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25 Marketing Questions I Get All the Time and The Way to Get The Answers

25 marketing questions i get all the time and the way to get the answers

Do you have questions about marketing? I’m sure you do – otherwise you probably would not be reading this. ;)

I’ve been a marketing nerd since the turn of the century and I get a lot of questions. Some questions are unique. With others I get a lot of the same.

What I’ve found interesting is that with so many of the questions I get, there is only one way to find the answer. I find myself saying the same things over and over and over again. It gets a bit frustrating – not just for me – but for the people that ask me. They get frustrated by always getting the same answer.

The thing is, that’s just the way it is. There is nothing that can be done about it but suck it up and go with it. ;)

So first, I’m going to tell you about the 25 marketing questions that I get all the time.

And then I’m going to tell you how you can get the answers. There may be additional things that can be useful to get a more complete answers, but in general, this one way is going to get you very very far.

This list is not going to be exhaustive. I know that. There are still a plethora of questions out there that can also be answered by using this way of finding out. As more come to me, I may add to the list. If you can think of any, please let me know in the comments. But the following questions are definitely ones that can be answered by using the approach I’ll discuss below.

So here goes …

  1. How do I find the right people to sell to?
  2. Who should I sell my product/service to?
  3. Who is interested in my product/service?
  4. Where can I reach the people that are interested in my product or service?
  5. How do I talk to people to get them interested in my product or service?
  6. What should I say in my advertising?
  7. Why are my Facebook ads not working?
  8. Why are my Google AdWords ads not working?
  9. Why are my ads not working in general?
  10. How do I get my Facebook followers to buy from me?
  11. How much should I charge for my product/service?
  12. How can I make my product/service interesting to people?
  13. What are going to be the most effective marketing messages for my product/service?
  14. What should I blog/vlog/podcast about?
  15. What media should I try to get featured in?
  16. Which social media should I be on?
  17. Should I be blogging?
  18. Should I create videos?
  19. Should I podcast?
  20. Should I do webinars?
  21. What should I say to people in my marketing emails?
  22. Should I write a book as part of my marketing?
  23. How can I get people to trust my product/service?
  24. What motivates people to buy from me?
  25. What kind of language will work best for me in my marketing, e.g. should I be informal or informal, serious or funny?

So where can you find the answers to these questions?

Well … [Read more…]

Do You Know Your Competition?

do you know your competitionKnowing your competition is a crucial part of knowing your market and keeping your finger on the pulse. It is also crucial to be able to differentiate yourself, stand out and show people that you are the one to do business with.

Take the quiz to find out how well you know your competition!

One needs to analyze the competition when in business

Knowing the competition is crucial to my marketing efforts

Knowing the competition helps me differentiate my business/products/services in the marketplace

I learn a lot when analyzing my competition

Analyzing my competition is an integral part of analyzing my market in general

I have done a thorough analysis of my competitors

I regularly do a thorough analysis of my competitors

I know exactly who my competitors are

My competitors are only those who sell exactly the same product/service as me to exactly the same target groups

I know the business size of all my competitors

I know exactly what products and/or services my competitors offer

I know my competitors' sales figures

I am clear on each competitors' position in the market and how they influence it

I have a clear idea of the overall strategy of each of my competitors

I have a clear picture of how each of my competitors want to differentiate themselves in the marketplace

I know the prices and price structures of my competitors

I know exactly how my competitors sell and distribute their products and/or services

I know which marketing communications my competitors are using (e.g. type of advertising, social media, email marketing etc.)

I know where to find information about the competition

I have a clear picture of my competitive market and how my business fits into it

I monitor my competitors on a regular basis

I would have no problem doing a great and informative presentation about the competition at a moments notice

Do You Know Your Target Groups?

do you know your target groups

Knowing your target groups – or your target audience – is crucial in marketing. It will enable you to focus your efforts, and make your marketing messages more effective.

Take the quiz and find out how well you know your target groups!

My product/service is for everyone

I know the demographics of the people I market to, such as age, gender, where they live and such.

I know who are my best customers and I try to find more people like that

I know who are the target groups for each of my products and/or services

I know which of my products and/or services I should offer each individual target group I market to

I know exactly who influences WHETHER OR NOT my products and/or services are bought so that I know who to speak to in my marketing

I know exactly who influences HOW my products and/or services are bought so that I know who to speak to in my marketing

I know exactly who influences WHERE my products and/or services are bought so that I know who to speak to in my marketing

I have priorized my target groups so that I am focusing my efforts on those that are most likely to buy from me

I know and understand my target groups as well, if not better, than my best friends

I have researched what my target groups' needs or problems are in relation to my product and/or service

I know and understand the values and beliefs of my target groups

I have researched the values and beliefs of my target groups to better understand them

I speak to the values and beliefs of my target groups in my marketing communications

I know exactly what to say in my marketing messages to get people to buy my products and/or services

I have researched where best to reach my target groups such as in which media, where they are online etc.

I know exactly where best to reach my target groups, such as in which media, where they are online etc.

I have a clear picture of my target groups which I can easily communicate to others who need to understand who they are

I have systems and processes in place to ensure that I am constantly gathering more information about my target groups in order to better understand them

Let me introduce you to one of my gurus…

let me introduce you to one of my gurus

In the wast space of the internet, there are endless amounts of websites, blogs, so-called gurus and know-it-alls – hey, you could say I am one of them! :D     There is information and content everywhere and it is easy to get overwhelmed and try to take it all in – which can only end in disaster.

Although my focus is on marketing strategy and branding, I want to have a very good idea of all aspects of marketing. This is no easy task. Throughout the years I have subscribed to hundreds of email lists, put hundreds if not thousands of blogs into my Feedly (or my Google Reader back in the day ;) ) and attended wayyyyyy to many webinars. Today, there are only a handful of people whose blogs and emails I read on a regular basis, and this guy is one of them.

Let me introduce you to Neil Patel of Quicksprout fame (well, also of Crazy Egg fame, Kissmetrics fame etc. etc.)

Neil is my go to guy when it comes to online marketing, in particular SEO and content marketing. I’m not going to go over his accomplishments here (check him out on Quicksprout.com/blog for all that) but I do want to point you to some brilliant resources that he has: [Read more…]

How to Get Noticed in the Holiday Marketing Noise!

Blog - holiday marketing noise

There is always noise in the marketplace, but probably never as much as late November and through December. For many business owners, the run up to the holidays is a stark wake up call, when you can feel your marketing messages drowning in a sea of advertising and craziness.

Here are 5 things to help you get noticed in the holiday marketing noise:

[Read more…]