Solve Their Problem, And The Money Is Yours.
Many companies do not reach their revenue and sales goals.
A primary reason is that they jump right into marketing as a way to achieve their goal quickly.
Marketing tactics alone, while important, will not solve the customers’ problems. That’s your job.
You need to tell prospects your real story, and the real story is your company’s insightful solution to their problem:
your business growth strategy.
Your business growth strategy is your story. Marketing is how you tell your story.
That’s the story you are passionate about because it solves their problem.
Solving their pain, as you know, is why you need a strategy first.
I think the “strategy is your story” line is from an article by Ben Horwitz
You need a strategy to solve your prospect’s problem to reach your goal.
Without a strategy, there is a big hole in your story.
You need to fill that hole. So, to get on track to meet your revenue goals, you first need a strategy (your story),
and only after you have your strategy can you effectively and passionately market your story.
With a strategy, your product or service solves a targeted customer’s problem in a better or more desirable way.
Plus, a strategy includes a reachable and measurable pathway to reach your sales objective.
A strategy also makes your marketing cost-effective.
Your message will target and focus on the specific solution the customer needs and wants.
There are five parts to creating an effective business growth strategy.
Following is a very condensed description based on Richard Rumelt’s book, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy.
1. Understanding your goal and the number one problem in reaching that goal, then turning that goal into a specific, measurable objective.
2. You need to diagnose the problem based on experience, research, analytics, and critical thinking skills, so the information is as objective as possible.
3. Next, create new insights and concepts using creative thinking tools to solve the problem or take advantage of the opportunity.
4. Once you have the insightful solution needed, you need to define what the company will do and not do
This step is difficult because it means many” no’s” because of limited resources.
5. Finally, prepare a coherent plan to execute this strategy.
Now that you know your company’s growth strategy (story), you can begin telling that story.
But, your marketing program needs a strategy also because the market is very crowded.
And you have to stay coherent with your business strategy.
For example, about 70 million posts are made each month on WordPress
So, how will you compete against all the other marketing messages?
You must be on page one or two of “Google’s” search results.
Competition is stiff if you use inbound marketing like websites and blog posts.
You must have a strategy for your marketing programs, using the same process described above for the company strategy.
What can you say or write differently, uniquely, and on point with your strategy?
Most visitors do not go beyond the second page of Google’s results.
Therefore, you need a strategy to get your blog posts seen and then read.
And this problem exists for all the media. It’s not impossible, but it takes a plan and some time to accomplish.
Your marketing plan may include outbound marketing (like direct mail and advertising) and direct sales.
Most people are familiar with the different marketing platforms and programs, so I will not cover them here.
Allocation of resources
Strategy is also important because it requires you to allocate resources to the entire company program, including marketing.
Every company has resources that are limited for marketing also.
So, spend enough time and resources to make each program successful.
Don’t put 100 dollars into ten programs because you want many leads.
You may have to put the $100 into one program and make that program successful.
Then you can expand into the next scheduled item.
With a business growth strategy, you can get measurable results.
Two words of caution
Marketing programs also take time, a precious resource, especially for “free” social marketing programs.
Also, marketing programs need to be tested and adjusted as required.
For example, $100 for advertising may need to be scheduled monthly to get the exposure frequency high enough to work.
Or you may have to plan $25 every three months.
Also, focus on only the marketing plans and programs that support your overall strategy.
Every employee and every program must sync with your company’s business growth strategy if you want to deliver what you promise in your marketing messages.
Remember, your strategy is your story, and marketing is how you tell that story.
The following are three ways to move your company forward and reach your goals.
If you want to create a business growth strategy or update your current story, Harbor has three ways to help you.
These three programs enable you to design and decide what you need and how much time you can devote to creating your company’s programs.
The ClickVisor internet program gives you the information you need anytime.
You don’t have to hunt for the info. Just click and learn.
Plus, new information is added weekly and monthly.
The data is divided into modules to access the information you want quickly.
Workshops discuss specific strategies like defining and articulating your value proposition.
Learning various innovative techniques to create new concepts and ideas, how to
create your Brand or differentiate your products and services, or how to
position your Brand against the competition to become the preferred choice.
Consulting Program is custom-designed to help you transform challenges into opportunities and
benefit from the power of business and marketing Strategies.
They are one-on-one or team designed to help you through the entire strategy creation process.
If this program interests you, we will need to set up a phone appointment to discuss what needs to be done.
Conclusion
There are many reasons companies move forward too quickly by spending money on marketing programs; just to be disappointed,
You need to have a strategy defined and in pace first. Then you can create an effective marketing program.
If you take the time to get your strategy right first, you will save a lot of time and money
and have a higher probability of reaching your objectives.
To learn more about the concept of your strategy is your story. Marketing is how you tell your story;
go to our website: https://https://harborcapitalgroupinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Braintopview-1.jpg.com.
I would love to hear your thoughts on having a written business strategy. Comment here.
PS. You may also be interested in our blog post: How you approach problem-solving matters.
PPS. And this post also: How To Define And Solve The “Real” Problem
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope it gives you some food for thought.
Jim Zitek
Innovative Strategies That Create More Profits