Working as an online marketer for an innovative design company, I often get asked questions about marketing and sales. For example, “How do I get my products to sell?” The truth is, it’s not that easy. There are several factors that you need to take into consideration. To help new designers (and designers who need some marketing inspiration) understand what they should be doing and what they shouldn’t be doing, I’ve put together this article. Hopefully, it will help you develop a successful marketing and sales strategy for your company.

The Importance of Online and Offline Marketing

In the modern world, we are constantly bombarded with information. Most of this information is irrelevant to us. We see ads for products we don’t need and don’t care about, and we’ve all probably heard of a product but haven’t given it a thought. That’s the reality of living in the so-called ‘information age’. In order to reach our target audience, we need to utilize both online and offline marketing.

If you’re wondering what the difference between online and offline marketing is, here’s a simple explanation. Traditional marketing, which is mostly what you’ll find in magazines and newspapers, is mostly limited to people who are physically near an office or store. This type of marketing is called ‘offline marketing’.

In contrast, the internet and social media allow marketers to target audiences who are located all over the world. Therefore, this type of marketing is called ‘online marketing.’

In general, online marketing allows you to target the right audience and encourages them to purchase your products. It also allows you to track the results of your marketing efforts in real time. Offline marketing, on the other hand, is much more difficult to track and measure. You’ll certainly get some results, but you won’t be able to attribute specific changes to an ad or marketing campaign. Essentially, offline marketing is planning to convince people to buy your product or service without the use of marketing materials.

Marketing Materials: What to Use and Why

Depending on your product and how you intend to sell it, you’ll need to develop specific materials for marketing and sales. These materials can vary from a simple sales pitch to more robust marketing materials. It’s a good idea to mix and match as much as possible. Some businesses use a simple sheet of paper to explain their product and how it works while others might opt for more of a digital presence.

In terms of content, almost anything can be a potential marketing or sales material. Whether you write an article, create a video, or design a graphic, you can use the content to promote your product. The main thing is to ensure that you are reaching your target audience. If you’re not sure who that is, try out a marketing platform like HubSpot, which helps you figure that out. Once you do, you can tailor your content to be more suitable for your target audience.

The Role of Sales

The role of sales, also known as marketing support, is to help with the process of converting website visitors into paying customers. Website visitors can become paying customers through a variety of means. Some businesses get most of their sales from people who found them through a search engine, while others might rely on word of mouth or a lead magnet like an e-Book or White Paper to attract potential customers. 

Regardless of the method you choose, you’ll need to have a defined sales process in place. You can use your website to create a shopping cart for people to add products to. Once you have that, you can embed a form on your site that customers can use to submit their information to get the goods.

You could also ask your customers to visit a special page where you collect their details. This way, you have a record of who your customers are and you can follow up with them later to see if they’re interested in any offers that you might have.

Offer Something Unique

If you’re providing a service, you can use your website to let customers know what sets you apart from other companies. For example, if you’re a web designer, you can put up a page on your site that lists some of your previous projects. Not only will this be a great way to get prospective customers to learn more about you, but it will also be something unique that they can use to differentiate you from other companies in your niche. If you’re a clothing store, you can put up a page with pictures of your clothes on it. However, instead of having the page as an individual product, you can create a whole collection of clothing that you have available for purchase. Designing clothing is a whole other ballgame, so don’t expect to sell a large number of clothes without first establishing yourself as an expert in the field.

Build A Brand

A brand is a person or company’s promise to provide a certain level of quality or service. For example, if you’re a hair stylist and you establish yourself as the go-to person for all hair related services, you’ll be able to build a brand for yourself. Customers will know exactly what they’re getting when they hire you because you’ll already be known for providing high-quality services. In the same way that a stylist can build a brand for themselves, entrepreneurs can build a brand for their businesses. If you want to build a brand, start by establishing yourself as an expert in your field, which will naturally lead to people thinking of you when they have questions about your industry. You can then develop a web presence that is representative of your brand. This will include having a brand-specific website, social media accounts, and possibly even a mobile app.

Use Analytics To Track Results

You can’t manage what you don’t measure, so this is a good rule to follow when it comes to marketing and sales. To determine if your efforts are paying off, you will need to track the results of your campaign. There are several ways to track the results of your marketing efforts, but you will most likely need to set up a spreadsheet or database to keep track of the data. You can use Google Analytics to get started with analytics and to track the results of your campaigns. You’ll need to create a filter for’source’ in the google analytics dashboard so you can track the results of your various marketing efforts (e.g., social media, email marketing, etc.).

The more you track, the more you can improve. With a little bit of effort, you can become an expert in marketing and sales