-building becomes an enjoyable process. Your ideal clients and referral sources are people you already enjoy spending time with.

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