Step forward and go beyond word of mouth marketing
In the exciting adventure of running a business and making positive impact, you might find yourself at a crossroads: Should you continue relying on organic growth or putting your energy into marketing to propel your business to the next level?
Let’s look at demystify marketing, debunk its negative perceptions and highlight its role as a key component of business growth.
In the beginning, when you started your service based conscious business, your initial clients came through word of mouth, and over time your contact list grew organically. You’ve achieved success at a certain level, and this approach has worked for you well until now.
You’ve launched your business and have become a solid expert but you want to grow and get more of certain type of projects (those with greater impact) and this requires a shift.
You now experience very busy periods as well as times when you’re a bit worried, wondering where or when your next customer will come from. You‘re worried you don’t have much control over the type of projects that come your way and so, you’ve decided to take the reins of your business, be in charge, and elevate it to a new level. That level that will give you the freedom you’re looking for 😊.
But thinking about marketing makes you uneasy—it feels sleazy and salesy, which is not your style and not something you want to do…
Lemme show you how marketing is a great thing and one key piece of your growth.
The foundation of any business involves branding—who you are as a business, why clients should choose you, what you do, who your clients are, and what problems they face. This goes hand in hand with marketing—how your potential clients will learn about you and eventually buy from you.
Have a look at the post we shared on our Instagram a while back but still relevant.
Without branding and marketing, there is no business. You can either actively shape and influence these elements (and control your direction and growth) or take a passive approach and let them be shaped by external factors, which means not being in control.
You see, even word-of-mouth referrals involve branding and marketing.
If the person that was referred to you doesn’t feel connected or doesn’t think you’re the right fit or that you can’t solve their problem (all the key branding elements) they will not do biz with you (marketing).
So let’s go through this negative perception about marketing…
Sleazy sales happen when you try to sell something to someone who doesn’t need it, using unethical techniques to convince them otherwise. Believe me, I don’t like this either, and marketing should not look like this.
Let’s reframe the narrative.
Marketing isn’t something unpleasant that you must do, it’s actually a really useful tool to help your business grow. When you understand how it integrates with branding, it lays the foundation for your business to improve and evolve.
You’ve got skills and expertise that will support your ideal clients solve an important problem— they have a need and you have a solution. Marketing will put you and your service in front of those who need it. Again Marketing is crucial after you have a clear and distinctive brand with an irresistible offer. Read this post to see if you need to rebrand or not.
You may say, but Aitzi I’ve tried social media and I got burnt out— took way too much time, I became a doom scroller and I didn’t even have 1 sale! so I stopped, plus the algorithm changes all the time and I can’t keep up…
You are not alone, this is how many entrepreneurs feel… I get it, but social media is only one of the possible channels you can use…
When you use marketing strategically after having worked out a solid brand foundation, you can build your marketing funnel and understand where social media platforms and other efforts belong in your customer's buying journey — your entire perspective will change.
At the core of your branding is knowing your ideal customer— deep knowledge that shapes your brand and clarity about who you are for them and why they will choose you. This knowledge helps create your messaging, content ideas and engagement strategies.
Knowing your customers also means understanding their buying journey. Your customer’s buying journey doesn’t start when they buy from you; it starts from the moment they are aware of you and your brand. People buy when they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST a brand and to reach this point usually takes about 8 touch points.
With this understanding, you may realise that possibly social media is at the nurturing stage in your customer’s buying journey rather than in the awareness stage. This means you can stop chasing the viral post, or the likes or the following counts to providing the value your customers need at that particular touchpoint, getting closer to a sale.
People buy from people and usually happens because they "know, like and trust" your brand.
This is what we call Relationship Marketing, where you aim to connect and build relationships with consumers who eventually may buy from you or maybe talk about you in conversations with others.
Even if your ideal customer is a business, there’s a human behind that business, so we want to create human-to-human connections and build trust.
In Relationship Marketing, trust is the currency, and is a long-term strategy. Create strategies that foster emotional connections, brand affinity, and impactful storytelling, replacing disconnected marketing approaches with authenticity.
The days when having a website that lists your offering and showcases your portfolio are over— this alone will not convert visitors into clients.
A website is more than a glorified portfolio. It is part of a strategy that builds relationships.
So, in summary: here’s the 5 shifts you need to step forward and go beyond word of mouth marketing:
- Do you have a distinctive brand? Marketing cannot compensate for a lack of brand. If the foundations are not strong (branding), and you don’t know what sets you apart (Inner fire) then all marketing efforts will be from a disconnected and non-authentic starting point, leading to that sleazy salesy feeling.
- Do you know your customer? It’s essential to shift focus from what you offer to what your clients need and value. Understand their challenges, desires, and pain points. This customer-centric approach ensures your marketing messages resonate more deeply and lead to stronger customer relationships.
- Are you building relationships? Many small businesses believe that the more customers they reach, the better. A more effective approach is to focus on reaching the right customers.
- Do you use storytelling? People connect with stories more than facts. By embedding your services within a narrative about how you solve specific problems or enhance customers’ lives, you can engage your audience more effectively. Consider how your inner fire, unique journey, customer success stories, and the benefits of your services can be woven into compelling narratives.
- Long-Term Vision Over Short-Term Gains: It’s tempting to seek quick wins, but true growth is a long-term game, especially in service-based businesses where trust and relationship-building are crucial. Focus on strategies that build customer loyalty and lifetime value rather than just immediate sales.
We can help you figure out what your Inner Fire is and how this will help you set apart from your competitors and what you need to do and stop doing for success — you can either book a BrandImpact Game Plan directly or book a chat with us to see whether we are a good fit.
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