Apr
9
Several years ago, I launched a business that never quite took off. I was trying to reach a national audience, so I put all my eggs in the online marketing basket. When things stalled out, I ended up revamping my concept. After several more tweaks, more time and more learning, I ended up with a business concept that finally felt solid. To my surprise, it was completely different than the idea I started out with. It’s a different offering aimed at a different audience for a different purpose.
What’s most baffling is, when it came time to market, I actually sat down to write a Sales Letter! That’s right, I’m currently writing letters to my prospects telling them that I understand the pain of their business “problems,” and how my solutions will make their lives better.
After totally immersing myself in the world of online marketing for the last four years, I NEVER thought I’d be writing a Sales Letter. But you know what? That’s the best way to reach my current audience. Most of them are not on Twitter. They’re not looking for vendors on Facebook. They’re not key players in the Blogosphere. AND, they’re not currently on my email marketing list.
But they do read their mail, so that’s where I’ll reach them.
I would like to share the following points from this experience:
1) Be flexible - The advantage that Small Business has over Big Business is the ability to be flexible. When the market zigs, you need to be ready to zag, so think like a gymnast, not a sumo wrestler.
2) Don’t be afraid to let your business become something you didn’t expect - I had a great marketing teacher tell me this once, but I didn’t quite understand it then because I was too focused on ‘My Brilliant Concept.’ Now I understand what she meant: Allow the Marketplace to dictate what your business will become – even if you hadn’t planned that route.
3) Know your audience - This is one of the key ingredients of a successful business plan. Who are they? Where are they? What do they want? Become familiar with the unique, individual needs of your audience, then craft and deliver solutions that are better than your competitors’.
4) Try new tools - While I do have a strong online presence, I’m also looking into Direct Mail Campaigns, Radio Ads, Speaking Engagements and even Classified Ads to market my business. Try new tools to reach your audience, but make sure they are relevant. Test, experiment, track and analyze. Figure out what works and drop the rest!
So, what lessons have you learned from past failures?
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(This post is re-purposed content from the BAM! Bulletin eNewsletter. If you wish to receive exclusive monthly content via email two weeks before it hits the blog, please join my mailing list. Sign up on the BAM! homepage header or at the bottom of the right sidebar).
