By Charles Alvarez , Contributor, the Price of Business Show. * Sponsored
It used to be easier to deliver your message to your target market. Remember the days where our marketing choices were relatively few. In as little as 5 years ago, our available marketing channels were only a hand-full: telemarketing, television, direct mail, networking, joint ventures, and a website. Now, last time our company checked, there are 77 ways to market your business. To make matters worse, the way people conduct business today is significantly different that it was as little as 3 years ago.
However, the one thing that has not changed over the last few years is human nature. As a matter of fact, human nature has not changed since the fall in the Garden of Eden. This means that what used to entice people to buy years ago still entices them to buy today. Once you understand how people buy, then it becomes much easier to align your market message (otherwise known as your value proposition) to your target market.
The first thing to understand about how people buy is that 100% of all buying decisions are done at the emotional level. In other words, people buy based the emotional payoffs that your product or service provides. Once you have made an emotional connection, then and ONLY then, is your buyer in need of two or three logical reasons to buy your product or service. If you think this is wrong, have you ever bought something that you could not afford? If so, keep reading.
Attention Grabbers
In order to earn the attention of your buyers, a marketing message must either pinpoint their pain or imagine their pleasure. Based on numerous studies by people much smarter than I determined that people are 10 times more likely to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. For example, if we saw 9 newspapers that all had positive headlines and one that said “Why the Stock Market will Loose 50% of Its Value in 90 Days or Less”, which newspaper would you rather buy?
Therefore, when you are crafting your message, what is the main pain-point or challenge that your client or customer is looking to stop that your company is capable of treating? For example, if you own an engineering company, what service do you provide that alleviates the issues your clients are having? Could it be that your engineering firm can get your product to market faster thus avoiding all the hassles you client may have in dealing with other engineering companies?
If you do not know the answer to this question, a good way to find out why the market would choose your company versus your competition is to ask your best customers why they chose to do business with you. In other words, chances are they were using your competitors before, right? If so, ask them why they switched and what about your company attracted them to you.
Sponsored by the Price of Business, on Bloomberg’s home in Houston, TX
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