Hey Everyone!
In this issue, we’ll look at how talking to your customers can get you started on some of the best free marketing you do.
So, I’d like to start by talking to you, the readers, about feedback for a minute.
I wrote something on LinkedIn and on Twitter this week about how one of the reasons I started this newsletter is because there are so many companies who are stuck in a spot where they can’t hire anyone to do marketing yet, or they don’t have a big enough budget to bring in an agency or a freelancer.
Some of these companies will be able to do these things once they generate more revenue, and I hope to help get them there.
But, in order to do that best, I need you to tell me where you need help the most. That will help me to write the most relevant newsletters going forward.
I’d love your feedback if you want to connect through social media, reply to this newsletter, or chat over video/audio for 15 minutes sometime.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
A quick re-cap if you missed the first four issues
If you missed the first four issues of the No Budget Marketing newsletter, you can catch up online.
In the first issue, we talked about how you can get started with no budget marketing.
In issue two, we talked about a next step in the process by leveraging video to create additional marketing content.
Next, in the third issue, we looked at email marketing tips.
And then last week, in the fourth issue, we continued the email marketing theme by exploring audience segmentation.
Check those out to get up to speed on anything you missed.
Are you asking your customers good questions?
It’s amazing what you can learn in a 5-10 minute conversation with a customer. If you ask the right questions, you can gain insight that will help you find more people like them…and some of it won’t cost you a dime.
First, let’s talk about some questions to ask, and then about how to ask them, if you’re not seeing your customers face-to-face or able to get them on the phone.
Last, we’ll talk about what to do with this information to create marketing material and tactics around it.
Questions to ask:
How did you find out about us?
What product/solution were you using before ours and what made you decide to switch?
What type of business are you in and in what ways do you use our product/service?
Are there any features you wish our product had or is there anything you’d like to see us do differently?
How do you usually learn about new products?
Where do you most often connect with people?
How to ask them - because a conversation might not always be possible:
Send out a survey via email, text, etc.
Request testimonials - tell people you’ll feature them on your website!
Prepare these questions for your customer service reps to ask.
Engage your customers when they comment on social media.
Turn customers who contact you about an issue into fans and ask them questions.
What to do with this information to market your business:
Go to the place people say they found out about you and figure out how to leverage it further. If they found you in an online community, visit it and converse with people - help to solve their problems and don’t just try to sell to people (that will come more naturally later after trust is built)! If customers found you through organic content somewhere, create more like it. If they heard about you on social media, double down on that channel and create/engage more there. Don’t sleep on Reddit as a place to do this by answering people’s questions - don’t just shamelessly promote there.
Create a success story for your website about the customer you spoke with and how they use your product. This will start to generate some organic search traffic. You can also send that success story out through email and social media asking other people if they’d like to be the next company featured. A great way to get others to read your success stories is to let them know they could be featured in the next one!
Look at the products your customers used before yours and create content that compares your product to it, highlighting the ways you’re different. This content could be what helps the next person make the switch. People will come across this content when they search for things like “Alternatives to [your competitor].” You can make this content even better if you can grab some quotes from customers who made the switch.
Use video to tell these stories too. You can record a TikTok, for example, and tell people all about a customer you met and the story they told you. Engage with anyone who comments on your videos - it’s a great way to gain more followers and to turn people into fans of your brand.
Eventually you’ll get a reputation as the company that listens
Do the things mentioned above and you’ll start to be known as a company that really cares about what its customers have to say. People will start to talk about you as a business that understands them and that solves their problems.
The other thing that will start to happen is that you’ll come up with completely new ideas. Customers will say things you’d never even thought of before. You might learn about completely new use cases for your product or a way to market it differently to people based on something your customer says.
It’s free to talk to your customers. Do it more often and you’ll uncover new ways to reach more people who might want to buy your product.
Further reading on Medium
A final thought
@mikeholdendotcom This one thing made me a better marketer. If you get a chance, try sales. I’ll explain why. #marketing #sales #marketingtiktok #marketings... See more