“Focus on the fundamentals” is a phrase that is often heard in many different contexts, but is especially relevant when it comes to marketing. In today's world, there is an overwhelming amount of information and marketing channels available to business owners, making it easy to get distracted and focus on the wrong things. However, the key to successful marketing is to identify the basics and remain committed to performing them. This is something that Tim Fitzpatrick, the guest of this Powerful Marketing Tips podcast episode, understands well. Tim has more than 20 years of entrepreneurial experience with a passion for developing and growing businesses. With his company Rialto Marketing, he has been helping B2B professional service firms accelerate their revenue growth and attract more ideal clients since 2013. He believes that marketing shouldn't be difficult, but you have to remove revenue roadblocks if you want to grow consistently and predictably. Quotes: “If we don't have a clear understanding of the market we're serving and our ideal clients, the people that we really want to work with within that market, everything else that we do down the line is going to suffer as a result.” (6:32) “We really need to hone in on who those ideal clients are. And I like to start by asking, I call them the three power questions. So, for a business that has been in business for a while, you have some past clients that you can go back to. Start with the three power questions: 1) Who do we love working with? 2) Who are your most profitable clients? 3) Who do we get great results for?” (7:42) “What I think is more important than the demographics are the psychographics of these people. What are they thinking as it relates to what you do? What are the common problems that they have that you can help them solve? What results, outcomes, benefits are they looking for? What roadblocks do they have? Those are all examples of psychographics. The psychographics really help you start to get in their head and enter the conversation that they're having in their head as it relates to what you do.” (10:06) “The second fundamental is your marketing message, how you communicate your value and what you do. You can only create a clear, engaging message to attract your ideal clients. Once you understand who those people are, right. It seems simple, but so many of us just skip it. And your message is critically important.” (13:55) “The second big mistake people make is they talk too much about themselves. Our clients don't care about us. That's the reality. What they care about is how we can help them solve the problem that they have and get the result they want, right? Get from where they are to where they want to be. That's what they care about.” (14:58) "I think having a plan is critical. Otherwise, it's very easy to get distracted, to be like a squirrel chasing a nut and you're just very haphazard.” (19:27) “If we don't outline what metrics we're going to track, we have no idea what's working and what's not. And we can't make strong decisions about what course corrections or changes we need to make.” (25:37) “Marketing is not a sprint. It's a marathon. It's something that we just do consistently over and over and over again. It's like an investment, right? You just keep investing over and over and over again, and it starts to build upon itself. You can't turn marketing on and off. And inevitably, when we think short term about our business, whether it's marketing or just our business as a whole, I will guarantee you that most of the short term decisions you're making are detrimental to the long term benefit and health of your company.” (33:32) Timestamps: [00:04:55] The importance of marketing fundamentals. [00:08:26] Ideal clients. [00:13:54] Building a marketing message. [00:15:59] Interviewing ideal clients. [00:20:23] 90-day marketing plan. [00:33:28] Thinking long-term in marketing.   Links: Connect with Tim Fitzpat