How Marketing Can Give You The Business You Want - Part 2
What are you selling?
Elizabeth Arden certainly knew what she was selling, it
wasn’t pots of cream and cosmetics, it was much more than
that, she understood what her customers where really
buying from her...
“I don’t sell
cosmetics…
…I sell HOPE”
Elizabeth Arden
Elizabeth Arden certainly knew what she was selling, it
wasn’t pots of cream and cosmetics, it was much more than
that, she understood what her customers where really
buying from her...
Do you really know what your customers are buying from
you and the reasons they buy. Even in the business to
business world, people don’t buy on pure logic, there is
emotion involved. If you can understand the pressures,
challenges and issues that your customers face then you
are half way to understanding why they buy from you and
shaping your marketing messages to pull them towards you.
Many companies sell the
physical product and overwhelm the prospect
with…
* Technical messages
* Complexities
* How it works
* How long it lasts
Take some time out to think about what you product or
service can do for your customers. Think about this...
"...No one who ever bought a drill, really wanted a drill,
they wanted a hole..." Perry Marshall
Think about what you are really selling, is it hope, holes,
peace of mind? Transfer what your product or service
actually does for the customer into strong powerful
marketing messages. This will work much better than just
trying to sell them features and connect with their emotions.
Turn things inside out
To find out what your customers are really buying from you,
you need to turn things inside out and look at the problems,
issues and challenges your customers are facing. And make
sure you that you address them with compelling marketing
copy that makes them want to contact you.
Take some time to think about all the real reason that your
customers buy from you, it will be much more than just the
products or services that you provide.We use this six words to help us create powerful content for
our clients and they will work for you to. Think about what
you can
...Increase
...Save
...Gain
...Enhance
...Reduce
...Improve
Can you save them money, gain new customers, reduce
their tax bills, improve their brand, increase their profits.
What is it that your product or service actually does for your
customers? Link into their emotive needs and set yourself
apart from the competition.
What do you do
Now that you have a better understanding of what you are
actually selling, think about how you would describe your
company to a potential customer. You need to make your
proposition as clear and simple as possible and make sure
that you appeal to their emotions.
For example, if we were at a networking event and someone
asked us what we did we could reply
“ We are marketing consultants” or “ we run a marketing
company” or “we help people with their marketing”
But none of them really get across what we do quickly,
however if we tried something like..
“We are marketing success coaches, that work with you
to improve your marketing approach to help you to
achieve your company’s growth potential “
It says much more than “marketing consultant” ever could, it
is focused on them as we talk about “you” and we give them
an example of the results they can expect. So undertake this
exercise for your company, ask yourself
...Who are we?
...What do we do?
...How do we do it?
Who are you selling to?
For your marketing to be a
success , you must know
who you are selling to—and
the answer is not everyone.
Every company has a target
market and if you laser
beam your marketing efforts
on a tight focused audience, you will have much more
success than trying to scatter your efforts far and wide. And
more importantly if you have worked out what you are really
selling and focus it on the right target audience, you will have
even more success as it will connect with their needs.
Before you go any further take some time to write down the
profile of your ideal customer and then the profile of your worst
customer. This exercise helps you to see that, even if you
don’t think you have a target market, you do, as there are
those customers who you would much prefer to work with.
Once you have a good idea of who your ideal customer is
then begin to profile them, but don’t just think about the type
of company. You need to know who the decision maker is that
has the budget and authority to buy your products and
services. You can do a great marketing campaign and send it
to the companies in your target market. However, if you don’t
get the right person, then your efforts will be wasted.
To profile your ideal company and decision maker you can
look at…
Business to Business
♦ Vertical sector—e.g. only sell to finance or food
companies
♦ Employees—must have over X employees
♦ Turnover—must have over X turnover
♦ Geography—must be located in West Yorkshire
♦ Decision maker— Managing Director, Security Manager
Business to Consumer
♦ Age— Age range?
♦ Sex—is your product mainly bought by women?
♦ Location—West Yorkshire or worldwide
♦ Lifestyle—What type of lifestyle?
♦ Income—What is the typical income required to buy?
♦ Occupation—Does your product suit an occupation?
♦ Family status—Does your product suit a young family?
♦ Who is doing the buying? - Or have a strong influence?
Take some time now to write down the profile of your target
customer, you might have to do some research and think
about who you really want as customers. If you can’t really
provide a service to customers in North Scotland, then make
sure that you don’t mail them in your next mail shot.
Then laser in on the decision maker and make sure that your
communications are focused on them and their needs.
Take a look at more of our marketing articles
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