Everyone I met with at the moment talks to me about the impact of the cost of living crisis. The reality is, it's a reality for 99% of people. Even if it is not having a huge impact, it will have some impact on most households. Now in the last 2 years we have overcome a pandemic and upheaval in every part of life. And just as we did then, we can adapt and overcome now. Today I want to share with you my top tips for overcoming the current situation along with some practical steps you can take today. But before we go any further- my biggest piece of advice is do not bury your head. Now is not the time to sit back and ignore what is going on. That is unless you don't care about your business- not the case? I thought so! Step 1 Go back to your client profile. The first thing to do is to understand what impact the cost of living crisis is having on your client. Are they:
Once we know how our clients are feeling we can then identify what needs they are prioritising. As humans we have different needs, and we will always focus on meeting the base levels of important needs before anything else, i.e. Level 1 and 2 must be met before we strive for level 3. Level 3 must be met before we strive for level 4. Basic Needs- Level 1 These are our basic survival needs- food, warmth, shelter, water and rest. These must be fulfilled before we even consider anything else. If money is exceptionally tight your clients will be focusing on these needs first. Level 2 Security and safety. Feeling safe and secure in the following areas of our life: personal, financial, emotional and health. Level 3 Intimacy and relationships. This is where we start to interact with others and begin to focus on friendships, connections, relationships. We focus on the need to trust and be accepted by others. Level 4 Respect from others. At this level we long for acceptance, status, recognition, fame and prestige. Level 5 Creativity. This is where we want to achieve everything we can, be creative and feel accomplished. The first question to ask yourself is: Next steps Once we understand what our clients needs are we then need to consider 4 aspects of the marketing ingredients- product, pricing, messaging and experience Now I'm sure you don't have hours to read a huge blog post, so I'm going to keep the next steps simple- if you want to go a little deeper then please access my latest Marketing Toolkit video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KtOPwjltVk Products Once you understand your customers needs, the next step is to ensure that you are offering products and services to meet their needs. The best way to do this is to consider what products and services you offer and list every need they meet. Do they meet the same needs that your customer is currently focused on? If not what could you offer that does meet their needs? Pricing If money is tight you need to work out how much money your customers have to spend, and whether the value and benefit of your products and services justify the costs? Messaging Our messaging is key at times of crisis. We need to ensure our messaging conveys the value and benefits of our products and services. We also need to clearly relate our products to our clients needs. This may involve pivoting your messaging. For example if you offer holistic massages, traditionally these are seen as luxury items relating to the high level needs. However if you change your message and show that your massages can help with emotional support and welfare, you will be targeting the need of Security and Safety. This will then attract clients who are focusing on the basic needs, instead of the luxury ones. Another example is marketing- you could go and teach yourself marketing techniques for free (even just based on the knowledge I provide) however if I told you that by purchasing the Marketing Analysis session I will show you strategies tailored to your business to achieve long term security, you are more likely to buy if money is tight. Experience Finally the experience you offer can have a huge impact on how much you sell right now. If you tailor your experience to your clients needs right now- through offering things such as instalment plans or group programs, you will be meeting more than one of your clients needs. For example, an instalment plan will meet the additional need of financial security. A group program would meet the need of social interaction. Therefore by adjusting the experience you offer your clients you will be meeting more of their needs than just offering the standard product and service. Therefore your clients will be more likely to purchase from you as they are getting 'added value'. The tips I have shared here are just a few of the ways you can adapt to overcome the cost of living crisis. If you would like further assistance or to book a Marketing Analysis session where we can identify the key steps you need to take to ensure your business survives, then please click here to learn more. Marketing is fluid and changes and at times of crisis, we as business owners need to be responsive and adapt. I would love to know how you are overcoming the crisis and what changes you have made? Please comment below and tell me. In the meantime take care and I look forward to sharing more tips soon. Carrie x
0 Comments
Hand's up- who has worked out their ideal client?
If you have, when did you last work it out? I'm guessing it was a while ago. So many of us start with good intentions- we work out our ideal client and use it for a while. Then we get swept up into the day to day aspects of business and it lie's in a drawer. Well now is the time to open that drawer again. Why? Because life is changing at a rapid pace. And whenever there is a change you need to go back and revisit and create a client profile. We need to constantly understand our clients needs, because if we don't meet our clients needs, we won't have a business. After all, marketing is about identifying, anticipating, and satisfying our clients needs, so it's so important to know who they are. Your client is so important, and that's why this is one of the key ingredients within my marketing recipe. What do you need to know about your ideal client? In simple terms- everything. From who they live with, to their job and their aspirations. You even need to know where they go in their daily life, and who they meet. Treat them as though they are a main character in a novel. The more you know about them the easier you will find running your business. You can create your ideal client based on a past client, your dream client, or even you at an earlier stage in life. It doesn't matter if they exist, it matters that you imagine them and understand them. How do you work out your ideal client? You can ask your audience; your clients( the ones that you've loved to work with), and you can conduct research online. It's really quite easy to do, but do your research. If you need a template to help you understand your ideal client, you can get my Ideal Client Workbook here for £4.99 How can we use our ideal client? Well, knowing your ideal client helps with so much in your business. It helps with:
Your ideal client can even help you create a message that brings customers to you. Your ideal client can also help you develop relationships with customers and encouraging repeat sales and recommendations. Why do we need to recap our ideal client? Life is moving at such a crazy pace that changes are happening on a daily basis. People change, and as businesses, we need to be responsive to that change. And if we can, we even need to anticipate the changes to understand what's going to happen and what our clients are going to feel and need before they actually do. Creating an ideal client profile can help with this. Now we are entering a time of inflation, and with the cost of living going up daily, it is so important to go back to your ideal client, and discover what their life is like right now! Tell me, how often do you work out your ideal client? Is it something you enjoy? I remember putting it off for so long. However as soon as I had worked out my ideal client, everything was so much easier. And twelve months later my ideal client walked through the door- it was wonderful! So spend some time today working out your ideal client. If you would like some assistance with your promotions over the coming months, and help to identify where to promote and the message to share please don't forget to join me at the Perfect Promotions Masterclass on 15th September 2022! Learn more here. In the meantime take care! Carrie x |
CarrieSharing marketing ideas, business tips and so much more. Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
|