There is an old Greek story about the mythological Icarus and his father, Daedalus, who escaped from Crete on wings constructed out of feathers attached with wax. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun. He feared the heat would melt the wax and cause the wings to fall apart. Icarus, full of himself, decided to ignore his father’s instructions and flew too close to the sun. His wings fell apart and he plunged back to earth, splashing into the sea.

I was sitting with a business owner to negotiate a marketing contract. I had worked out the details of what we were going to do in the next year with his managers. I had detailed this in the contract and now it was time for him to sign the document. He informed me he didn’t think they needed marketing. He said he had plenty of sales without marketing. It was a waste of money… nothing ever came of it. If your company is relying on the notion that you don’t need marketing to make a sale, Icarus is flapping his wings ever higher in your business. So I asked a few questions. Did they have a website? Yes. Did they belong to any trade organizations that were also open to their customers? Yes. Had they ever hosted a customer event? Yes. Did they have a sign with their logo on the building, did they go golfing with customers, did they take their customers to dinner? Yes, yes, yes! I suggested that maybe what he wasn’t calling marketing actually was marketing all along. And maybe his business had been doing it for a very long time… and it had worked! And furthermore, maybe a little more focused marketing would yield even better results!

Marketing is essential to attracting new business, helping with the sale, and maintaining a relationship with your customers so they will come back to you again and again. If you are in a business that has been around for a while and you are looking for a way to increase your sales through marketing, let me give you a few tips for success. First, define your brand. What is it you are selling? What is unique about what you are selling? How is it better (or worse) than what your competition is selling? Most importantly, what is there about doing business with you that is better for the customer? Put this information together into a brand statement. From there, build awareness of the best you have to offer your customers. Put your best foot forward.

The first step of getting this information to your target market is what we call awareness marketing – the promotion of your brand. This is helping them understand not only what you are selling, but why they should buy from you and not the competition. Awareness marketing is all about getting your target market to buy your brand message, not necessarily selling your products or services. I want them to believe what we are saying, that your brand is better because of X.

The next step in marketing is all about getting the prospective customer to buy from you the first time. You have to have two things prior to marketing for a sale: you have to have done a good job with your awareness marketing and you have to understand the people who make up your target market. What would it take to get someone to try your product or service for the first time? Some common methods include exclusive offers, discounts, money-back guarantees, etc.

Finally, what does it take to retain your customers? This takes on two dimensions: making sure they are satisfied with everything about the first sale – the price was right, the quality was good, they got it on time and they liked the people they worked with at your company. The second is this: you have to offer them something more because they are loyal customers to get them to buy again. Too often your current customer base is ignored after the initial sale. You cannot take them for granted or they will leave you.

Marketing is essential to your business success, so keep your wings intact and make sure you are building a marketing plan that fits your target market.

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Original painting: The Flight of Icarus by Jacob Peter Gowy, 1635-1637