By: Dezmon Landers

A couple years ago I was a new business owner filled with optimism and excitement about selling my services. I went for 18 months without securing any type of purchase agreement or contract with customers. I started to become worried and depressed that I could not succeed at business at all. I contemplated quitting and closing the business up to rejoin corporate America. Fortunately, I convinced myself (and partners) to give it a little more time but  quickly found that regardless of how good my companies services were, I was going to have to have a much better understanding of marketing.

One day I was talking with a friend (a successful serial entrepreneur) about some of the problems I was having in my business and he introduced a valuable concept to me. He asked if I knew the difference between Push vs. Pull Marketing. He went on to explain the differences between these and my outlook on marketing was changed forever.

Push Marketing

The most traditional marketing practice which involves “pushing” out a marketing message onto a group of prospects. A common example is a television ad on a major station. The companies using this method know that a certain portion of the group they are “pushing” this ad out too may be interested in the products or services they have to offer. This method is substantially less targeted in most cases and the ROI is lower for smaller companies. Push marketing can be good for larger companies with bigger budgets but not as good for small business owners who need to sell products now.

Pull Marketing

This method is becoming more popular as small and large businesses alike are experiencing amazing results. Pull marketing involves identifying demand for a product or service then placing a marketing message in front of the group. The marketing message is written in a way that “pulls” customers in the door a lot easier to buy your products or services. A great example of this offline are newspaper classifieds and wanted ads. Online, Google and Craigslist have made a ton of money connecting people to businesses that they demanded to seek. For small businesses, this is ultimately what you want to find, while it can be a bit more costly upfront (because of targeting) you will experience a much higher ROI.

Understand Your Marketing Mix

It is important you understand your marketing mix so that you can be sure that all of your efforts are correct and aligned with you making more sales. The marketing mix is made up of the 4 P’s below:

Product

All successful businesses solve problems through their products and services. You must look at your offer and truly define the problem you are solving for your market. The problem could be as simple as developing a better way to remember things you are supposed to do (Post-It Notes) or as complex as developing a new undetectable airplane that can be used in warfare (Stealth Bomber). Whatever it is, solve a problem that your market understands and identifies with.

Price

Pricing can be tricky but I have learned a couple of tips from past experiences and other successful entrepreneurs that may be helpful to you:

• Compete on quality, not price
• People will either pay or they won’t and price normally isn’t an issue if someone wants something (Thanks Wil Schroter)
• Connecting price to a valuable benefit will make it easier to price your products higher

At the end of the day, if you can provide a unique value and strive to build a brand of quality around your products and services, you’ll be fine. I mean hey, who would have ever thought millions of people would pay $4 for a cup of coffee? Thanks to Starbucks and their branding, people are motivated to do it everyday.

Place

A popular area of focus over the last 10-15 years for businesses has been finding the right place for customers to purchase their products. As consumers are becoming busier and more inundated  with marketing messages from your competition, they are looking for companies that can deliver the products they want without infringing on their lifestyle. I came to this realization the other day when I was looking to order a pizza. I wanted Pizza Hut but for some reason they didn’t deliver in my zipcode. I admit that I was too lazy to go pick it up so I called Domino’s and received my order in 30 minutes. While this may sound like a funny example, let’s look at some numbers that show us why this example is not funny to a business owner.

Order Price: $14.85
X
100 other lazy people in my zipcode

= $1,485 worth of revenue that went to Domino’s vs. Pizza Hut (in one day)

Look for ways that your customers can interact with your brand on their own time in the environment they are most comfortable and you will be able to maximize profits.

Promotion

You could have the greatest product in the entire world but without promotion, no one will know about it and no one will buy. When promoting, you have to be an evangelist of your product, always talk about the benefits and problem you solve. You have to “infect” people with your enthusiasm and story so that they will do the same on your behalf. One important note to understand about your marketing tactics is the difference between Public Relations (PR) and Daily Marketing Processes. Public Relations is any non-recurring public event that highlights your company in a positive or negative way. The most important thing to understand is that you cannot rely on it to drive consistent leads to your business. Nonetheless, PR can be a great way to get your company’s name out there for branding purposes. On the other hand, Daily Marketing Processes can drive you targeted leads daily. This process may involve sending out letters to prospects daily, calling leads or posting ads. Whatever process you choose, be consistent and constantly monitor performance to increase your company’s ROI.