The 3 Top Marketing Trends to Grow Your Business
Nature is not the strongest species which survives, nor are they the most intelligent, but the ones which are the ones that can adapt to changing conditions. This is the law of natural selection that is at work. And you will see this principle playing out in business as well.
In your role as an entrepreneur you must be willing to accept and adjust for change to thrive and survive. Technology changes, changes in the desires and expectations of your clients and even changes in the nature of your business rivals could all destroy your business if unprepared. Instead of being resistant to change, it's best to get in front of it whenever it comes up and then adjust in line with the changes.
It's the best opportunity to create a company with your skills
In all industries, customers look for data to aid them with a particular problem or attain a particular end-product. This presents a huge possibility for those who want to pack the knowledge they have gained into products, programs and services that can be made into profits.
To put this into perspective To put this into perspective, the 2017 global market for online courses (e-learning) was estimated at $255 billion ( World Economic Forum). That's not even including the money that is invested in coaching, consulting and professional guidance, as well as non-fiction books.
But whether you're an author, speaker or trainer consultant, online course creator, or service supplier, there's an emerging reality is important to know about as you develop your business.
Since the beginning of time, an enormous amount of information that is free or cheap is available online. A few of the information is excellent (and some of it just not as good) However, the fact is that information is no longer of its value as it once did. In a lot of industries the information is now an item of trade, meaning selling information has become ever more challenging.
Your clients probably don't require additional information. They already have plenty of information readily available. The only thing they require is someone to aid them to apply the appropriate details in the proper order,to solve their problem or achieve the result they'd like to achieve. They require a transformation.
The beginning of Transformation Age
I don't know who is responsible for defining the current era however, if it were up to me I wouldn't call this era one of the Information Age anymore. It's the Transformation Age.
In the transition between an Information Age to the Transformation Age There are certain things you need to know to help you adjust your company, grow quicker, and have a positive impact in the lives of other people with your knowledge and expertise.
Trend #1: Building Community
The traditional way:Build a massive audience
For whatever reason, the rise of social media has led many entrepreneurs to forget on the most important things. Instead of working on developing amazing products and services to their customers, they began focussing on metrics that are not important, like the amount of followers, likes comments and shares they receive on their social media pages.
Entrepreneurs don't require millions of people to know who you are for you to create an effective business. And you certainly don't need to become known as a household name. Unless you're building a global name (think Coca-Cola, Apple, Disney, etc.) you don't need the entire globe to know who you are.
The new method:Become the leader of a community
Instead of attempting to create a huge audience, change your focus to becoming an influential leader in a group with a niche. Find out who your ideal customers are, and build a community that allows them to communicate with one another, exchange ideas, encourage each other and connect with you directly.
Facebook is leading the way of creating online communities. In the spring of 2018, Mark Zuckerberg announced a significant change in how they will display content in their News Feed. In the future, Facebook will be severely restricting the organic reach of posts from Facebook Pages. Instead, they're encouraging publishers to develop significant interactions, and to build communities.
Related:
"Those businesses who have solid tribes, and who have built an authentic community will be able to shine, and those that don't will need to catch up quickly."
- Scott Oldford
Trend #2 Trend #2: Premium pricing
The way it was done in the past: Start with low-cost products and then sell your customers more expensive products.
Over the past few years, we've witnessed a lot of early-stage entrepreneurs struggle to create what is commonly referred to as an "Ascension Model" of services and products.
If you're using the Ascension Model, you start by selling something inexpensive (like a book or a short course) Then, you upsell your customers to greater-priced products and services, such as coaching, consultation, and live events. Here's what this can be:
What doesn't work is trying to sell someone a course when what they really want is private coaching. Likewise, trying to sell private coaching to someone that is looking for you to take on their work as well as trying to sell tickets for a conference to someone that wants to be a part of a mastermind group.
Every single one of these varieties of products and programs will appeal to different types of customer with different priorities and spending budgets. Although upselling is a great idea on paper, some consumers are aware of what they need and in most situations doesn't mean it's your least expensive offer.
The latest way to use HTML0:Start with high-touch offers as well as premium pricing
The market shifts from the demands for information to demand for transformation. Clients need assistance in achieving their goals and are willing to spend more to get the assistance they require.
To keep this in mind it is not advisable to convince your clients of your least inexpensive item first. This is in the hopes of promoting the customers with a better item or service later on at some moment in the near future.
Especially if you're in the initial stages of building your expert business Our recommendation is to offer a service that is high-touch (coaching, consulting, done-for-you service, etc.) before you start selling less expensive information products like books or courses. As you grow in your capacity to work with individuals one-on-one, then start creating products that can help others.
The thing that early stage entrepreneurs don't realize is that it's extremely difficult to market inexpensive ebooks or online classes to a huge number of customers effectively. If you've just started your company, concentrate on selling the more expensive high-touch offers first, and take the proceeds from those sales to fund the creation and the promotion of your less expensive items.
Trend 3 The Customer Experience
The old way:Acquire as many customers as you can.
A lot of entrepreneurs commit the error that they focus all their efforts on acquiring new customers at cost of offering a pleasant experience for the customers. This means that a lot of customers will never purchase and never refer others to them. This creates an endless (and expensive!) cycle of having to continually acquire new clients to stay in the game.
In the event that competition in your sector is increasing, as do expectation of the target audience, neglecting to provide your clients with a pleasant customer experience prior to and following the time the purchase can have an adverse effect on your business's profitability as well as longevity of your business.
The latest approach:Help your customers achieve their goals
It is the result that customers desire and value. Your customers will see that your service or product is just a means to an end, and likely just one of many alternative solutions that can help attain the same goal.
Thus, while getting new customers is crucial helping your clients is even more important and crucial to the expansion and success of your business. If you do not help your customers get the results they're looking for with the product or service you offer and they don't stay your customer for very long.
Most successful entrepreneurs today focus on understanding the specific challenges and desired outcomes for their clients and creating unique experiences that help their customers overcome their challenges and achieve their goals. They're placing a high value on the customer experience as well as their success..
Related:
"We're not in this business just to get people to buy our stuff. We want them to be able to perceive the change and the impact and create the success stories. ."
-- Nick Unsworth
Learn the specific strategies to help you adapt to these trends
There has never been a more ideal time to start a business through sharing your expertise with others. The platforms, tools and tools can be needed for establishing a successful business are in your hands as well as a huge market of people who could benefit from your knowledge and experience and will be willing to pay.
As thousands of industry experts and entrepreneurs build their businesses in the coming years, the ones who build a reputation for having successful customers will be at an elite position in their field. If you are willing to embrace and adjust to the latest trends discussed described in this article, we are confident that you'll be one of those!