No matter how your value system is wired, as a business owner, you must believe deep down that the single most important factor to your business making it for the long haul is deposits. That’s right, money. Dead Presidents coming into your happy bank account. The more often you have someone send you their hard-earned money in return for the value you bring, then healthier you and your business will be!

It All Starts With Having the Right Customers

Do you have enough of the right customers for your business? One of the top reasons a business will struggle getting enough customers is that they don’t do enough homework up front and create a great strategy based on their goals. They forget who they are and what they want.  They also forget who their perfect customer is and fail to speak to them in ways they will understand. If you need marketing help, start with that.

All businesses need help with their marketing from time to time. We all need another set of eyes to help us see things we may not otherwise see.  The most successful entrepreneurs are constantly getting input, advice and mentoring so that they can continue to get better.  I know I have spent time with a coach, gone to a seminar or read a blog and thought “I’ve heard this before,” and then…the One Thing comes. You know, that One Thing that made the whole thing worth it? That’s why I encourage my clients (and non-clients) to be sponges. The more often you seek out wisdom the more often you’ll find that One Thing!

A few years ago my ‘One Thing’ came to me as I was reading a blog post and my eyes were opened to world of Content Marketing. Imagine if your ideal clients were actually looking for you! That’s what Content Marketing is.  Here’s the definition that I personally find to be the best for explaining what Content Marketing is:

“Content Marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” Content Marketing Institute

I believe this is the future of marketing.  I believe that the companies who embrace this mentality will last in their industries.

Now that you’re ready to get some help for your marketing, I wanted to give you a couple tips of choosing someone to work with:

3 Things to Look For When Getting Outside Marketing Help

1. They should be helping you build your whole brand. In order to truly have marketing success, you need to understand and live out your ‘why’ as a company. Everything you do is ‘your brand.’ If you hire someone to work on your website, create a mailer or write some blogs, they should be digging deep to understand and help you  communicate your overall culture.
2. There should be series of conversations around figuring out who your ‘who’ is. Do not waste any time or money with someone who is not focusing on helping you define or refine your ideal client. Millions of dollars get wasted every month because small business owners don’t understand who they serve.
3. They better be talking about Content Marketing. The best customers are the one’s that want to hear from you, not the one’s that you interrupt and hope they buy. Content Marketing attracts.  It educates the buyer.  It sets you up as a trusted advisor and resource for them when they have a problem.  It builds trust and trust leads to profitable relationships for many years to come.