Are you seeing your business clearly?

Be honest - when you're planning to promote one of your products or services where is your focus:

• On the product/service?
• On the customer?
• On getting it all to the printer/publishing online 'in time'?

If the answer is any of these your marketing probably needs a sight test!

What do I mean by this?  Well, it means that your marketing is a bit (or a lot) out of focus.

Do any of these sound familiar?

You've had a brilliant idea for a new (or repackaged) product or service and are sure that there is a really strong market for it.  It may even be something that you wish you'd had at some stage in growing your business.

You've been working hard at your business and your existing clients love what you do, so you want to attract more clients who might find what you do useful too.

Someone suggested that you need to write press releases regularly to get your business in the spotlight and more awareness of what you do.

You know how good your service is and want to tell people that so you think that a marketing flyer will be a good idea to distribute at networking events - and maybe do some drops in local business areas.

You've heard that social media is very effective so you thought a bit of Facebook activity and maybe a couple of ads would be good - after all, you can really target the right people with Facebook ads.

They are all things that most small business owners have done or considered at some point - but they are missing a key ingredient - focus.  It's a bit like looking at that eye chart without the glasses you really need.  If you have specs you'll be familiar with the 'er, N, no it might be M, Q - or is it O - or it might be D ...'  scenario.  Using any of the above approaches is exactly the same.

Focusing your vision

To really get your marketing on target - you need to be able to see your target very, very clearly. That means knowing exactly who you want to reach - not just 'small business owners', but men who own a small business that specialises in logistics, who are 45, very entrepreneurial, love schmoozing with clients, see marketing as a necessary evil and are very busy.  And are called Darren!'  OK, I put that last bit in to tease, but the more detail you have the better.

Once you've got this you're armed with some of the information you need to focus better - but there's more.

What bugs this chap?  What irritates him and frustrates him?  What keeps him awake at night?

What could your product or service do to fix these things?

Now you have the information you need to get the message right on target, but that alone is not enough.

Finding Darren's hang outs

Having a great message is no good at all if you don't put it where your ideal clients are looking.  So now you need to explore where to find lots of 'Darrens' in one place.  What does Darren read?  Where does he spend time - online and offline?  Who are his influencers?

If your message is where Darren is looking he's much more likely to get it.  It's no good getting featured in the local weekly newspaper if Darren only reads the Telegraph - or doesn't read newspapers at all.  It's no good trying to talk to him on Facebook if, when he's on Facebook, he's more interested in what his sister in Australia has been up to or what happened after he left the Rugby Club do last weekend.

This means that you need to be getting your press coverage where he's likely to read it and be on the social platforms he visits when he's in business head-space.

The right presription

A little time invested in these exercises will result in much, much more effective PR and marketing activities.  It's like when the optician puts the right lens in front of your eye and suddenly you can see clearly!

Choose your social platforms carefully

When you are using online marketing to promote your business or products you'll certainly need to use social media to connect with your audience.  The mistake many people make is to launch their efforts on every social media platform they can find.  These are the same people who, some time later, will tell you 'social media doesn't work.'

Some people will tell you that you MUST be on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn ... and possibly YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+, but that's a huge assumption that your ideal customers are:

a) active on these platforms
b) in the right frame of mind to receive your information

This means that you need to know your target audience really well and also know where they are most receptive.

For instance, you may see some of your clients on Facebook, but if you're selling B2B are they in the right head space when you're talking to them on Facebook?  If they're more interesting in making sarcastic remarks about their mates photos or sharing cat pictures they may not be listening to your brilliant tips about how to improve their profit margins on gimbletons.

However, if you're selling B2C you could find Facebook is a mine of eager customers ready to flex their credit cards and satisfy their need for shoes, baby clobber, quirky jewellery, holistic treatments and therapies and much more.

On the other hand your business customers on LinkedIn are in a completely different mindset and are ready to listen to experts who can help them solve their business problems.

If you're selling highly visual products then image based platforms like Pinterest and Instagram are great ways to let people see them, and also other people using them, but your LinkedIn audience won't be quite so impressed.

Facebook like pictures (that's why it bought Instagram), LinkedIn members like learning and information. YouTube viewers want entertaining.  The Twitterati are looking for quick soundbites and hidden treasure in the form of interesting blogs, events, facts and other 'shiny' morsels - I think the Twitter bird should look more like a magpie or jackdaw!

So what is the point of all this?  Simple - you need to know where your customers are and what mind-set they're in on different platforms and tailor your messages and activities accordingly.

Where is your target market?

Business people seem to be divided into two groups - those who are dedicated social media users and those who think it's a waste of time.  As I see it there are some issues that both groups need to be aware of.

As I teach people how to make LinkedIn into a lead generator I'm often surprised to find people who are selling business-to-business (B2B) who are Facebook fanatics, but don't 'get' LinkedIn at all.

I also find people who are selling direct to consumers who don't have a Facebook Page, sell via their Facebook personal account (tsk, tsk) and have been told they should be on LinkedIn.

So those social media-mad people may not necessarily be operating in the right place - and those cynics who don't see the point have probably had some negative experience (or 'heard something') that has made them feel social media is useless as a marketing tool.

People on Facebook tend to be in social mindset - they do buy stuff, but it tends to be gifts, crafts, personal stuff, handbags, shoes, cakes, jewellry, etc.  It doesn't mean people don't buy business things on Facebook, but it's much harder to make sales.

On LinkedIn people are in their business head space.  They see it as a business platform and are expecting other business people to connect with them.

Of course there are other platforms - Twitter (joining up the dots), Pinterest and Instagram (image based messages) and literally dozens of lesser platforms fighting for supremacy.  You might find the perfect platform for your business among them - but first read on.

Here's my take on it - there are some critical elements that are frequently ignored when people set out to market their businesses.

1. They don't mind where their business comes from as long as the customer is prepared to pay - which means that their marketing approach tends to be an 'I'll do anything for anybody' kind of message.  This might work when you're turning a hobby into a business, but it isn't going to work long term.
2. They haven't really thought through who would make a really good client or customer - not just once, but over and over.
3. They haven't examined their current and previous customer base to see what they particularly liked about what was delivered.
4. They don't really know what problems their product or service solves for their customers.
5. They think that the more activity they engage in the more business will come from it.

There are seeds of truth in all of these, but some refinement is needed.  Here are some steps that - if you follow them - I guarantee they will make a substantial (and positive) difference to the business you're in.

Firstly, be clear about who makes the very best client for you.  What kind of business are they in?  What personality type are they?  What size of business do they have?  Who are their customers?  How many staff work in the business?

Secondly, understand their problems.  What bugs them, frustrates them and keeps them awake at night.

Next, ask your existing clients why they buy your services/products and not someone else's.  What is it that they like about what you do?  What results have they had - preferably in measurable terms?

Number four - if you've ever had someone turn down your services/products what reason do they give?  What would your best customer tell them about why this isn't a good reason to say 'No'?

By now you should have a pretty good idea of what your client base looks like.  Now the next steps.

Number five - where do you find groups of these people?  Are they active on a particular type of Facebook Page?  Are they active on Twitter?  Do they hang out on LinkedIn and contribute to some of the business forums there? 

Number six - what do these people read?  Industry journals, specialist magazines, online news feeds, blogs, etc? 

Now it's time for action.  Social media does work - if you're on the right platform and talking to the right people.  Head for the places these people hang out and impress the socks off them!

By that I mean you need to hit the four hot buttons:

• Reputation: make sure you have a first class reputation with evidence to back it up
• Authority: develop a reputation as an authority in your industry - a thought leader
• Visibility: be visible - post regularly, ideally more than once a day
• Expertise: share your knowledge by helping people in groups and posting valuable material.

The result should be lots of connections who RAVE about you and a steady flow of new customers who are a perfect fit!