Where should I start marketing?

October 31, 2016 Posted by Chris Lollini Uncategorized

Where should you start your marketing? Or where should you start investing your money in your marketing more effectively? I get this question asked a lot of me just because there’s so much information out there about how to market and what I always say is go back to the basics. How does any business really start to succeed is they get a reputation for delivering excellent products and services. Really, the success of any of their marketing is predicated off the idea that you have a great reputation out there.

Here’s a pyramid if you want to look at it this way. Your reputation is at the foundation of any marketing that you do and then you can start to expand your reach. You can look into opportunities to resell your existing clients and creating some sort of incentivized referral program for your existing customers. Because 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, review sites are really word of mouth marketing gone digital.

It’s totally free to be on these review sites where people are already searching for your products and services. They are pretty close to buying because they’re at the point where they’re evaluating or comparing different businesses so why wouldn’t you want to be there with bells on, so to speak. Since 79% of people are doing research online before they make a decision about making a purchase in store, it’s imperative that you at least show up on some of these so that people can find and corroborate with social indicators that you’re a good quality business to do business with.

The fact that 92% of consumers are now reading online reviews, it’s imperative that you have online reviews for them to look at and gauge, because let’s be honest, you think of yourself, right? Do you ever want be the guinea pig? No, you want to use sometihng that’s tested and proven, so reviews give you that ability to look into a business and say, “Hey, you know what? I’m looking to accomplish this with this service and it looks like, ‘Oh hey, here’s a whole bunch of people that have actually worked with this business and they’ve gotten those results.’ Okay, well that’s a business that I feel safe spending my money with.”

When there’s no online reputation, people really can’t trust your business. I always say start with getting the reviews. It’s free to be on these sites and if you’re delivering that amazing customer experience, really you only have to do two things: Deliver an amazing customer service experience and then encourage people to share that experience online so that they can help you help more people. Do those two things and your business will ignite.

About Chris Lollini

I'm a small business owner/entrepreneur who has devoted myself to helping other small businesses achieve the success they set out to when they first started their business. I'm especially passionate about helping businesses deliver a WOW customer experience, turning their customers into brand evangelists. Most business owners went into business for themselves to provide their services their way. Their passion is not marketing, as a result, many struggle with getting this necessary function of their business done. I help business empower their customers, clients, or patients get the word out for them -- so they can focus on deliver their amazing product or service. I help these professionals regain their passion for their profession while growing their business by enabling them to leverage the power of digital word of mouth marketing. My service gives these business owners peace of mind that their marketing is getting done and they are building a business built to last.