“A win at any track doesn’t just happen by accident. We don’t simply fill our cars with gas, crank them up, and hope we can drive faster or outlast our opponents. Every detail of the race is thought through, including contingency plans and backup parts. We have a game plan for the race and we attempt to follow it as close as possible.” – Joe Gibbs, the first person to lead teams to championships in professional football and NASCAR auto racing.
“In other words, sports teams that win consistently have an effective strategy and they execute it as flawlessly as possible” – Mastering the Complex Sale
When I say “Marketing”, what is your first thought?
Most health It business owners I talk with will say…
- A blog. Content.
- An article in Forbes or Inc.
- Promotions or ads
Social media isn’t marketing. Content isn’t marketing. Email, lead generation, or lead nurturing aren’t marketing.
Public relations, promotions, and advertising are NOT marketing.
Nope.
Marketing starts with strategy. A game plan.
What Are the Strategy Keys to Sales Success?
Answer these questions. A simple yes or no.
1. Do you have a Product> Market Match?
Or, to dig deeper, as Simon Sinek asks:
WHY do you do what you do? People don’t buy WHAT you do. They buy WHY you do it. Does WHY you are building or developing a health IT product or service, or mHealth app line up with what your Market wants?
Getting to your WHY takes some work, real thinking, and deep digging. Most businesses skip it because it’s too painful or nothing clear seems to develop.
Without knowing and living you WHY it’s damn near impossible to create a strong brand message.
Without knowing your WHY, the default way to market is chasing after tactics.
2. Do you have a Market>Message Match?
Two things must happen to nail down your Market to Message match.
1. You must know WHO you’re selling to. You must research, test, and write out descriptions of your Buyer Personas and Ideal Client Profile.
2. You must know WHAT messages, language, and content formats appeal to your Market. What stories will you tell about the problems your clients face? How does your product or service help them? What tone, language, words will you use to connect with them? How do they prefer to consume your story… text, audio, video, in-person, email, phone calls, webinars, infographics, slides…?
3. Do you have a Message> Media Match?
WHERE does your Market hang out? Are they Moms concerned about pre-natal care who read Mommy blogs and use Facebook? Are they cardiac surgeons who frequent medial research sites and attend medical conferences? Are they hospital administrators who connect on Linkedin and attend industry conference?
If you are unable to confidently answer “YES!” to these three questions, your business does NOT have a marketing strategy.
If you want to consistently win playing against the best, you MUST have a game plan and commit to flawless execution. Think and practice Strategy before Tactics.
photo credit: doughaslam via photopin cc
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