Marketing Hell!! 17/07/2022

The one thing that there never seems to be adequate time for is marketing – I mean serious, heavy duty, 110% marketing. It is a full-time job in itself – and that’s if you think you know what you are doing!!

The summer holidays have landed which means for the next few weeks, time will be of the essence – I have an 11-year-old who needs my time as much as the business.

If I had my way, I would have a whole team of people working with me who could take some of my roles away from me!! (Except for product design and production – I love that part!)

Seriously though – there is no team behind me – no-one to concentrate full time on marketing, website design and updating at least 6 social media channels, YouTube, Tik Tok, Pinterest, Linked-in, research, SEO, Blogging, keeping up with the Kardashians – no hang on – never mind them, but somehow, they DO manage to keep everyone engaged without really doing ANYTHING!!

So, who are my customers? That’s where I had to start – and you know what, I didn’t understand the question really – I mean, I sell handmade gifts – so the customers are going to be quite generic. Everyone needs or wants to buy a gift at some point, right? Yes maybe – but why would anyone buy from me when there a literally millions of gift shops worldwide!!? That’s pretty daunting stuff.

My key points at Q.i. are affordability, uniqueness, and individuality. I want to Inspire customers to buy from me rather than sit back and let the customer do all the thinking!!

So, what DO people want?

So, what is popular? What do people want to buy, read, listen to? The answer: they want whatever makes them feel good. If I can make them feel good about themselves or their lives—or better than others—you have a bestseller on your hands. Or at least on my website. And if I can make them feel better about themselves and their lives by giving them a good experience with my lovingly handmade items, then that’s my aim.

I often ask myself - Why am I doing this? It’s a good question and I ask myself regularly and usually manage to come up with a different answer each time. I guess I need to learn all about you guys, the one’s that are looking and want to buy. I sit and think for ages (sometimes that is the only way I can do my research)

I find this is the way to get to know my customers – by putting myself in their place. Every kind of people actually – the next Job is trying to find them!!

I research Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Tik Tok (I don’t actually get Tik Tok, but hey…that’s another one for another day) to see and learn from other folk. I look to see what has actually ‘hooked me in’ to their pages or sites. It is valuable learning but takes a very long time.

I don’t know everything, everyone else seems to know what they’re doing – it shows in their social media, and blogs. I admire those that see to have ‘got it’!!

I need to show that I know what I am doing, even though I’m flapping around like a drunk Swan!

So, how can I look like I know what I’m doing?

Here’s the thing; humans are social animals; we like being around other people who share our interests and values – and that includes learning about new things together. So, if I want someone to talk to about interests (and maybe introduce them to some new ones), then all I need is a little bit of courage and bravery – easier said than done!

I look at what other people are doing. If someone has already done it, chances are that they will be willing to guide others through it as well.

I read everything in sight and make lots of notes. Again, very time consuming but the more information I have available, the better equipped I will be if things get difficult later on down the road.

So, there you have it, it is a marketing minefield. How to put it into practice is individual to what you are offering. Even this blog is a form of marketing – I find it is a bit like writing a diary. I can’t find any substitute for writing stuff down, that may be a bit old school, but I still think it is the best way for an oldie like me.

I don’t spend enough time doing it – I can’t spend enough time on it!! There is just too much else to do. I will have to carry on dreaming of the day when I can get a little team behind me.

I can blow my own trumpet here – I have built what I have today entirely by myself – through learning, trial and error and many a cock-up along the way. But I’m heart-warmingly pleased with the results and what I have achieved so far. They say it takes 5 years to build a business and I am well on the way!!! It has been an exciting and emotional journey full of ups and downs, triumphs and tribulations - I can’t wait to see where it goes next!