I recently picked up a great book (World Wide Rave) that stressed a great concept that sadly most business owners cannot come to terms with. "No One Cares About Your Business, except you." What a sad reality but it is the honest truth.
In this day and age your customers are simply fed up with advertising and marketing as you know it. It's time to recognize that your customer does not want to hear your pitch, does not need to hear your product dump, or even see your list of services.
Here is a target market analysis for everyone. Your target market is a SELFISH. They are looking for ways to 1) help themselves 2) acquire assistance without involving you...until they're ready.
As aggravating as this may be, it is the world we live in. So how then is Company XYZ supposed to reach customers?
With over 70% of buying decisions beginning online, your company really needs to look at the internet as the main method of connecting with your customer. Having a web site does not count as reaching your customers online, shoot -my grandma has a blog and my uncle Tim has a MySpace page. To really reach your customers you need to start talking online, you need to become part of the environment your customers are involved in. Where are they going for product reviews? Are they using Google to find the nearest Realtor, Dentist, Plumber? Are they telling their friends on Facebook that they are in need of (insert your product or service here)?
Here are some tips about marketing online and converting visitors to sales.
NO DUMPING. Once online and involved in communicating with the world like a real person, not a business owner, you need to give the world something. You can be engaged in internet marketing and still commit the same sins of traditional advertising that people hate. So, don't product dump. Try to help someone for a change without selling them a widget. Lend some advice, establish yourself as an expert in your field and perhaps then you will get customers wanting to do business with YOU not your business.
The problem with your website! You want to be certain that your website is doing two things 1) being found 2) converting visitors. Notice how "look really cool" was not listed. Cool looking websites are just that, your website should be focused on capturing traffic and converting those leads from your internet marketing to genuine sales leads. Find out if your website is doing a good job of converting traffic to potential clients by running some simple diagnostics, try out a website grader . A simple evaluation can also give you great insight into how you can optimize your site to get more traffic - some of these strategies are FREE and just require a little elbow grease.
DON'T STOP. Promoting what problems you can solve and why you are worth your customers attention requires an ongoing effort. This is not paying for a print ad and waiting by the phone. Go out and get involved weekly or daily. Do not stop because if you are not helping your customers with valuable information chances are they are going to find help elsewhere...It's a great big world out there...
Comments
Richard says:
Nice Read.....I am new to group and hope to contribute and learn a great deal...
March 24, 2009 at 8:05 PM | Permalink
Davis says:
I'll second that...good read, Ed. So, what if you have solutions to existing problems in the industry and potential clients don't recognize they have problems you have solutions for? What then? This is a bit of a rhetorical question of course, but this situation is not new to technology solution providers (Geoffry Moore's Crossing The Chasm-Selling Hi-Tech to Mainstream Customers) and it is the very issue we deal with on a daily basis as we market to an industry that relies on informal or word of mouth sales channels.
We've focused on solving known problems, but in many cases, someone closer to our client says: 'we can do it another way that will cost less' even though there is no comparison (less accuracy, less extended data utility, less everything) b/t what we deliver and what they will get for spending less, or in many cases, we'll match the cost of doing it the 'old way' to prove the value proposition of a newer, more cost effective, time efficient solution.
Your thoughts?
March 25, 2009 at 1:52 PM | Permalink
Ed says:
Davis - I will take a look at your site to provide more in depth answers but the point here is to establish your communications to educate and engage your target audience. Many times (I will be the first to admit) that we are centered on what a huge benefit we can be to the client that we scare them off. We know our services are good or our products are awesome but pushing the spill on a client can be a turn off.
Instead, find out where your target market goes for their information. What types of things are they interested in? What are some pain points. Become a resource for these potential clients rather than a store. Positioning yourself as the industry expert will lead to more business deals.
Hope this helps.
March 25, 2009 at 4:23 PM | Permalink
Davis says:
Appreciate your comments Ed. We are fairly well studied, experienced biz guys and are supported by an investment bank firm, serial entrepreneurs and seasoned marketers. You won't find our flagship solutions on our website; we've marketed via informal channels...word of mouth primarily, PoC projects such that we can demonstrate cost control, design execution, extended data utility (eliminating the need for duplicate project data collection)...in essence, a very strong ROI to a very discerning clientele. We've given away plenty of IP, proven the value of a specific tech process and still we meet resistance mainly, as I was told many years ago when first entering the golf industry...'you are a nobody in a somebody industry, that is your first barrier to entrance; your second is that we don't use computers and your tech is a light year ahead of us'. Point is, the need to develop relationships can and does take a front seat to the best marketing efforts despite the best intentions to inform and prove value.
March 26, 2009 at 8:26 AM | Permalink