Marketing- No PhD Required

Marketing, love it or hate it, if you are a small business person you know it matters. Learn more about four fundamental elements that can take your marketing effort from mediocre to extraordinary. Intent, Audience, Content, and Venue... 

Transcript

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Welcome to The Water Trough, where we can't make you drink, but we will make you think. My name is Ed Drawster, the Small Business Doctor, and I'm really excited you chose to join me here as we discuss topics that are important for small business folks just like you. If you're looking for ideas, inspiration, and possibility, you've come to the right place. Join us as we take steps to help you create the healthy business that you've always wanted. Hey folks, this is ed draws to the small business doctor. Welcome back to the water trough, where we can't make a drink. But we will make you think. I think about that. We can't make you drink. But we will make you think it's not my job. To tell you what to do or how to do it. It's my hope to inspire you to think deeper about the things you do or the things you possibly could do. Today, my topic marketing, no PhD required. It might sound like a, how to sort of conversation. Let's start by saying I am not a professional marketing person. Never have been and never intended to be, but there is some inspiration I hope to impart here, things that I've learned over the course of time and things that might be useful for you and to open your own marketing efforts.. For sure. If you're in small business, you understand the importance of marketing. Being able to get your message out there is critical. You don't live in a vacuum and you certainly can't sell or provide your services or goods in a vacuum. So when someone says marketing to you, Ask yourself. What comes to mind? What does that mean for you? And it means a lot of different things for a lot of us. Okay.. Here's one for you. How's it going to get done? Well, what are your options anyway? You could just do it. You can learn how to do it. And then go ahead and do it. Or you can hire an expert. And finally you can even work around it. Work around it is. Well, I'm not officially marketing, but I'm getting the job done. People hearing about me somehow. Maybe by the grace of God or some such thing. There are four things I believe are really important. When we talk about marketing. And these are very fundamental things. That I do believe our. Likable. For anyone in any role, any position? Remarketing is important. The first of these is intent. What is the purpose of your marketing effort? And I like to think. If the answer is to sell. You haven't thought deep enough. Because selling itself. Isn't end goal. But it's not really your full intention. It takes a lot to lead up to that sale. So last yourself. What truly is your intent? For your marketing effort. Is it about getting more customers? Is it about engaging a higher quality of customer? Is it about. Teaching people things. Is it about. Giving information that will be a value to others such as this podcast. What is your intent and your marketing effort? Once, you know, this. Then it's possible to craft. Your marketing. Effort. The second of these fundamental. Considerations is the audience. Ooh, are you trying to reach. What do you know about them? And what makes them unique? You see. You have to have an audience. You have to know who your audience is in order to create a message that it's gonna resonate with them. So, who are they? Are they folks between 18 and 35 years old? Are they male or female or both? Are they in a particular geographic sector? And so on and so forth. And then what do you know about those people? What motivates them? In short, what makes them unique? In crafting your marketing plan in crafting your marketing approach. It's important to know as much about your audience as you possibly can, because remember. While the marketing might be designed to reach the audience. If you don't know who they are or anything about them. There's no way. To reach them. The third fundamental is what I call venue. Where does your intended audience go to get the message? Some people will read journals. And so you might make a marketing effort. By putting something of an advertisement nature, or a, informational white paper in a journal that they would see. Some people have a tendency to be stuck in traffic. And they're driving in the road and billboards are a great place where they're going to get the message. the venue. Reflects the audience. It reflects their usual go-to place for the messaging. Think outside the box. And venue goes back to the audience themselves. Again, the more, you know, the better, you know, the audience. The more apt you are. She know where they're going to go. To get the message. The most important. Fundamental, I believe. Is the content. The content that you put out there has to be designed in such a way. Too. Attract the attention of the audience and to deliver the desired message. But while the content is the most important piece. It's totally worthless. Without the benefit of intent. Audience and venue. If you don't have those things. Then it simply won't be enough. Is he the intent, the audience and the venue. They inform the content. The sort of content you could put on a billboard is vastly different than the kind you put in the white paper in a professional journal. The kind of content. That you put into an advertisement is totally different in the sort that you would put into a book. And so on and so forth. Your intent, your audience and your venue inform the content. So while the content is the most important. It's the ability to use the intent audience and venue. To make that content. Really sizzle to make it attractive. Your content is worded to convey your intent. Again, Your content is worded to convey your intention. You see. Your intent provided has been adequately elucidated. Is precisely the goal that you're trying to meet. So the words that you use, the content that you create. Is designed to convey that intent. Explicitly. Your content is. Designed to appeal to your audience again. Going back to what we said before. If you know your audience and the more you know about your audience, you're able to design content. That is consistent with your intention. But that will have appeal to the audience. From marketing to be effective. You must first garner the attention. Of the audience. If you can't get their attention. They're not going to a find your message at all. Or be. Sit around long enough to hear it. Finally content is shaped by the venue, through which it's delivered. Again, You can't. Put a whole heck of a lot on a billboard. You gotta be Very careful about what you put out there, what you provide, what sort of presentation. He put together. The content is shaped by the venue, through which it is delivered. So again, The elements are interdependent, but they're meant to be used in the order provided. Okay. It's important. Number one, to be clear about your intent. Knowledge of the audience, then we'll allow you to create. Content. That will convey the message of your intention to these folks. And remember. If per chance you happen to give this task to someone else, if you hire a marketing professional, And I won't dismiss the importance of that at all. You want to have this information available for them? The best of marketing professionals would certainly request them of you or we'll help you to elucidate these things. Because this information is vital. Whomever produces your marketing message. So in conclusion, Your goal. Is to deliver a message that conveys that your intent. To the audience who desire. In a venue they're most likely to frequent. I hope this helps. This is ed draws to the small business doctor. And until we meet again, I'd like to wish you a healthy business. Um, Uh, Um, Uh, Transcript.