Is anybody out there?     pdf_version

 

How to Sharpen you marketing message

 

Marketing is not an easy thing to grasp and certainly not an exact science. It is very difficult to predict the market response to an advertisement, but there are some guidelines. It is particularly hard for Manufactures to truly understand their customer’s needs. In many cases there is a disconnection between the manufacturer and their customers. An explanation can be that the products go through several layers of distribution before they finally reach the customer. The disconnection often leads to random marketing, which clearly is a very ineffective way to reach existing customers and certainly a less efficient way to connect with new prospects.

The Job of marketing:

To create demand among qualified prospects in the target market and drive them to the appropriate sales channel.

 So far so good but how are you really doing? Could your marketing approach be centered on the famous “hope” based advertising model?

• We hope the right people will see it
• We hope the right people noticed what we sell
• We hope the right people understand what we want to tell
• We hope the right people care enough to contact us

 I think we can agree that the above mention ‘hope’ based advertising is not desirable. However what should you do?  Good question. Here are four ways you could loose your audience and four ways to reach your audience

 Four ways you can loose your audience – Have you lost yours?

 

1.                  Have you failed to differentiate?

If you can not tell why the customer should choose you, then how should they know?

The easy way to know is to substitute your name with the name of a competitor. If your ad is still true, you need to change the ad. Try to ask yourself what your unique selling proposition is and then mention it. 

2.                  Does your message reflect your customer’s reality?

Do you reflect the customer you want to reach in your ad, or do you attract people who are not potential buyers?

Reflect on the reason your customers buy your product in your ad.

3.                  How many platitudes do you use?

Do you use key words just connected to your product, or do you use platitudes such as:

Premier

World leading

Best of breed

Innovative solutions

Next generation

Leading edge

State of the art

Out of the box

Customer centric

Ground breaking

Enterprise class

Enterprise wide

Highly scalable

Highly flexible

Highly advanced

Fully integrated

The Best service in the industry

Customer centric

….

….

 

Be specific when you describe response time, repair/replacement        time and other services and avoid the platitudes.