Marketing tips and ideas to grow your business and connect with your customers

Marketing

The idea of reaching more people with your products and services is so enticing that it can be one of the most disastrous mistakes you make as a business owner.

See, for most business owners, reaching new customers is exciting. It means more people know about what you are offering. More potential customers. And most hope that it means more sales and more profits.

However, you must realize that using your resources to reach new customers means having less time and resources to nurture relationships with current customers.

So why is it essential to nurture these relationships?


Firstly, acquiring and convincing new people to purchase your products or services is more expensive than convincing old customers to buy again.

From the activities you need to engage in to meet new customers to the marketing you must do, turning an old customer into a repeat customer is always easier and requires fewer resources.


You know that word-of-mouth advertising is a small business's best advertisement.

You also know you are more likely to try a new product or service if someone recommends it to you than if a business owner markets it to you.

Customers who buy from you a second and third time are already loyal to your business. These customers are more likely to recommend it to others when they are loyal.

So, how can you engage your current customers? How do you balance reaching out to new customers while keeping your resources balanced enough to pay attention to and nurture your relationships with old customers?

The Challenge
This week, I challenge you to evaluate whether you have been spending time and resources acquiring new customers or nurturing current customers.
Then, brainstorm some ideas to help nurture your relationships with the people who have bought from you before.

Stop Prioritizing New Customers Over Current Ones

For a business owner in a competitive environment, more than having an excellent product or service is required. You need to understand the people who would benefit from accessing what you offer.

People will buy for many reasons, and you must help make their buying decisions easier.

The six principles that influence human behavior come into play here. Understanding them and identifying which principles resonate more with your target customers can change how you present your business.

It can help you tailor your marketing and sales strategies to optimize customer experience.

Reciprocity is the human need to return a favor or a kind gesture. You can tap into this need by offering free samples, generous discounts, or simply listening to your customers' needs.


As humans, it's much easier to continue using or doing something once we have started. The start is usually more challenging to get.

Cultivating brand loyalty plays a significant role. If you can create ways to get your customers to become loyal to your brand, values, and story, they will be repeat customers.


People listen to experts more than to random people on the street.

You create authority when you demonstrate expertise in your field by showing your credentials or getting your products or services endorsed by experts whose opinions your audience will value.


Consensus is the crowd mentality. The more people can show they are using your products or services, the more it demonstrates your popularity across your customer base.

Consensus increases the likelihood of new customers opting in for the experience.


We feel drawn to things we think we cannot have.

Tapping into scarcity by making a product or service exclusive in a genuine way can make it more enticing. State the limitations that keep you from accessing more, such as time constraints or batch availability.


When customers feel a connection, a sense of similarity, or a belief that they come from similar backgrounds to the person persuading them to buy, they are more likely to buy.

Keep this in mind, and remember that these people are excellent spokespersons for your brand. Be bold and showcase them, especially when they align with your target audience.

The challenge:
How can you use the 6 Principles of Human Behavior to adjust some of your marketing behaviors today?

The 6 Principles That Influence If They Buy

I was sharing flyers promoting gigged.bz to business owners this week.

Walking around San Ignacio, I pushed my normally introverted self to enter stores and leave flyers for them.

With the sun burning through my cardigan, I was tired and sweaty. So, one of the hills next to the police station would be the final street I explored before calling it a day.

As I was coming down the adjacent street, I saw a cute little gift shop I hadn't noticed before. So I took a deep breath, psyched myself, and walked in.

I immediately felt the love that goes into gift-giving as my senses got a hint of warm, sweet scents and well-thought-out gifts. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Search, Connect  and Hire service providers from all over the country. 

Now you have more options to choose from, making it easier to find exactly what you need. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

The owner greeted me with a lovely smile and began our conversation.

Within minutes, we connected, and she began sharing her story and life inspiration with me. My heart opened as I listened to the challenges she had to overcome to be where she is today.

With teary eyes and a heart full of gratitude, I felt inspired. More importantly, it reminded me of why I started gigged.bz.

When I left, my conversation with this inspiring woman reignited my 'why' and made me value her and her business much more.

Today, I'm sharing this experience with you because something that stuck with me was how open she was about her story.

She didn't hesitate to share it, making it much easier for us to connect. It reminded me that although we have businesses in different industries, we all have something driving us.

It reminded me that there is more to what you see and what you know. Yet, we are often ashamed and hesitant to share our stories openly.

But we must remember that when we aren't ashamed of the good, the bad, and the ugly and openly share our whys, we inspire others to do so, too.

We make human connections that go beyond simple transactions.

So today, I urge you and me to be bold and share our stories.

Be proud of all you have overcome to get you where you are today. Remember that your story can provide hope for others and inspire them to make a change.

But more than anything, it makes you human. It makes you relatable and helps others to see that it only takes one decision to do great things.

The challenge
Take some time to sit down and reflect on your why. Then, write it down to gain clarity, and, most importantly, don't be afraid to share it.

Forget the fancy words and the business talk. Share your story to inspire and make real human connections with those around you.

Be BOLD & Share Your Story

So you have the best product in town. You spent weeks designing your packaging and thoughtfully choosing color, font, and design just for it to photograph like crap.

Now you are not being consistent with posting because every five-year-old with a camera phone can take better images than you.

Get over the hump, improve your images, and build your brand with these four tips to improve the quality and professional presentation of the pictures you take of your products.

Simple is key. Choose a background that compliments all of the aspects of your product.

Many businesses play it safe and opt for a white infinity background, which is also a great option since it is easy to create at home.

To set up an infinity background; take a piece of white paper and tape it to the wall. Drape the paper over a table ensuring it is wide enough to set multiple products on it.

It should be big enough for at least three products at a time.


Lighting is the most challenging aspect of nailing your DIY photography sessions. There is a lot of theory behind understanding lighting. It is one of the main reasons we pay good money for a professional photographer.


But if you do not have time for all the theory or the budget to pay for it, then keep it simple and opt for natural lighting.


Move a chair close to a window, draping the background as we highlighted in point one, and place a thin white sheet of cloth or paper against the window to soften up the light.

Do this on those bright and hot days since the direct sunlight creates harsh lighting making the colors look saturated and highlighting every flaw.

Through the visuals you post of your products, you need to answer the questions your descriptions do not fully answer. Play around with the angles. Try to give your customers a full 360 experience of your product highlighting all aspects of it.

If you are new to photography and trying to find the best angles for your product, consider keeping your camera in a set place and moving the product to get different angles while keeping the same frame and background


Thanks to living in this new day and age, we all have high-quality cameras at our fingertips. Our cellphones.

There is no need to run out and run up your bill by hiring a professional photographer. Keep the following things in mind when taking photos with your phone.

Avoid the phone’s zoom feature. This significantly reduces the quality of the image you take. You don't want to end up with low-quality blurred images, so remember to stay clear of zoom.

Invest in a tripod so you don’t get blurry photos.

Use the front camera—the selfie camera isn’t as good as the back camera.

No flash—this will overexpose your photo and distort the colors.

Minor adjustments only; over-editing reduces the quality of the photo.

Once you keep these things in mind, it should be much easier to shoot consistent photos of your products.

And when you are looking for a professional, to take pictures of your products, but don't want to break the bank, check out Lumiere Studio on www.gigged.bz. They offer product photography services for emerging entrepreneurs in their studios or at your location.

Try these product photography tips. If they help, post a pic and tag us on Instagram. Hope they help.

4 Tips for Taking Better Photos of Your Products

When your biggest fans are your mom, your cat, and your BFF; you don't worry too much about branding.

But as your business starts growing and more eyes are on you, you may want to consider a facelift.

Spending time branding or properly re-branding can help you get clarity on who you are, who you serve, and why what you do matters.

*what your business stands for, and how you communicate that to your customers.
*your target market. Who they are, what they need, and how you can help them.
*The complete experience you want your customers to have, from discovery to after-sales care.
*a memorable visual and tone identity that differentiates you from your competitors.

Remember that branding is more than your logo or the social media posts you put out.

Whether you decide to do it yourself or seek help, here are some of the most important things you should cover.


Your branding must begin defining your why, how, and what statements. These will help set the foundation and make sure that your messaging is clear and consistent down the road.

When you are clear on these things, it will be easier to create your business statement and elevator pitch. You will have clarity on who you are and what you do.


When branding, you should identify key traits that differentiate you from your competitors.
Spend time learning and analyzing your competition.
Doing this increases your market awareness and helps you set your brand apart.


Your brand is not just your logo. Instead, it is a collection of what you say, how you say it, and what your customers see when you say it.

The more consistent you can get, the easier it is for your customers to begin to identify with your brand.

When defining your brand traits, you should focus on your brand persona, the tone you will use, and the language you want to use across all your platforms.

Is your brand fun and carefree? Or casual professional? Define it!


Define your target market. Who do you serve? What is their problem? What do they need? How can you help them? How does your brand make their lives easier or better? Where can you find and engage with them?

Create a complete customer narrative to better show up for your customers!


Map out the stages your customers go through, from when they initially hear about your brand to when they buy from you.

Understand where there may be hiccups and how to address them.


Now that you are clear on who you are, who you serve, and how you can serve your customers, define your look. What's your primary logo, your secondary logo?

What do the colors say about you? How do you incorporate them into other things? What does your print look like? Do they go with your colors and what you want to represent?

Maybe you are pretty clear on most of these things and only need a little help, or you are looking for an entire revamp of who you are.

Whatever you need, make sure you have clarity when you start re-branding.

 for marketers that can help to make it easier for you to show up for your customers the right way.

The Challenge
This week evaluate your branding. Are you where you want to be? Are you clear on who you serve and how you communicate that to them? If you need help, reach out to us so that we can connect you with a gigger that can help.

Marketing

Stop Prioritizing New Customers Over Current Ones

The 6 Principles That Influence If They Buy

Be BOLD & Share Your Story

4 Tips for Taking Better Photos of Your Products

Branding Your Business The Right Way

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