Marketing is painted up to be a big deal, let's get rid of the smoke and mirrors and see "The Marketing Wizard of Oz" for what he really is ... a form of communication that we already know how to do. Once we get past the illusion that marketing is a mysterious activity that stands between us and success... the next thing we need to do is reduce marketing to language we can understand and then create activities around its intention. I like to use the RECDV acronym to make it very simple.

RECDV stands for Reach, Engage, Connect, and Deliver Value.

Once you have identified your Ideal Customer (IC) and the problem or desire you are going to address for her or him then you must plan how you will RECDV.

Reaching is about getting in front of your ideal customer. To do this you have to know where your ideal customer gathers, physically or metaphorically. Where do they gather, what web sites do they visit, what search terms do they use when searching for help, who is already in contact with them, what causes do they support, what organizations do they belong to, what publications do they read, what mailing lists are they on, what hobbies do they have, where do they eat, where do they shop, where do they live, where do they work, and this list of questions go on and on. Be an IC detective and start asking questions that take you deeper into your IC's world.

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