By Stacey Ackerman, MA
If you’re still using the same marketing message as six months ago, you better think again. With our turbulent and ever-changing economy, the needs of your customers are changing as well. To effectively market to your customers, you need to be aware of what they really need—and now.
Resolve an urgent problem
Your brand’s message needs to resolve an urgent consumer problem (not yours). Many business owners focus their marketing message around their own needs, forgetting what their customers want.
For instance, a retailer putting 32” plasma TV’s on sale because they have too large of inventory isn’t resonating with their customers. They may find themselves left with a lot of 32” plasmas, as well as a depleted budget from an ineffective marketing campaign.
However, if this same retailer had stopped and listened to his customers’ needs, he could have had a much more effective marketing campaign, and much better sales.
Get your prospect’s attention
Make sure that your company’s message is creative enough to get your prospects’ attention. A sign saying, “TVs for sale” won’t cut in today’s competitive marketplace.
A more effective approach would be to say, “Spending more time at home these days? You deserve a TV that provides your family with high-quality entertainment for a fraction of the cost of going out.”
This message resonates with the customer’s urgent problem of staying home more to save money, but wanting to still be entertained.
Make a simple point
A common mistake I see business owners making is trying to tell everything about their product or service in one correspondence. This often overwhelms prospects, making them tune out your message completely.
Instead, focus on one key idea that you want to present, peak their interest, and get them asking or clicking for more.
An easy way to do this is by having an e-mail newsletter that introduces a product or service, but directs them to your web site for more in-depth information. This also gives you a better handle on which prospects really want to hear what you have to say.
Solicit an emotional response
No matter what business you’re in, most customers buy based on some type of emotional response to what you are offering. Take the time to really understand what motivates your customers. Is it fear of not having enough money to send their children to college? Is it a desire to obtain a more rewarding career? Is it balance between their home and work lives?
Only when you truly understand your customers’ emotional needs can you craft a marketing message that they will respond to.
Repeat Several Times
While you may have heard your company’s message so many times you can recite it in your sleep, to your prospects it’s completely new.
As consumers, we are bombarded with 10,000 marketing messages a day and only 2 will stick. Research has show that it takes a minimum of six to 10 impressions for consumers to recall your message.
Therefore, don’t think that one direct mail postcard will do the trick. You need to have a comprehensive plan for how you’re going to get the word out with several ‘touches’.
Find the Right Mediums
Fifteen or 20 years ago getting your message out was easy. You only had a handful of options—the newspaper, yellow pages, word-of-mouth, direct mail and networking.
Today there isn’t one newspaper, but several newspapers, specialty papers and online news sources. There isn’t just a phonebook, but dozens of directories for each city, not to mention online directories and search engine sites such as Google. Direct mail has been complicated with opt-in e-mail and text messaging. Networking is now not only in person, but ‘social’ as well with a huge rise in the last year of usage on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and more.
Therefore, finding out where your customers are spending their time and finding the appropriate vehicle is vital to effective communications.
If you haven’t tweaked your brand’s message in the last six months, now is the time to take a serious look at your customers’ biggest challenges. It’s the perfect opportunity to really resonate with their immediate concerns, making your marketing efforts more effective than ever before.
Stacey Ackerman, MA, is the director of Marketing for Small Business Builders. She has helped numerous small business owners grow their business by creating practical, affordable growth strategies that work. She can be reached at sackerman@smallbusinessbuilders.com or 651-783-5763.
