Marketing for non-marketers: how an entrepreneur can promote their business

One of the most common mistakes of a new entrepreneur is ignorance of the basic rules of marketing or inability to use them. That's why many businessmen give up as soon as they start their business, and all attempts to "promote" their business fail. As a result, the efforts made are in vain, and the business idea remains unrealized.

What should you do if your own business does not generate income? Why is it that some businesses thrive, while others fail, no matter how hard they try? It would seem that you have all the necessary funds and knowledge, rented premises and hired employees. Advertising on social media is actively used, new accounts are created, and yet the profit does not change.

There is an interesting story that has become a vivid example of misallocation of time and misplaced priorities.
A man walking in the woods met a woodcutter who was trying to cut a tree with a blunt saw. When asked why he was sawing with a blunt tool if he could sharpen the blade and get the job done faster, the woodcutter replied: "I'm too busy, I don't have time to sharpen!"

Many inexperienced businessmen organize their business according to this principle. Instead of improving the available tools to achieve their goals, they don't use them at all or use them for other purposes.

A business can be called profitable if it generates a stable income with minimal expenses. The main source of income is new or regular customers who use your services. Without a customer, there will be no profit, which means that the business will not be able to survive for long. More customers mean more successful business. To make people know about you, you need to make yourself known. You have to admit that buying a sewing machine for your home or becoming known as the best tailor in the neighborhood are completely different things. The same is true in the business world.

How can you make your business profitable if you neglect marketing or simply don't have time? There are 8 questions you can ask yourself or discuss with your partners to help you figure this out. A correctly formulated answer will indicate the right direction for further action.

8 basic questions

• Who is your business focused on? What do you know about your customers? Any business is aimed at a certain circle of people with common needs. Knowing them, you can quickly find the right customers. A businessman needs to mentally imagine himself as such for a while. Once you understand how their day goes, you can easily understand who your customers are and what they want.
  

• Why did the client choose you? On their own initiative or on the recommendation of friends? You need to promote the resource where a large flow of people comes from. Find out, ask questions, be interested in why they chose you and use this information for further development. The more active the communication with customers, the more effective the result of your actions.
  

• Which product is the most popular among the assortment? By analyzing why certain products are more in demand, you can correct any shortcomings. Communicating with customers who use your services, you can learn a lot of new and useful information that will definitely come in handy in the future.

• Do you need to advertise the product, or is self-sale possible? If the product is in high demand without promotion, think about how your profits will increase if you start promoting it. Will the number of new customers increase if more information about the product becomes available?

• What sources did customers use to find out about you? It is those resources from which the client learned about you that need to be promoted. It can be social media, advertising in print media or on any website.
  

• Is your advertising sufficiently informative? Does it encourage customers to use your services? Good advertising should be interesting and useful. A rare client will look for information about you on other websites. It should contain all the information about the company: name, phone number, services provided, etc.

Advertising and discounts

• Advertising messages should encourage action. For example, "Register and get a discount", "Subscribe and enter a drawing", "Buy one product, get the second one for free", "Bring a friend - get a 20% discount", "Use the service within a month - get a discounted product", and others.
  

• Is there a discount for regular customers? Keeping a regular customer is more profitable than looking for a new one. Introduce a system of discounts, bonuses, and accumulative points. Keep in touch with your customers via SMS or calls, informing them about upcoming promotions and lucrative offers. Just do it unobtrusively, otherwise you risk losing an expensive customer.
  

• Who are your competitors? What knowledge can you borrow from them? High competition indicates good demand for any product or service. This means that there is a lot of money in this area. A competing organization is a source of new knowledge and skills.
  

• In what ways are they superior to you, what do they do better? What opportunities do they have? Observations of competitors located in a different geographic location are especially useful. They are not direct competitors, but you can borrow interesting ideas from them.

The marketing system works according to Pareto's law. 20% of active actions generate 80% of income. You need to focus on these 20% that bring in profit. By adding this percentage to your work, you will get a successful business with profitable results.