How to Successfully Market Your Business

Follow These 4 Mental Keys for Marketing Success

If you have a great product, it should just sell, right?

Most of us feel this while navigating the wild west of business building. We hope sales will come organically and through word of mouth. But sometimes we stall out after we have tapped out our family and friends. We are left wondering, Will this business be a success? Will I sell anything? Am I destined to be among the 50-65% of start-ups that fail within five years?

Those questions are what business nightmares are made of, and if you are fortunate to not have an overactive imagination, you are in the minority of small business owners who frequently experience these fears based on statistics and business closure stories.

We know there is no guarantee of a successful business. There are, however, some pretty clear indicators of whether you can nail it with your marketing, starting with your mindset. That’s right, it is not all about spreadsheets. Ask yourself: Are you following these four keys to success in your mental marketing game?

Success Strategy #1 Set Realistic Expectations

We all have the fantasy that our business will take off within the first three months. Aside from success feeling good, this fantasy may be encouraged by the pressure of watching our bank accounts dwindle while we sacrifice to build a business. Another reason for short-term projection of business take-off? Our ego may be playing a role.

Unrealistic expectations can arise from many factors, and not just the need for cash flow. Our perception of our product may be inflated, or we may be struggling with feeling like we deserve to be successful. But in business, no more dangerous word than deserve has ever been spoken. Feeling like we deserve success moves our responsibility away from ourselves and onto an unforeseen force that owes us. Believing that success is made through consistency and work will set our expectations aright and pave the way to success in our marketing endeavors.

Why? Because marketing takes times. Marketing involves risk and at times, it means low return until we find the right approach. No one owes us a sale. Success can be one of those “slowly and then suddenly” kind of things.

Putting in the time, day after day, without accolades is an ego hit but it is business. Do you know a highly successful person (who wasn’t a scammer) who built their business in days? Recently, I heard Chris Williamson from Modern Wisdom Podcast say that it took three years of content (marketing) to finally take off. Three years to wonder if you are talking to anyone…Three years of numerous free content that felt unnoticed or unappreciated. That is dedication to the process.

And marketing is a process. It involves strategy, trial and error, and risk. Psychologically, customers need points of contact to follow through with a sale. Typically, a customer will interact with your business in differing ways six times before making a purchase. Those six points of contact could be word of mouth, fliers, website, social media, search engines and more. Understanding that you are wooing your customer will alter your expectations for a timeline.

It can be uncomfortable, but as business owners we need to check in with ourselves. Do we feel people owe us and should buy our product? Are we expecting customers to come to us because we make a few social media posts?

If you are struggling with unmet expectations, flip the script in your mind: You are here to solve the customer’s problem. They don’t owe you anything. It’s your job to convince them that you have what they need.

Success Strategy #2 Stay Open to Feedback

Is the feedback you received from customers to help or to harm you? I first heard this question when I was struggling with the delivery of feedback I received in a job. I could not tell if the person was doing it to help me (like they claimed) or harm me (like it felt). Sometimes, it is a fine line to decipher.

We can’t know customer motives in their feedback, but we can mentally filter how the feedback affects us. First, we need to be open to feedback in general knowing that collaboration- including from customer critics- can make us better. Businesses that have poor customer service and do not accept feedback either die or are blacklisted by high quality customers.

Second, what is a good lens to view feedback? Some questions we can ask ourselves is whether the feedback can make us better, whether the feedback came from a successful person or a reliable customer, and whether the feedback was about solutions.

If you receive feedback that simply says, “I hate your kitchen products,” that does not give you much to go on. Discard. If the feedback says, “I hate your kitchen oven mitten product because I got a second degree burn when picking up a pan,” this person is telling you valuable information. Feelings aside on how hard you worked on the design, stay curious.

Always strive to make it better. That is a key to successful businesses- always looking for ways to improve instead of insisting the customer accept flaws and errors. Again, you are here to solve the customer’s problem.

Maybe you can’t tell if feedback is here to help or to harm. A helpful tactic is to create two columns on a piece of paper. Investigate what could be helpful in their feedback and write this down under “Areas to Improve.” Is there anything harmful in their feedback (unrelated personal insult, for example)? Write it in the second column under, “Unhelpful Distractions.”

Some feedback is like 7th grade math word problems. You have to navigate around the non-useful information to mine for the key content that will solve the problem.

Success Strategy #3 Don’t Try to Serve Everyone: Narrow Down Your Marketing Avenues

We may think that we have to appeal to everyone. This is a trap and can derail your marketing. This pressure may come from a desire to be helpful, or less productive, a desire to be liked. You really just need a loyal following in a niche area that solves a problem. If your product is great and you speak their branding language, you do not need everyone to buy it for you to succeed.

Feeling pressure to use all digital platforms (because, aren’t we supposed to?) can be time draining and disheartening. Is social media worth it? Maybe. Maybe not. Understanding your customer will save you wasted time on marketing techniques that prove unprofitable for your company.

You may have to try different approaches (success strategy #1), but your website will give you business analytics you can use so you are not simply guessing in the dark. For example, on Squarespace you can see where your customers are coming from. If you notice a lot of traffic from social media, you can know those platforms are helpful even if your ‘likes’ aren’t what you would like them to be. You can mentally be less affected by what feels like ignored content.

Search Engine Optimization and email marketing are still supreme for leading in customers. SEO provides a way for your ideal customer to seek you out when entering keywords in a search engine. Many business owners feel SEO is less discouraging than social media, which is really you asking people to like your products. Social media is a fantastic free branding tool, but many business owners feel the mind game of followers, likes, and shares is too overwhelming. A great, simple website with excellent SEO can do a lot for your marketing!

Before you feel discouraged, determine through your analytics where your customers are coming from, what they are buying, and where they are spending time while on your website. Stay curious. Pivot when needed. We live in an amazing age for data and we can use it to proceed towards success.

Success Strategy #4 Have a Clear Marketing Plan

Maybe you have made headway into your business, but you are feeling like there are too many pieces to marketing and mental chaos is consuming you. Overwhelm can bury a business owner when they have just started!

Without clarity in your mission, vision, story, customer, and goals, it is natural to be buckshot in your marketing. Your marketing plan starts with a clear mind. Why did you want to build this business? Who does it serve? How can it make their life better?

Having a plan can relieve mysterious anxiety you may be feeling. Have you ever written down three steps in a process before a task, and suddenly the procrastination and anxiety were gone? That is what a marketing plan can do for your business.

Most of us do not need one hundred steps to success. We need simple and clear ways to direct our marketing, freeing our minds to capitalize on why we were passionate about the business when we started!

Are you feeling a bit lost? Your business may be telling you, “It’s not you, it’s me…” It could be time to clarify your business and marketing direction. My blog provides free resources to do this. I also offer Brand Strategy sessions specific to your company, creating an identity to influence how your ideal buyer perceives you, connects to you, and moves to action. These Five Brand Strategy Sessions are personalized Marketing 101 for your business, and you will walk away with these five elements clarified:

1. Brand Mission, Vision, Story, Ideal Customer, and Goals.

2. Brand Personality: Logo Concept*, Colors, Tone, and Keywords.

3. Website Sales Funnel and Email Marketing.

4. Data Analysis, SEO, and Pinterest.

5. Social Media Brand Marketing and Connecting with your Customer.

Need some support? My goal is to get you out of the mental weeds and on the pathway to success. Schedule a Consult Today for stronger mental clarity in your marketing. Clarity brings success!

Kind regards,

Shelley Ritter

*Logo concept is narrowing down your brand personality for a design so a graphic designer can create what you really want in your logo.

4 Branding Rules You Can’t Ignore

Branding has the power to elevate your product and connect to your ideal buyer, building reliability in their minds. Maybe a branding mistake feels like not a big deal when you spot one in your own business, but in the minds of buyers, these four rules are consistently true and can easily be implemented to establish and strengthen your brand.

Rule 1 | Reflect Your Customer

When starting a business, branding is often the first exciting thing to pop into our minds. Perhaps there is a company we feel has knocked their branding out of the park and we want a similar vibe. Or maybe we are creatives and we already have something original in mind. Regardless, the temptation is to design what we like. And while your personal brand feeds into your business brand (and does define it in some aspects), ultimately your branding is a reflection of your customer. It has to speak the emotional language of the buyer.

For example, if you create a makeup line for mature skin but you are twenty-five years old and the branding is poppy and youthful to reflect you, that may or may not appeal to a more refined age group. While it may sell, if you were to study your customer and rebrand to reflect them as a buyer, your sales would probably increase (along with perceived product value). Ultimately, marketing is solving the customer’s problem, not yours. Everything about the product has to indicate that it is for them, not just about showcasing your personal style.

Does that mean you have to completely drop your personal branding as an influence on your brand? Of course not. You set apart your company and make it unique. The question is, is your ideal customer drawn to this branding style based on who they are? If you are set on a certain branding that doesn’t match your customer, either you have the wrong customer in mind or you are too focused on design over your customer’s connection. Both will hurt your profits.

I heard about a new local luxury restaurant that has amazing food, but the name and the style inside feels inconsistent to first time customers. Though the chef is exceptional, the name of the restaurant has a fast-food vibe. The décor inside appears thrown together. There was hardly any advertising in advance to increase trustworthiness. This is an example of poor understanding of (or interest in) the customer. While the owner may not prioritize interior design or feel the name needs to match the luxury vibe, the customers disagreed by walking away feeling they overpaid even though the food was amazing. A restaurant that appeals to their customer and not simply their personal wishes will beat out disconnected branding every day.

Rule 2 | Be Consistent

Humans typically like to use set symbols to identify objects. It drives us crazy when there is an emoji face that is up for debate. Is the winking emoji to flirt or to be passive aggressive? We want clear symbols and zero confusion.

That is why having multiple forms of branding can hurt you in the end. While there are some free thinkers for this rule, an obvious example is that the golden arches only mean one thing on the side of the interstate; there is never a debate inside the mini van if tires or burgers are sold under those arches. Consistency creates reliability and trustworthiness.

Here are three areas that need to stay consistent in a brand:

• Tone- Is your company or product fun and playful, or refined and elegant? Mixing the tone in your branding feels confusing for the buyer. We all have an innate need for consistency of tone to feel sure about a person or thing. For example, if you want to be perceived as an approachable brand, your tone towards your customer should always feel down-to-earth, friendly, and relatable.

• Colors/Fonts- Stick with 2-3 colors and 1-2 fonts. If Disney changed their weird letter D in their wordmark logo, we would all go into hysteria. It is a defining feature. Their colors are white, black, and blue. Do you ever see a neon green Disney logo? Probably not. Consistency creates comfort and dependability. Every now and then they do something funky for creative development of a storyline, but first they typically showcase normal branding to reestablish the relationship with the customer.

• Logo- Speaking of Disney and movies, the castle always appears in front of a blue landscape. We can rely on that always happening before a movie starts, even if there is some slight fun addition. Disney Plus has a ray of blue light incorporating their colors and a plus sign. Every time. Getting too fancy with changing logos confuses the customer. In our digital world today, customers should be wary of a logo that looks slightly off or outside of branding. It typically indicates a dupe. You don’t want your customers to spend their mental energy trying to determine if it really is your product because you modified the color of the logo.

Rule 3 | Words Matter More Than Logos

I love logos and colors and things that visually define a brand. But if I objectively assess what pushes me to action on a website or social media post, it is what the words are saying and how I am connecting through the text. A company may have a fantastic logo, but if the words are self-focused or off-putting, the message will fall flat.

When it comes to words, the business wants to invite the buyer into a solution of a problem with them. Ultimately, the copywriting isn’t about the business- it is about how the product will solve a problem or make the buyer’s life better. Sure, design is great, but design with a disconnected message leaves the customer confused at best. Being direct, having strong hooks, and leading the buyer through problem solving with your layout are like arrows that lead to sales.

Early on when trying to brand the nonprofit I started, I often used soft calls to action or vague language to define what services were offered. I initially had a hard time defining our vision and also felt bad asking for an action. I personally hate pressure, so I projected that into vagueness on our digital platforms. A donor one day brought this problem to my attention. I did not realize that in trying to make the website feel a certain way through only design, I had missed the mark on clarity of words. Our visitors were given weak direction.

I recently read a post about how it is inspirational that a business has an artsy video, but the real question viewers want answered is what does that business actually do? Within the same day, I ran across this very problem on a separate social media post. Really cool artistic expression, but what does this company do? I asked myself. This is what my donor had been feeling.

We don’t want customers going on a wild goose chase trying to figure that out. We want to connect through clarity immediately. Websites should make it clear what they sell and how to buy it. Those are the most important things on your site, way more important than sharing your story or cool photographs. Buyers ultimately come to digital platforms to solve their problem and they don’t want to have to search too long to find answers. Since this is the case, a rule would be to have a clear description of your product or service and a button leading to the your solution as the first thing they see when landing on your website.

Rule 4 | Avoid Making Your Social Media Your Scrapbook

Social Media is such a great free marketing tool. But it can feel a bit exhausting thinking about having to post frequently since things can get buried fast. Social platforms move at lightening speed. So, we sometimes fall into the trap of documenting the minutia of our lives to take up space on platforms because we think people need constant reminders.

While we want to prioritize words for branding, saying too much can also be an issue. Our customer does not need intimate details of our lives on social media. There’s been a push for authenticity, but we forget that mystery is a strength, also. Balancing both can build excitement in your brand. It’s like first dates: you want to know your date’s name and have meaningful conversations, but you don’t want to watch your date floss after the meal. Create space for mystery, which builds curiosity and sends customers back to learn more.

Next time you’re about to hit post about your baby’s diaper blow out, unless you sell diaper cream, go back to the purpose of your social media platform. All posts and stories should point back to your customer. You may feel you’re being relatable (and some people get away with this more than others), but too much honesty can feel like your customer is supposed to be your emotional support friend. That will get old quickly when they are looking for solutions for themselves.

Ask yourself, does this content build the brand or is it simply something I personally like? Only creating content that is beneficial to the brand and pointing to your service or product will be effective for establishing a consistent brand and increasing sales.

Remember, Branding Is a Reflection of Your Customer- Not You

It is tempting to fall into the trap of branding with our own preferences and passions in mind. But ultimately, the customer comes to purchase something for themselves (unless it is your supportive Aunt Tina giving you a mercy sale). Why avoid the reality of how business works? Business is a transaction between two parties and we have to make sure there is true benefit going both ways. Marketing to yourself is the same as asking your customers to do you favors and spend their money.

Which rule surprised you? Try all four and watch them strengthen your brand and your connection to you customer!

-Shelley Ritter

3 Steps to Determine What Buyers Actually Want

When starting a business, we are sure our product will be a best seller. Why? Because we love it.

Believing in our product is the very reason we launch a business. Just watch an episode of Shark Tank. There’s usually this really optimistic guy who had this idea to solve a problem he had. He wants other people to feel the same relief and he wants to make money along the way. His intentions are good. But is his product?

Step 1: Objectively Evaluate Your Product.

Let’s say you develop a colorful journal with a sunrise on the cover because you love watercolor and it makes you feel happy to see it on your table with your morning coffee. You decide to print copies and take them to your local bookstore to sell. You observe journal lovers admire it in the store, but you aren’t sure why they aren’t taking it home in a shopping bag.

The tough reality with many products is this: Simply because it’s important to you doesn’t mean it’s important to others. And that’s a painful pill to swallow.

What Are People Telling You Through Their Actions?

This may seem pretty elementary, but we ignore the obvious: people tell you what they want through their actions, not their words. If people aren’t buying your journal, either they don’t need another journal or they don’t see how your journal is better than other journals.

If they don’t see a need, there could be no real demand for a product. If they can’t see how the product is better, this could simply mean poor marketing of a product. You can fix poor marketing (more on this later), but no demand is a reality you need to objectively face.

Look at the Data, Not Your Emotions.

To be successful, you have to emotionally detach from demanding an outcome for your product. Instead, ask without attachment what is selling and what isn’t selling.

It’s sometimes that simple. While it’s commendable to try to influence what people want if they don’t know they need something amazing, in the end, selling products will come down to demand.

Taking a hard look at the data is the best thing you can do for a product—very similar to taking a hard look at your bank account instead of hiding from the numbers, or taking a hard look at a relationship that feels off. Growth and success come from facing the facts.

How many products are selling? Do you have another product that’s selling more but you are less interested in it? It may indicate that while you have a passion product personally, people actually want something else. Not all passion products need to be marketed. Only demand products will make money.

Step 2: Create a Buyer Persona

If you’ve looked at your product and it feels to be selling randomly, one way you can evaluate if it’s a marketing problem is by creating a Buyer Persona. This is a chart of who your buyer is. This helps you to know if there’s a common theme driving people to your product and who to market to for your sales. Here are a few questions to get you started:

• What are your buyer demographics? Age, sex, race, income, and family dynamics are a few areas that may have a common thread. You may realize you’re marketing to the wrong person because you assumed your buyer is just like you or you’ve determined who you want your buyer to be instead of knowing who they actually are. If you’re selling sporadically, it could be your marketing isn’t attractive to your actual buyer.

• How do they spend their money in this area of their life (your product’s area)?

• What are their pain points?

• What objections do they have about buying your product?

• How do they obtain information? What social platforms are they on?

• What real problems do they have? Ask them. Doing a poll can be very revealing.

You don’t need everyone to buy your product; You need a niche group of customers to repeatedly buy your product or tell others about your product. Trying to sell to everyone will often leave businesses selling to no one.

Based on the above questions, determine who your buyer actually is, not who you assume or want them to be. Market to that person’s problem.

Step 3: Understand Your Competition.

Whenever I’m competing in a game, I like to put on my mental blinders against my competition so I don’t get in my head. The problem with this approach is that I can’t see where they might be beating me in the end. Comparison can distract us if we’re using it for emotional value data, but if we use it as objective data we can be honest about who our competitors are and how they might be outdoing us.

Your successful competition tells you a lot about your buyer if you pay close attention. A coffee shop, for example, that is getting destroyed by Starbucks is not only fighting excellent, expensive brand strategy, but the ease of apps and mobile orders. Remember, solving customer problems creates demand. How is your competition solving the problems better than you?

It’s hard to accept, but if you have two gyms and Gym A has an excellent online presence, a customer who has never visited either Gym A or Gym B will probably visit the well-branded Gym A. Next, if Gym A is welcoming, professional, and safe, the customer may never even make it to check out Gym B. Sadly, Gym B may be an above par gym but Gym A’s marketing beat them to the punch.

What is your competition doing right? What could you do even better? Looking at these key successful areas of your competition will show you what your customer actually wants (it may not be a luxury coffee bar at the gym, but a necessity like childcare).

Getting Real About What Your Buyer Really Wants.

Remind yourself: I am not my buyer. You are the creator. It’s great to be your own first buyer (which makes your company or product more interesting to you), but the market for your item may either look different than you or may not be there at all. Getting honest about your products is a big step in the right direction of success.

So now you may be thinking, what do I do if I realize there’s no market?

That’s a tough realization, especially if you are passionate about your product. Many successful business owners had to pivot their product—or company completely. And you know what? It happens a lot. It’s hard to feel like you failed, but really, you tried something and learned invaluable information for your next project.

Most people never try to start a business. You’re already a step ahead in courage. Don’t count yourself a failure if you realize your product isn’t marketable. Instead, you’ll be a business-minded professional who understands how products sell due to real life experience. Perhaps you realized there’s already a more successful product or service that will take you further. Listen to your buyers and it will lead you to the demand and success!

3 Tips to Improve Your Writing

Immediately Strengthen Your Writing Through These Exercises

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Why do some books become best sellers? Why do some products sell based on the description over the packaging? There can be an element of the writer being in the right place at the right time to market. But generally, there are key components that set the marketing engine in motion that establish New York Times Best Sellers or popular products. Keep reading to instantly strengthen your message with these three easy to implement tips.

Keep It Simple

You know that genius sentence you wrote the other day that you’re just sure is the sentence of your writing? Scrap it. I feel a little deflated every time I hear a writer say this. What do you mean, delete the best sentence?

It’s the best sentence to us, the writers, but that doesn’t always mean it translates the best to the reader. And that’s key with writing or marketing or anything else you’re trying to get across to someone. You have to speak your tone in their language.

What makes sense in our minds often needs more context than a (self-proclaimed) brilliant sentence. Trying to be overly innovative has its downsides. Yes, many books or marketing campaigns have run on clever words, but typically, simple is best and creates stronger writing.

Next time you write something brilliant, put it away for awhile like that tattoo you’ve been doodling. Come back to it multiple times. See if the glitter has worn off or if it really is an insightful, concise sentence. It’s okay to love a sentence, know you truly feel it, and at the same time allow that there’s a better way to get the same idea across to your reader in language they will truly appreciate.

Write How You Talk—Sort of…

When I was writing a lot of school papers, the number one feedback I received to improve my writing was don’t write how you talk. So I went to the opposite extreme and received the feedback that my writing could use a little…oomph. Get a little more flowery, I was told. Being a technical rule-follower on the written page, I was really confused.

What my teachers meant was to use grammar, but keep a familiar tone. Most readers don’t like technical books; readers generally like first-person perspective books. Consider top sellers, like The Hunger Games or Twilight. Why did teen girls and adults alike rush to devour these books? Because first person is the most engaging form of writing. Adding a personal element to your writing is the same as reaching through the screen to your reader and talking face-to-face. So unless you’re writing a research article, personalizing your message will go a long way to connect to your reader.

What about buzz words or jargon? While it is important to be up to date and use relatable language, falling for trendy buzz words could be off-putting to the vast array of readers and weaken your message. Jargon can come across distant or heady, leading customers to click away from further reading. Remember, you want your writing to make sense to others, not just a small, time-bound circle. Timelessness comes across stronger in writing.

Lead the Reader, Don’t Let Them Wander

If you don’t narrow down your topic ahead of time, you’ll take your reader on what I refer to as A Three Hour Tour. This is from the theme song of Gilligan’s Island. The passengers got on the boat for what they thought was a three hour tour, and ended up stranded on an island indefinitely. I know, I know- I just mentioned staying timeless, but examples are a bit different.

What your reader wants when they look for a product description, blog post, or book is to get answers— often quick ones! It’s not always fair, but if you don’t get straight to where you’re going, you’re going lose your reader, even if you did have something important to say at the end.

Being overly-repetitive, throwing in side stories that have no direct connection, choosing vague language, or adding too many points can send up flags to the reader’s brain that it’s not worth the hassle to continue. Remember, you as the writer have a destination and it’s your job to get them there.

My son had a Jiu Jitsu coach who spent forty-five minutes explaining a move, verbally jumping from technique to personal stories to sermonizing, and then only allotted ten minutes for the kids to see the move and practice. Guess what happened? My son quit that particular Jiu Jitsu. He wasn’t reaching a destination and wanted to look elsewhere. We can’t fault anyone quitting something— like a book— if the leader isn’t leading and the reader can hop on a clearer tour elsewhere.

I love closing a book and realizing all along, this crafty writer was leading me to a destination, often one I didn’t even know I needed. Those are the best. And I also love finding a blog post on a search engine for a question I have and getting straight to the point (we won’t talk about recipe websites...) Readers need direction and you have the magic to get them there. Guide them strategically.

3 Exercises to Improve Your Writing

1.) Let’s simplify. My favorite way to do this? Read your writing aloud or to a friend. Pull out the blog post or novel you’ve been working on and start reading.

How’d it go?

Remember, Hawthorne said it’s hard to write well in a way that’s easy for someone else to read. Becoming a stronger writer means mercilessly revising until it flows. As Donald Miller and J.J. Peterson point out in Marketing Made Simple, “Sometimes what looks good on paper does not translate well when spoken.” You may find when you read it aloud, words flow better with rearrangement. You may find repetition. You might notice too many creative descriptive words which can overload the reader’s brain in one sentence. Or, you may be falling asleep. Don’t take it to heart- all good writers write in drafts. The skeleton comes first.

2.) Before writing, jot down the destination. Create main points that solely support your destination or, if already written, go through your writing and number your points that guided your reader there.

Do you have any extra points that do not follow (also called a Red Herring Fallacy)? Save those points for a different piece of writing. They may be springboards for further ideas, just not useful for this piece.

3.) Revise over, and over, and over again. Revision can bring improvement. It’s the extra mile that crafts beautiful writing. Carelessness is quickly evident. Revise your piece today. Circle any buzz words or jargon. How could you write those so a broader audience, such as multiple generations, can understand? Wait a couple of hours and come back. You might see it differently the next time around.

Ultimately, It All Comes Down to Practice

We get better at writing by writing. Give your first drafts a lot of patience. Every great idea or great work of art started with a first draft— some that were almost sent to the trash. Don’t burn it yet. Try applying these three tips to strengthen and improve your writing and watch your writing become clearer, engaging more readers to your message.