How to stay ahead of the herd in the marketing sphere?

You have searched for tons and tons of videos and read heaps of articles on marketing, but you are missing that oomph, which can separate you from the herd.

If you are the one who wants to accelerate in the marketing sphere and wants to boost your career in marketing, then grab pen and paper and bear with me for the next 10 min.

You can watch a random TikTok video too, but we prefer you stick with us.

So, buckle up, this is gonna be an interesting ride.

1. Gotta play rough

First things first, you gotta play rough in the marketing world. There is a wild world out there. Either you hunt or you get hunted. You have to accept that things are not gonna come easy. There will be a lot of days, you’ll be willing to listen to clients’ crap (sorry about that).

If you are gonna be a snowflake then marketing isn’t the game for you my friend.

Let me explain this in football terms. If you are not gonna fight for the ball, then there is no point in playing football. This is exactly what you need to do in marketing, build that intensity, burn that fire inside you. Build something unassailable.

For example, why do you think Apple is different than its competitors? They all offer the same product, right?

Apple doesn’t just give reliable or smart products; they go the extra mile in paying attention to even the tiny details. For instance, new MacBooks have a feature called smart fan. When you activate the voice dictation feature or speak into the mic, the fan’s speed slows down so the laptop can better hear you.

So, you see, you have to develop that edge where clients come to you and not vice versa.

I can hear you all saying, “OK smart pants, how we can build something unassailable?”

Good question!

This brings me to the second point.

2. Build thy USP

Please note that its USP not UPS. So, what is USP?  It’s your unique selling point. What do you have that others don’t?

For instance, you are doing social media marketing. Anyone can do social media marketing these days. That aunt from the block (who is curious about my rishta for reasons I don’t know) is doing social media marketing too.

But what is competitive advantage?

How can you beat that aunt? Simple by building your USP.

Ask questions like,

What is unique about my business?

What makes me better than other marketers?

Why should people hire me for the job?

If you still haven’t started your marketing journey, you can ask family or friends about your strengths. Are you a hard worker or a smart worker? Do you provide high quality in what you do?

Pick your USP, so you can stay ahead.

3. Find your niche

There’s a lot of competition, and every street is filled with the marketing agency, that claims to be the “best in everything they do.”

So, if you are just starting, consider finding a niche.

And there’s a simple way to do that. Is there a demand for it? For instance, if you are doing marketing of typewriters, then you are not gonna score more clients, as people don’t use typewriters.

Here’s a funny thing. You can spy on your competitors to see what marketing services they are offering in the niche you are interested in.

Also, try to keep up with the emerging trends. For instance, there was a lot of room for digital marketing trends in 2017. So, I started learning about it and gaining expertise.

4. Don’t be afraid to experiment

Unlike the unsuccessful soap experiment I did in 8th grade, you shouldn’t be afraid of experimenting in marketing. If you are just starting, then you have a great edge of being flexible and can change things around you.

For example, you want to test a new way to approach clients. You may make mistakes or things may not work out the way you wanted, but it’s a trial-and-error process.

So, don’t be afraid to experiment.

5. Learn, learn, and learn

This goes without saying how much important learning is in marketing. If you aren’t getting clients, and others are, then don’t watch random TikToks, just move around and learn.

Read those articles, download those PDFs, and watch those videos. Expand your skills, and learn something beneficial in the longer run.

Haven’t got an idea about SEO? Learn!

Don’t know about consumer marketing. Learn!

The point here is if you want to stay ahead, you never stop learning.

And great way to learn is by knowing about people who made it through.

I am gonna talk about Mian Tayyab, who started at a call center and climbed up the marketing ladder.

Initially, he started at a call center and gained useful experience in how businesses work. In over a decade, he started different marketing ventures in Pakistan. He learned along the way, selected his niche real estate, and then expanded to different industries.

He stayed ahead of the herd by finding his USP, which was focusing on human psychology. Of course, he faced challenges but played it rough, and faced them not with a disheartened look, but with a learning eye.

So, there you have it! Wasn’t it a good 10 min?

We learned quite a lot! If you don’t understand anything, go through the guide again.