Marketing Made Simple: Nine Steps Divided Into Three Phases

The 9-Step Marketing Strategy for Long-Term Success is divided into three key phases: Pre-Sales, Sales, and Post-Sales. Each phase includes three steps to help you define your audience, generate leads, and build lasting customer relationships. Skipping any of these steps can impact your long-term results.

Marketing has three key phases, each with three steps:

1. Phase 1: Pre-Sales For 9-Step Marketing Strategy for Long-Term Success (Before the Sale)
2. Phase 2: Sales For 9-Step Marketing Strategy for Long-Term Success (Making the Sale)
3. Phase 3: Post-Sales For 9-Step Marketing Strategy for Long-Term Success(After the Sale)

If you skip any of these steps, long-term success will be hard to achieve.

Phase 1: Pre-Sales For 9-Step Marketing Strategy for Long-Term Success

1. Define Your Target Audience
   To define your audience for 9-step-marketing-strategy-for-long-term-success, you need a clear strategy. Start by deciding what makes your product or service unique:
   • Product: Unique features like YouTube or WhatsApp.Quality: Excellent quality like iPhone.Price: Competitive pricing like Chinese goods.

Next, use the 4 P’s for products (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) or the 7 P’s for services (add People, Process, and Physical Evidence). For example:

1. People: Service quality depends on the team delivering it.Process: Follow a clear procedure to deliver consistently.Physical Evidence: Create a space or environment that reflects your service’s value.

Apply a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to these elements. Then use the STP Model (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning) to identify your audience, where to target them, and how to stand out.Finally, use tools like the BCG Matrix to evaluate your product’s position in the market. Focus on a niche, as you can’t sell to everyone. Each product should have its own plan.

2. Create a Memorable Message
   Your message should focus on solving your audience’s problems. Don’t talk about yourself; talk about their needs and how your product helps. Use emotional triggers:
   • Fear: “Don’t miss this opportunity!”
   • Joy or Love: “This cake will make your celebration special.”
   • Pride: “Feel proud with this luxury product.”

End with a clear Call to Action (CTA): “Register now,” “Buy today.”

3. Choose the Right Medium
   Select your communication channel based on your audience’s age and preferences:
   • Ages 20-30: Use social media.
   • Ages 30-40: Combine social media, TV, and hoardings.
   • Ages 40+: Include newspapers and TV ads.

Phase 2: Sales

4. Generate Leads
   Leads are potential customers’ contact details. Maintain a database (start with Excel if you can’t afford software). When leads inquire about your product, respond with energy and confidence. Know your product well so you can deliver value.Categorize leads into hot, warm, or cold based on their interest level. If possible, use software to manage this.
5. Nurture Your Leads
   Think of leads like seeds. They need care and attention to grow. Some will bloom into customers. Use tools like blogs, emails, and social media to educate and engage. Don’t overwhelm them with too much information—focus on quality communication.
6. Convert Leads Into Customers
   If your earlier steps are strong, some leads will become customers. Don’t worry if only a small percentage of leads convert—it’s normal. Celebrate each success!

Phase 3: Post-Sales

7. Provide Excellent Customer Service
   Customer experience is key to long-term success. Ask for feedback:
   • “How was your experience?”
   • “How can we improve?”

Build loyalty by creating communities, social media groups, and taking feedback seriously. Negative feedback is a chance to improve. Customers who leave without telling you why are the real danger.

8. Focus on Customer Lifetime Value
   Aim to keep customers for life, not just for one purchase. Upsell and cross-sell products. A single customer who buys a $10 product today might buy $1,000 worth of products over time.
9. Encourage Referrals
   Create a referral system. Offer benefits, like discounts or commissions, to customers who refer others. Make it easy for them to share their positive experience.

Additional Tips

• Use Technology: Tools like Excel, CRM software, and automation can streamline all nine steps.
• Understand Marketing as a System: Pre-sales focuses on research, sales is about management, and post-sales is handled by CRM. All these systems should work together.
• Build Trust: Marketing is about creating trust in your ecosystem.

Thought to Ponder:
Will there ever be one software that automates all these steps with expert guidance? Some tools like Oracle Suite or SAP ERP cover parts of it, but a fully integrated AI tool could revolutionize marketing.