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Who is My Ideal Customer?

What if you could create a perfect marketing message that spoke directly to your ideal customer? I mean a message that really connected with the internal conversation they were having with themselves right at that moment.  In a previous blog post I spoke about marketing saturation and how many ads we are exposed to everyday, and the answer is just mind blowing.

Who is my customer

The fact is that most businesses sell to multiple customer types so how do you compose a message that resonates with all of them?  The answer is simple – You Don’t!  The idea that there could be one message that grabs the attention of everyone that might possibly want to do business with you is simply ridiculous.  But if you look at almost anyone’s website this is exactly what you see.  A massive amount of information that covers almost anything that anyone visiting the site might be interested in.  It just doesn’t work!

In the words of John Nemo, who runs a LinkedIn lead generation company, you need to niche it down.   If you have never read his book – LinkedIn Riches, you should.  It might just change the way you think about lead generation on LinkedIn.  Anyway, the concept is you need to clearly identify with one very well-defined customer – Your customer avatar.  This is not to say you can’t do business with other customer types but your approach and your solution to that customers problem are a perfect fit.

I often use the Dominos Pizza story as a perfect example of this.  If you have ever had a Dominos pizza you know it is certainly not the best pizza on the market.  So why are they so dominant in the pizza industry?  They discovered a market segment, that they would perform best in, and design their entire business around it.  The result is a $17 billion company with stores all over the world.  Pretty good strategy, don’t you think.

Multiple Customer Types

What if it’s just not possible to niche down to one customer type?  Not all companies can find a way to separate themselves from the crowd but you should at least try.  If you can’t and you must have multiple customer types than create unique messaging for each customer group.  In my own experience, my company sold multiple types of services to different departments within the same account.  One message wasn’t going to work.  The overall company identity and mission had to resonate with all of the department directors but the problem we were solving for each of them was unique.

In the old days, before digital marketing even existed, we didn’t have the advantage of landing or squeeze pages to direct our customers to, when marketing to them.  Today however, you can create a message unique to each customer without watering it down to make everyone happy while maintaining an overall company identity.   So, if you need to address multiple customer types spend some time understanding who each customer is and what the message and language is that will really connect with them.  Then create a location, be it in your CRM or on your website that you can direct them back to with a well-defined message identifying the problem they are having they don’t want, and the solution they want but don’t have.  You need to grab their attention by connecting with their internal conversation.  What is the specific problem you are solving for them and what does your solution look like in their eyes?  Pictures work well in this scenario.

Conclusion

Spend some time in the New Year identifying your ideal customer.  Who are they?  Where do they go to find solutions to their problems – social media, industry journals, support groups.  What language fits them best – professional, casual, witty.  What type of solution are they looking for in their mind.  You might have the right solution but are presenting it in the wrong way.  I have seen many business owners go immediately to price, thinking low price wins, when response time, efficiency, or quality is the answer the customer was looking for.  Starbucks coffee gets two and three times the price of other coffee vendors because they spent time to get this right!

If you have multiple customer types, speak to them separately rather than trying to create one message that will fit them all.  It’s not who you are – It’s how you solve the problem they are having!  Now let’s Get It Done!

 

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It’s That Time of Year!

 

No, it is not the holiday season, it is the time of year to look at what your company has done and plan for what it will do over the next three to five years.  I work with countless business owners who before we met thought year end planning was a waste of time.  We have been doing the same thing for years and we are just fine!  It’s a waste of time and money to get the entire team together to think about what might happen!  My favorite is – Forecasting and budgeting is a waste of time, we never get it right anyway!

Does any of this sound familiar?  Spending some focused time and effort this time of year to better analyze what happened last year, both in your company and the industry has benefits far beyond creating Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to measure success against in the future.  The fact is most companies large and small fail to hit the bullseye when it comes to forecasting.  If you have any money in the stock market this year you know that’s true.

Planning is about the agility and alignment of you and your organization.  As the owner you know where you want to go, that’s why you started the business.  Knowing which path to take to achieve the quickest results and having everyone onboard rowing in the same direction is where planning and budgeting comes in.

Imagine sailing to a Caribbean Island from New York without a navigational map or instruments to predict the weather, direction, or speed.  For the millennials out there, planning a road trip without your phone might be a better analogy.  Of course, we wouldn’t even think about doing these things.  Then why would you try to build a business without an up-to-date GPS to help guide the way.

Take time in the month of December to run the numbers, analyze the changes in the market and yes, get feedback from your team as to what they see as the best way forward.  Captain Kirk could never have survived without Scottie and Spock helping find the right path.  As the owner the responsibility to move the company forward is yours, but your team will be more loyal and work harder to make the journey a success if they helped create the plan to get to the destination.

Here is to a successful 2023.  All your dreams and wishes will come true if you plan it that way and get everyone aligned around the KPI’s that will guide you to your destination!  Let’s Get It Done!

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Creating Solid Drip Campaign Content

During a workshop this week I was asked a question that almost every business owner has asked at one time or another – How do I create solid drip campaign content that will keep my prospective customer listening? The answer isn’t as complicated as you might think.

First let’s talk about drip campaigns and why they are necessary.  There have been numerous studies showing that only 3% to 9% of your buyers will take action after seeing something from your company for the first time.  There is a path buyers take when deciding to purchase something – I call this the buyers’ journey.   They first need to become aware of the product or service and from there they enter the research stage of the journey.  They ask themselves what it is they need to know to make an informed decision.  Finally, they enter the whom do I buy it from stage when they evaluate the best vendor to form the purchasing relationship with.  If you have been successful in providing truly valuable information to them while they are on this journey you will be the obvious choice.

What will be viewed as valuable?

To determine this, you need to go to the source.  If you have an existing customer base you need to ask them.  This is similar to last week’s blog on developing a good marketing message that will resonate with your customer audience.  Only this time you need to focus your questioning in on what went into making their buying decision when they selected your company.

  • What information did they gather before making the decision to buy?
  • What were they looking for in a product/vendor?
  • Were there any risks they wanted to be sure to avoid?
  • Were there particular design considerations they needed help with?
  • Did location play a role?
  • What about customer service?

You know your business best.  Even if you are a new business, you know what goes into the decision to buy.  EDUCATE your customer about the product, service, or industry.  Speak in a voice the customer will understand.  Don’t sell to them – teach them what they need to know!!!

  • How do they select the right partner?
  • What should they know about the products?
  • What are the risks involved in the wrong decision?
  • Should they seek help for the design or layout that fits them best?

Small Bites

A drip campaign needs to take the buyer on a journey a little at a time.  Don’t try to jam too much into one communication.  Keep each communication short and support the message with links to videos or other content that will elaborate on the topic of the week or month.  You don’t need to communicate the entire topic in one e-mail.  Break it up into parts if the topic is too complicated for one communication.  Recap what you told them last time and build on it.  If there was supporting information, they should have watched or read, remind them it is there, especially if it is impactful.

Frequency

This is a delicate dance and will depend on how valuable your information is and the sales cycle for your product or service.  A general rule of thumb is if the average buyer’s journey is a short one you should communicate more frequently and less frequently for longer sales cycles.  You don’t want to overwhelm the customer forcing them to unsubscribe because then you have just defeated the purpose of the campaign.  Once again, you need to put yourself in the buyers’ shoes.  What is enough but not too much?  There is no one answer to the question of frequency.  The best way to determine this is to measure the success or the failure of the campaign.  If people are unsubscribing it is usually a good indication that the frequency is set wrong, or the content is just not engaging enough.  If you are using an automated tool like Mailchimp to run the campaign, there will be reporting to guide the way.  They will measure things like open rate and unsubscribe rates that will help you better understand how you are doing.

Writing skills

Not everyone can sit down a write a series of e-mails that are written well enough to keep an audience engaged and listening.  I am also certain that not everyone can do what you do for a living either, so don’t hesitate to get some help.  Don’t make the mistake however of having someone else write content for you when they don’t know your business or customer base.  You need to set the tone for the content. Direct anyone helping you as to where to go to find the information needed to guide customers toward selecting your company as their vendor of choice.  There are plenty of sites out there with freelance copy writers to help you create compelling content that you can break up into a drip campaign journey that will resonate with your potential customer base.  Here are a few sites that might help in the search for some help with copywriting.

Drip campaigns are a very effective way to stay in touch with your potential customer while they are on their buying journey.  Understanding what goes into their buying decision will not only help you make your drip campaign more effective; it will focus your marketing message and help tremendously in closing the final sale.  For help with drip campaigns reach out any time

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Marketing Massages and Customer Connections

Everyone knows customer connections are essential to the growth of your company but how many times a day are you presented with an advertisement that really gets your attention? If you are like most of us, getting your attention has become an increasingly difficult task.  Digital marketing experts estimate that most Americans are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 ads each day.  When I first read this, I was blown away and then I started to track it in my daily life.  To my astonishment, the number was right on the money.  Ads were everywhere, TV, radio, digital media, print media, on buildings, billboards, bus benches, shopping carts and on and on.

The crazy thing is most of these ads had no draw whatsoever for me.  Even when it was something I had real interest in I almost didn’t notice it was there.  The experts tell us that the average person needs to see an ad or website or landing page seven times before they will respond to it.  That’s a lot of marketing dollars, especially for a small business owner. So, what’s the plan for your business?

Market Dominating Position (MDP) – Unique Selling Proposition

First off – stop marketing a me-too message.  If your message to your customer base, is I do what they do only better you are wasting your money and you will only be able to compete on price.  That means lower revenue and less profit to grow with.  You need to find a unique selling proposition.  Something that will differentiate you from the other companies in your business sector.  What is it you do that separates you from your competitors?

Domino’s pizza (Domino’s Pizza) is a great example of this.  Dominos focused in on a specific segment of the market – college students.   Their need was to get something to eat anytime of the day and get it quickly.  30-minute delivery or it’s free!  This is a terrific example of an MDP.   Does Dominos make the best pizza?  Not by a longshot, but they sure sell a lot of them.

Another more relatable example is the Preschool that – guarantees your child will be reading at a second-grade level when they enter kindergarten.  Every parent wants their child to exceed in school and life beyond, so this message resonates with them when they see it.

When you can get inside the head of your potential customer by talking about the problem they have that they don’t want and offering the solution they want but don’t have, your marketing will get noticed.

When thinking about your messaging you need to do some research to determine what your customers are focused on when deciding to buy your product or service.  The best source for this information is the customers you already have.  Ask these questions to start.

  • What was it about our product or service that made our company stand apart from the competition?
  • What else might you have wanted to see as an added service?
  • What other than price was the motivating force behind your decision to use our service or product?
  • Was there any downside to the product or service?
  • How long were you considering making this purchase before pulling the trigger?

Your customers have the answers, you just need to talk to them until you uncover what it is that makes you unique and will separate you from the pack.  There are a lot of companies out there that sell pizza and most of them taste better than Dominos, but the results they have achieved are undeniable.   Domino’s market share has stayed between 49–54% from August 2019 to February 2020.  All by focusing in on a specific demographic with a specific need – Fast delivery!!

There is no reason you and your company cannot do the same thing with a little focus and some direction.  Create your own Market Dominating Position with our MDP workbook and video series (TEC Online Training).

Stop wasting marketing dollars on a message that does nothing to separate you from the other companies offering similar products or services.

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Turn Prospects into Customers!

Today I’d like to talk about how to turn prospects into customers.  While, your marketing is doing its job by generating leads, you need to be working on converting those prospects or leads into customers.  In most buying scenarios the buyer or customer is not ready to buy when they initially see your ad or visit your website.

The biggest fear of most new customers is the dreaded buyer’s remorse. They want to be sure their money is being well spent – They are getting the best deal!

In a recent study it was discovered that only 3% to 9% of customers are ready to buy when they are first introduced to you and your product.  In fact, it takes as many as 20 customer touches to close the deal.  Leads or prospects are only the start to the marketing process.  It is always good practice to measure the number of leads a particular marketing campaign produces.  This measures the effectiveness of the campaign.  This will not necessarily predict the number of customers that campaign will produce.

Your buyer is on a journey that leads them to their final decision point and beyond.  They move through this journey moving from Awareness, this is where your ad came in, to Consideration, the information the ad led them to, to the final Decision to buy.  It is critical that you understand that they may not act on their first visit so you must devise a way to keep your company front of mind without abusing the relationship you have now established.

Once a prospective customer becomes aware of your product or service, they require information to decide if your product or service is the best option – the best deal.  You now need to move into the nurturing stage of your marketing.  Establish trust and authority with your prospective client.  Telling them how great your product or service is won’t accomplish this goal.  They need the information to make the right decision confidently.

  • Capture their e-mail and place them in an informative Drip Campaign
  • Connect with them via social media
  • Send them a free gift or sample
  • Have them enroll in your newsletter program
  • Ask them to follow the company

The important thing to remember here is follow up and stay connected.  Give the prospect the information they need to move to the decision phase of the journey.  You need to answer the questions or objections that have been preventing them from making the purchase.  This is not a price thing, it’s a value and trust thing.  Don’t fall into the trap of the best price wins because you will limit your ability to separate yourself from your competitors on anything other than price.  Why are people willing to pay 2 or 3 times more for coffee at Starbucks?  Because Starbucks spent time educating their customers about coffee and separated themselves from there competitors by selling the coffee experience rather than the drink itself.

Stop selling to your prospects and start supplying them with the information they need to make an informed decision that they won’t regret. Follow up after the sale to be sure they are satisfied with the product or service.  This will show them that you want a relationship rather than a one-time purchase.

“By making it inviting, easy, informative, non-threatening, educational, inspiring and fun to do business with you, you’ll loft your company above the competition.” Jay Abraham

Need help with figuring out the best strategy for converting prospects into customers? Visit our website ( https://tec-coaching.com/ask-us/ )and ask the expert for free advice on your marketing approach.

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