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What Are You
Really Marketing? It's Not What You Think
©2005 By Charlie Cook
You market your own business or
you direct marketing for
your company. You know what you are marketing -
it's
obvious. Or is it?
If you're a financial advisor, you probably
think you're
marketing financial advice. If you're a s.ales
consultant,
you may think you are marketing s.ales training.
If you are
a realtor, you may assume you market homes or
commercial
properties. If you market big screen TVs you may
think
you're selling the latest technology.
In each case, you'd be right in terms of your
deliverables,
but you'd be wrong about what your prospects are
buying.
Over the years, I've worked with service
providers ranging
from plumbers to financial advisors, to data
management
firms as well as numerous marketing consultants.
Despite
the diversity of services they provide, they all
face the
same hurdle to increasing their s.ales. Each and
every one
has the product or service they deliver confused
with what
they are marketing.
What you're marketing and what you actually deliver are two
different things. The key to increasing your s.ales is to
realize that what you are really marketing is hope - your
clients' hope of achieving their goals.
You're marketing to your prospects' hopes that they'll be
happier, more successful, more attractive, smarter, richer,
more comfortable, more secure, etc. Target your marketing
to the real reasons people buy, and you'll be much more
successful in motivating them to make a purchase from you.
Focus your marketing by identifying what your prospects
want. Make a list that describes their hopes. Following are
some samples to give you the idea:
- What Your Prospects Really Want -
Residential Realtors' Prospects
- I hope I can find a home I can afford
- I hope I can find a home to accommodate our growing
family
- I hope I get the best possible price for our current
home
S.ales Trainers' Prospects
- I hope I can generate more leads
- I hope more people understand how I can help them
- I hope I can sell more of my products and services
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Plumbers' Prospects
- I hope I can get the leak stopped as soon as possible
- I hope I can get a plumber to show up
- I hope it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg
Financial Advisors' Prospects
- I hope I have enough m0ney to pay my childrens' college
tuition
- I hope I have enough to afford to retire comfortably
- I hope my m0ney is secure no matter what the st0ck market
does
Online Data Management Firms' Prospects
- I hope more people find my site
- I hope more prospects understand how they can benefit
from using our services
- I hope more prospects contact us and buy from use
What are your prospects hoping for when they buy your
products or services?
BEAT the Cold Winter of 2007 ARIZONA'S NEWEST WONDER
Kartchner Caverns State Park opened in 1999. This stunning limestone cave system is one of the top in the world. Visit Sunny Southwest this cold winter |
Why Marketing to Hope Works
Much as you'd like to think your prospects make logical,
well reasoned purchasing decisions, in most cases logic
plays a secondary role to emotions. If you've made the
rounds with a son or d.aughter looking at colleges, you've
experienced this first hand. You talk the whole thing over
thoroughly with your child and make a decision to visit a
college that appears to be a great fit.
You drive up to the campus and they won't even get out of
the car. What's going on? They're making a decision based
on some unspoken set of criteria that defies parental
logic. Find out what those criteria are, and you can move
forward. The same goes for your prospects.
Your prospects may bring logic to bear when researching
service providers but their ultimate selection will be
based on emotions. Market directly to what they hope and
want and tap into these emotions to help them pick your
product or service.
No matter what business you're in, your objective is to
help your clients be more successful and to achieve their
hopes and dreams, both small and large. Appeal to their
motives and you'll increase your s.ales.
Remember HOPE stands for:
Help
Our
Prospects
Excel
Use hope to market your products and services and you'll
capture your prospects' attention, their hearts and more of
their business.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
The author, Charlie Cook, helps service
professionals,
small business owners and marketing
professionals attract
more clients and be more successful. Sign up to
receive the
F.ree Marketing Plan eBook, '7 Steps to get more
clients
and grow your business' at
http://www.marketingforsuccess.com |
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