Marketing Strategy Quick Start Guide

On this page, you’ll find links to some of our most popular and informative articles about creating your marketing strategy from our Professional Services Marketing Blog. For tactical marketing advice, check out our pages on web design and internet marketing, blog marketing, and search engine marketing. You may also find our Free Marketing Plan Guide and our free marketing podcasts helpful.

Marketing Overview

These articles provide a basic overview of what marketing is and the general mindset you need to market effectively.

• What is Marketing?
• 6 Reasons Why People Hate Marketing
• 4 Reasons Why Marketing Isn’t Common Sense
• How To Write a Marketing Plan
• Corporate Identity, Brands, And Branding Defined

1 - Strategic Planning

Start planning your strategic marketing campaign by setting goals for what you want your marketing to accomplish. Goals give you benchmarks for how to measure your marketing’s success.

• Why Setting Goals Will Help You Grow Your Business More Quickly
• The Primary Way Goals are Different From Wishes
• On the Road to Success, Sometimes Quitting Is OK
• How to Set SMART Goals
• 3 Ways To Commit to Achieving Your Goals

2 - Choose a Target Market

Choosing a target market is fundamental to your marketing success. Marketing is primarily about psychology. To be most effective, you must decide who are the right people to market to, what their major concerns, motivations and frustrations are, and how best to reach them.

• 3 Reasons To Choose a Target Market
• How To Choose A Profitable Target Market
• How to Specialize for a Niche Market
• 5 Key Factors for Choosing a Niche Market
• 3 Key Benefits of Being a Specialist
• Attract More Clients by Understanding Why Prospects Buy
• How To Only Work with Ideal Clients

3 - Differentiate Your Services

The single best way to market your services is to clearly explain why your services are uniquely qualified to help your clients and why they should choose you over all the other options out there.

• 4 Steps to Creating Your Unique Selling Proposition
• Does Your Differentiating Factor Meet These 3 Requirements?
• How to Get More Clients with a Unique Selling Proposition
• Why Clever Slogans Aren’t the Secret to More Sales
• Creating A Personal Brand - 5 Questions to Ask

4 - Marketing Your Services

Once you’ve chosen your marketing niche and created your unique selling proposition, it’s time to promote your services. These articles provide a big picture overview of how to market your services effectively and affordably.

• Why Fortune 500 Advertising Doesn’t Work For Service-Based Companies
• How To Break Through The Marketing Clutter and Reach Prospects Cost-Effectively
• What You Can Learn About Marketing From The Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign
• Are You Marketing the Benefits of Your Service?
• The #1 Mistake Most Small Businesses Make with Their Marketing
• The 3 Most Effective Ways to Market Your Business
• Referral Marketing - 7 Steps to Getting More Referrals from Clients
• 3 Ways to Collect Client Testimonials