What to do when you’re one of a kind

Note to the entrepreneur: If your product or service is so unique it’s the only one of its kind, what’s the best way to maximise any online presence and raise awareness…?

It’s a tough call attempting to market a product or service nobody knows anything about. There are no direct searches to capitalize on for a start – all of your efforts have to be geared towards outbound marketing strategies, in the first instance, before you can introduce any retargeting ad campaigns.

When launching a new product in an existing market, many businesses start by using Google’s keyword tool to find the terms their audiences are searching for and then include these keywords in the copy of their sites, with the hope of capturing some of this traffic. However, many entrepreneurs are unsure what to do when the product or service they’ve created doesn’t already generate traffic for them to target. 

As always, its good practice to ensure that your website is SEO-friendly but, with a new product or service, you will need to create a demand first before you see any real benefits from the SEO investment.

 So, if you’re starting from scratch with a good idea, here are some points worth considering:

1. Give your product or service a good name !

Your product is your brand and your brand is your product. This is your single chance to ensure that your product and your brand are interchangeable. Your product then becomes the real deal when the giddy heights of success are achieved and those pale imitations hit the shelves. Think of the classic example - we don’t talk vacuum cleaners, we talk hoovers, so make sure it’s a name that will stick.

2. Identify your target audience…

Who are you talking to and, more importantly, who are you going to sell to? Who is really going to buy your product? You need to have a very clear picture of who your customer is in order to begin the marketing process as any content you create around this product or service has to fully engage the core audience you hope to build.

3. ...And know them – very well !

Make sure you get to know your target market before you try to encourage them to get to know you. What do they currently search for and what websites and networks are they most likely to use? Join in conversations with them and sound them out. Most start-ups don’t have a huge marketing budget set aside so, whatever cash you have to funnel into this, you can’t afford to waste any of it. Whatever you spend needs to work hard for you.

4. Implement an advertising strategy

So you’ve done your research, you know your customer, you know your market and you hold all the relevant information… So, now make the advertising fit ! Facebook is a great example of this as it allows you to advertise around demographics and interests, giving you the ability to drive relevant traffic directly to your site.

Niche marketing can be a long and difficult process however, by following these steps, you should see the number of queries for your product or service increase. Just think, with patience and a little luck, you could become the leading brand in an industry of your own creation!