Summary: An effective marketing strategy ensures that your product/service reaches your target audience and that you maintain an edge over your competitors. Business mentor, Dhananjay Parkhe, shares some simple yet effective marketing strategies.

Anything's tough to do, if you don't have the right raw material to help you. These three winning marketing strategies are the right materials for an extremely successful business. After all, an effective marketing strategy is what drives sales and leads to business growth.

1. Attention - Ads that yield results

Think about it—how many advertisements do you hear every day, how about every hour?  Let's face it, we're bombarded with magazine ads, newspaper ads, TV ads, radio ads, and the Internet is plastered with banner ads, ticker ads, video ads on every site.  Not many of the astronomical number of advertisements stick with us and make an impact.  How can you make your ad stand out from the crowd?

• Make a dramatic statement - "Even my dog knows..."

• Surprise them with the unexpected - "Use for 30 days totally free..."

• Ask a thought-provoking question - "Is your current insurance costing you thousand of extra rupees every year?"

• Use high impact headlines - it's important to snag attention right away.

2. Get personal

How many times have you been caught in the cycle of IVR (Interactive Voice Response) services? Yes, you push 15 numbers and end up back at the main menu and never get to talk to a sales representative.  People are hungry for personal interaction in the marketplace.
 

Look for ways to make your business a personal experience that your customers will appreciate. Get to know something about the people who walk through your doors or land on your website/ecommerce stores.

Let people who visit your website know something about you. It's easier to trust an individual than a huge impersonal company, and trust is crucial to building a pool of loyal customers.

3. Paint a picture

The end of a hectic week has finally arrived! As I lock the doors on a still cluttered office, my mind wanders to the many things that will demand my attention this weekend. I long to just escape the demanding voices...escape to the waters of the lake across town. It would be like heaven to plop myself across the back seat of a boat and watch the sea gulls dip and dive as the waves rock me to peaceful sleep. I can almost hear the sound of their splashing when the clang of metal alerts me to the fact that I've dropped my keys.

Put your customers on that boat. 

Painting word pictures that capture their emotions will be more effective that the raw facts of the benefits your product offers.

Describe what the benefits will do for them, vividly and in great detail...get them panting for the end result. 

Paint your way to a sale!

Think about it - the three strategies we've talked about deal with human emotions or behaviours, rather than your product itself.  When we affect the heart of the customer, our sales are likely to see great results...and hey, they'll feel good while they're writing out the check! 

What more could you ask for?

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