Does your marketing solve problems? If so, what kind of problems does it solve? What kind of problems should it solve?

Your marketing should be working to achieve one of three problem-solving goals.

● Making people more aware of your brand: what it is you are selling, why it is different than other products or services, having good feelings about it and recognizing your brand so that they get all of that in a split second.

● Creating leads: increasing the interest in your product or service lines, promoting the best features, advantages and benefits of your brand.

● Keeping your customers returning for more sales after the initial purchase.

So how is your marketing doing? Here is a little test to give yourself. Sit down with all of your marketing plans and align your activities with these three goals. You will find that the first one, Brand Awareness, tends to be a part of every marketing endeavor. It is the easiest of the three to implement. However, if you find that all or most of your marketing is about raising awareness of your brand, you are lopsided in your marketing strategy. Two if the biggest problems in business are getting new business leads and retaining your customer base. Your marketing should be a problem solver for both of these areas.

How do you get more leads from your marketing? So much of marketing today leans away from the hard sell and tries to soft pedal the image of the brand and the expertise of the personnel working for the business. That all has its place, but at some point, you have to ask for someone’s business or you won’t get it. Successful marketing transitions potential customers from being aware of a brand to creating leads for a sale. This is done in two steps. First, create some intrigue with the marketing you give your prospective customer. There should be some sort of forum where they can ask questions and you can gather more information from them to gauge their interest. This is called qualifying the customer. It involves asking them questions as you answer their inquiries. What is their level of interest? What are their concerns? What might they see as a barrier to buying now? This can be done several ways, but a way that is gaining traction is via a chat box on your web site. This allows the person to get the information they need quickly and for you to make a connection with them. After this, the second part of the transition is to find out what would keep them from buying from you now. If your marketing can take away the barrier, you will gain the sale. Do they need a lower price? Do they need to solve another problem before they can make the purchase? Let your marketing be the problem solver and you will gain more leads.

Just like you need to transition from brand awareness to creating leads, you also need to transition the customer from their first time sale to retaining them for future sales. We all want customers for life. To do that, you have to make sure there are no issues the customer cannot abide in the purchasing process. Good customer service, quality products, competitive pricing, and delivery of the product or service on time are all crucial components of a customer’s satisfaction. Marketing is solving problems when it is tracking all of this through the sale. If there is a problem, marketing makes sure it is resolved. Good marketing also requires that you reach out and touch your customers on a regular basis. Make them feel as if they were the most important people on the planet to your business (hint: they are if they are your customers!) Good marketing makes sure the customer had a great experience and that they know they are not forgotten. Offering incentives to your customer base is great way to stay connected with them. However, first things first, you have to ensure they had a great buying experience before you try to sell them again. Marketing solves that problem as well.

Is your marketing solving your business’ problems? A good marketing strategy makes sure you are more than just pushing your brand, but that you are transitioning brand knowledge to make a sale and keep your customers happy and engaged.