Know, Buy, Tell: The Three Simple Purposes of Marketing
Ever feel confused by all the marketing buzzwords thrown around and the countless tactics you can use for your business? Not sure why you should use them? Or how they fit together?
Today, we’re going to ditch the buzzwords and jargon and simply talk about what really matters in marketing: your customers.
Yep, you heard that right. Marketing isn’t just about fancy graphics, catchy slogans or building funnels.
Marketing is all about making things easier for the people you serve
Think of it as putting together a puzzle. And the benefit of your products or services (or the transformation you provide) as the completed picture. Your marketing helps build the picture of that transformation.
Just like the corner pieces, edge pieces and filler pieces, every marketing effort you undertake needs to have a purpose. Knowing the purpose (and the why) helps you keep the big picture in mind.
Marketing has 3 primary purposes
And every marketing effort should fit into one of these. Let’s sort the pieces of marketing out.
#1. Marketing makes it easy for the people you serve to KNOW ABOUT YOU
These are the efforts you undertake to get noticed by your audience. Think SEO. Being a guest on a podcast. Speaking engagements. YouTube videos. Even paid advertising like billboards or digital ads can fit here.
These are the things you’re doing to get in front of your ideal customers and make a memorable first impression.
#2. Marketing makes it easy for those you serve to BUY FROM YOU
Once they know about you, you can build a relationship. And help them understand how your products or services solve a problem or fulfill an unmet need.
Website copy that speaks their language. Your offers. Email marketing campaigns. These can all help your audience see your business as the missing piece they need.
#3. Marketing makes it easy for those you serve to TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOU
This is where happy customers or clients become your cheerleaders. Otherwise known as word-of-mouth magic. Encouraging customer reviews. Creating shareworthy experiences. “Recommend-a-Friend” or affiliate programs. These are a few of the efforts under this purpose.
Putting the pieces together
Now, imagine you’re a fitness gym owner. One piece you might use to make it easy for people to know about you is to create informative content on your website and social media with workout tips and healthy recipes.
A free or low-cost personalized fitness assessment might be a piece you use to make it easy for people to buy from you. And a program giving away free swag when someone refers a friend (or hits certain milestones in their fitness journey), might be another piece you use to make it easy for people to tell others about you.
The key is alignment and then connecting those pieces together. To do that every marketing effort, from brochures to blog posts, needs a clear purpose. Is it about building awareness? Selling an offer? Building referrals?
Fit each effort with a purpose of KNOW, BUY or TELL and watch your marketing system come together, one piece at a time.
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