The ABCDs of Marketing
Connection is Better Marketing
If you’ve been in business awhile, you likely know the 4 Ps of marketing, also known as the Marketing Mix:
Product: What you're selling, including its features, benefits, quality, and design.
Price: How much you're charging for your product or service, including pricing strategies and discounts.
Place: Where and how you distribute your product, including sales channels and logistics.
Promotion: How you communicate with your target audience, including advertising, public relations, and sales promotions.
These four elements are considered the core components of a marketing strategy to help businesses reach their target market.
You may also be familiar with the 4 Cs of Marketing proposed in the 1990s to shift the focus from the company’s perspective to the customer’s viewpoint:
Customer: Understanding the needs and wants of your target audience.
Cost: The total cost to the customer, including time, effort, and psychological costs, not just the price.
Convenience: How easily customers can acquire your product or service.
Communication: Two-way dialogue with customers, rather than one-way promotion.
Whether you’re a solopreneur, small business, or nimble-but-mighty agency, trying to grasp market share and create a sound marketing strategy takes more than 2 letters.
The constant challenges of changing algorithms, climbing digital ad-spend, and the breakneck evolution of AI are only part of the problem.
The bigger problem is that people don’t consider the power of CONNECTION which is what drives bottom-line results.
So how do we connect? Enter the ABCDs of Marketing:
Authenticity matters.
People need to like, know, and trust you to work with you, and they can’t do that if you’re not being who you are.
Are you showing up authentically or forcing yourself to follow cookie-cutter marketing plans and advice from experts who don’t know your business?
Having strong brand foundations and strategies that you (and your goals) inform makes a difference in how others trust you, and how you trust yourself.
Being human is your superpower.
Do you know your story and how to relay it effortlessly?
If you’re in the rabbit hole of AI or trying to force digital content that doesn’t make sense, take a step back and realize that your magic comes from being human.
Speaking clearly without jargon and sharing relatable and actionable information works better than a canned, crowd-sourced caption.
You are the only person with your voice. Use it.
Conversion comes from connection.
Your content means nothing if you aren’t approaching your conversations and communications with the intent to create connections.
Are you constantly screaming into the void about what you offer? Do people understand the experience of working with you?
Telling stories, responding to others, and building a connection strategy that feels authentic to you wins over trying to keep up with trends. Relationships are still how business gets done, and they grow when all parties feel seen and understood.
Dialogue drives engagement.
Don’t create in a vacuum. Yes, your brand starts with you — but that’s because ultimately it isn’t about you.
Do you engage in meaningful conversations? Do you nurture your relationships?
Two-way conversations mean more than posting to appease an algorithm.
When we approach our marketing as a way to form mutually beneficial connections, everyone wins.
xox,
Michelle
P.S. Want to be YOU in your brand and business? Book a virtual coffee with me.
P.P.S. I’m speaking about the power of your network at Content Camp on September 26th. Use code MICHELLE for a sweet deal at checkout.
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be more you. trust your voice.
