There’s an epidemic
I’ve had the fortune of working with many businesses, most in different niches and I’ve noticed a consistent problem that most businesses have, big or small. It’s an epidemic that’s running rampant and it’s kind of scary. I can only remember one other time I was this scared; it was from watching the movie Outbreak. In the move, a virus went airborne and pretty much the whole world had to be quarantined.
That’s where we are now (in the world of marketing).
Business owners have been overstating their services and products and focusing on the things that really don’t matter to their customers.
Yep, I said it. We all do it, it’s hard not to do, but it has to stop.
Imagine your ideal customer is in front of you, wallet out and money in hand. Next to you is your number one competitor. The customer asks you, “Why are you better?”
Do you respond with any of these?
1.) How long you’ve been in business.
2.) How qualified you are.
3.) All the wonderful features of your products and services.
I’m not saying these things don’t matter at all. I am saying that when you craft a marketing campaign these things should be about 20% of your focus, because the truth is –they just do matter that much to your potential customer.
Here’s What Really Matters
What really matters to your customers are THEM. Not how great you and your company are, but how your company can help them get what they want, which is a very specific outcome. If you want to resonate with your current customers, or attract new customers, you need to talk to, and be able to get your customer the outcome they want and solve the problem that they have.
Let me ask you this, is it more important (to your customer) that you went to school for 15 years or that their problem can be easily solved by doing x or y and you have helped many people with the exact same problem.
What Does This Mean For You?
When you put out your marketing messages, when you buy advertising, when you craft your campaigns, you must focus on the outcome and result your customers want (and you can provide).
So how do you get to this point?
- Find out the outcome your customers want and why.
- Discover the words and phrases they use to describe the outcome.
- Use those exact words and phrases in your marketing.
- Focus on the outcome and results 80% of the time.
It’s Not About You
It’s time that you resonate with your customers and differentiate yourself from your competition. Making generic statements about things that only matter to you will not help you attract more customers or grow your business. The internet has given your potential customer more options then they know what to do with. How will you stand out? How will you earn their trust? How will you win? How can you dominate? Get into your customers mind and heart, understand their motivations, serve your customer as best you can, because it always has been and always will be, all about the customer.
