---

Guest post by: Sandy Barris Become an Author

Tweet

---

---

Digging deep is the foundation and basis of successful marketing. You must know your product or service inside and out before you start any marketing campaign.

Why? Not knowing all of the advantages of your product or service hinders your ability to properly market them to future clients. Here are a few back-to-basic steps to help you research your product/service and analyze the market.

1. Thoroughly evaluate your product/service for:
   1. Features (the function and purpose of your product/service)
   2. Benefits (how your product/service solves a customer problem)
   3. Your offer (What is your quid pro quo?)
   4. The competition
      1. Compare your features and benefits to that of your competitors
      2. Gather competitor marketing materials and study their message and value proposition
2. Know what your ideal prospect looks like:
   1. What are your prospect’s desires?
   2. What does your prospect know or believe about what you offer?
   3. How emotionally evolved is your prospect in solving his/her problems?
   4. What behavioral tendencies kick him/her into action?
3. Discover your market. Dig into the following areas to find niches where your product or service fits perfectly.
   1. What are the major news events affecting your target market?
   2. How can you utilize current buying trends and desires?
      1. In what venue (in-store, internet, catalog, etc.) and with what forms of payment are your prospects most comfortable making purchases?
      2. What is the market offering in way of product and service?
      3. What are the preferred forms or types of products/services?
   3. Who are your main competitors and what are they offering?
   4. Is the timing right for your product/service?

Imagine the time, money and effort wasted by not doing your research. Now start digging deep and discovering the hidden features, benefits and methods to outsell your competitors. You’ll be glad you did.

Back-to-Basics Bonus Tip

• Treat your clients, customers and patients like royalty. Let’s face it. Each one of them is unique and you owe them special treatment. One of the fastest ways to destroy your image is to treat customers impersonally. Life happens, and sometimes great customers can miss a payment. Many of us have been in that position. If you have ever received a computerized form letter or phone call threatening to shut off a utility service or to turn your account over to a collection agency for that one missed payment, you would agree that this is not a very nice way to treat stellar customers. Keep this in mind when dealing with your own good customers.
  
  
• What’s the universal greeting? You guessed it: a smile. Do it both in person and over the phone. (Yes, when you smile while talking on the phone, you sound more pleasant to your customers.) Always, let your clients know they are appreciated and will be looked after by a caring person...not a computer.

Getting back-to-basics is a must it today’s fast-paced world. Look for additional back-to-basics marketing tips from Sandy Barris

FYI, todays my 30th wedding anniversary... Love Ya Amy

Related Articles

  Understanding Article Marketing Research
  The Basics of Article Marketing Research
  The One Mistake many Owners make when Starting a Business
  Market Research – What’s That Then?
  What Research Needs is a Process
  Best Internet Marketing Marketing Methods For Beginners! ~INSTANT SUCCESS
  Primary Research Development
  Keyword Research is the Pulse of all Online Marketing
  The Basics of Keyword Research
  14.0 What Needs to be Done - Producing Useable Knowledge: Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa
  Why You Need To Research Before An Interview
  Top Article Marketing Ideas That Produce Results! ~Part 1
  3 Tips to Choosing the Right Affiliate Marketing Products
  Keyword Research - Finding right keywords for your business?
  How to maximise the Return on Investment from Your Marketing Budget
  Self-Quiz – Should my business hire a consultant?
  Missing Sales Research and Sales Superstars
  What to do with Article Marketing?
  Understanding Your Evolving Markets
  “Do Something” - An original Approach to Managing Change

Related Forum Posts

Re: Affiliate Marketing - Open for Discussion
NEW PRODUCTS LIKE = Projector phone in the market
More Info
Re: Onpage Optimisation
Re: What I'm reading this weekend - Feb 18, 2011

Share this article. Fund someone's dream.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Refresh Your Pitch and Close More Sales

Presenting Yourself With Impact at Work

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.