We've all heard the quote from the Greek philosopher Epictetus, "we were born with two ears and one mouth, so we can listen twice as much as we speak."
I doubt Epictetus was a marketing consultant, but it is not a stretch to apply his wisdom to our efforts. Marketers have a tendency to "talk" a lot. After all, we have a lot to say. We have features to point out. Benefits to reference. Special pricing to announce. Nothing wrong with any of that.
But we also need to listen.
How do we listen to our marketplace? Try some of these on for size:
Client satisfaction survey
Client needs assessments
Attend industry trade shows
Monitor blogs for mentions of your company and your competitors
Read trade publications
The old-fashioned suggestion box
Google yourself/company
Along with those effective methods, there are also more direct and immediate ways to actively listen. After you've completed a project or delivered your product, why not just pick up the phone and call? Ask for their impressions. Find out if you surprised them in any way (good or bad) and what they expected the experience or product usage to be like.
Imagine how you would feel if you received that kind of call. Appreciated? Special? Is that the kind of call you're likely to talk about? You bet.
A word of caution. Do not try to sell anything during this call. This is about listening, remember?
If you commit to listening more, you will glean insights that change the way you do business and you'll see a spike in sales as a result. Guaranteed.
In the day, TV spots were sexy and everyone had to have one. Websites were the rage. Now it's social media. Are they good marketing tactics. You bet. And..equally so, good God no.
Marketing is not a one size fits all gig. Lots of agencies might love to sell you their cookie cutter solution but the fact of the matter is…. there's no marketing magic bullet.
It's a custom-designed suit sort of effort. Because no two organizations are built the same.
Every business wants to generate new business. That’s the commonality. But that’s just about all that’s the same.
Some sell high-ticket or very specialized items and services. They only need a handful of new clients to meet their goals. If you sell software for $200,000, you probably don't need too many sales to have a good year. Or, if your commission on a $75,000 sale is $35,000 — again, you don't need to make a sale a day.
Others are all about volume. When you sell Coke, you need to sell lots of bottles every day. They have a large ability to deliver quantities of their offerings and they want the pipeline full.
This is where the “one size fits all” marketing theories fall apart.
The high-ticket/specialty client can and should spend more money per client acquisition. Their efforts need to be about honing in on exactly the right prospects. They are likely to spend more money on profiling prospects to make sure they don’t waste a lot of time talking to buyers who have no interest or no ability to buy their wares.
Once they’ve identified “the who” they can get down to telling their story. Because the numbers are small, the marketing tactics that most often make sense for them are ones that allow them to speak directly to those potential buyers and no one else. Direct mail, opt-in e-zines, topic specific blogs, niche newspapers or TV shows and peer-to-peer referrals may all be effective options. Think GPS guided missile. Very focused. Little chance of waste.
On the flip side, the volume-focused business wants to reach a much wider audience. They’re willing to catch a few undesirables in their net, as long as they can harvest a lot of prospects all at once. Because a wider group of people fit their target parameters, they don’t need to invest in a lot of prospect profiling.
They’re looking for a wide reach and frequency to encourage that initial trial. Tactics that might fit the bill for these marketers include couponing, mass media (newspaper, radio, TV, outdoor) advertising, product placement and sampling. Think shotgun. Lots of pellets, so the odds of hitting several somethings is pretty good.
So here are a few questions to ask yourself as you think about how to design your custom suit:
Assuming we maintain our current base of business (or assume 15% loss, etc) — how many new sales would we need to generate to hit our gross sales goals for the year?
Out of 100 people/businesses (depending on what you sell) — how many would be a good fit for us?
What's our sales cycle? Do people think about it for months or a minute?
How many new customers could we handle/service/support?
Can a marketing tool (blog, website, brochure, ad) sell our offering without much human intervention or do we require lots of explanation, demo, Q&A, etc.?
Don't get seduced by today's hottest trend. And don't get caught up in the print is dead, TV is dead, XYZ is dead movement. The truth is…the magic bullet is knowing who you are, who your best customers are and how to best talk to them. Even if that solution isn't the shiny new thing.
As you are looking at your product or service and identifying those elements that make it unique (you are doing that, right?) remember that sometimes what makes it unique is not an inherently good thing.
Which isn't a bad thing.
Confused?
Take original flavored Listerine.
One of the things that made it completely unique was its disgusting taste. Instead of explaining it away or ignoring it – they took the bad and made it good.
It tasted bad because it was powerful enough to kill the germs. Their bad became their point of distinction. Their bad became what made it so good.
Look at your product or service a bit differently. What's bad about it? Are you slow? Expensive? Complicated? How can you use that attribute to your advantage?
I don't do this very often, but sometimes I come across blog posts or articles that I think are truly worthy of asking you to take five minutes and read.
You'll find this trio is a very eclectic mix from thought-provoking to down and dirty practical.
While only the blogging post is "directly" related to marketing or branding — I will gladly argue that all three articles cut to the core of our work and the life we get to have because of that work.
Which creative treatment would catch your attention?
Check out these two videos for Quattro for Women, with the bikini area trimmer. The first one is pretty much how you'd think they would introduce the new product. It's about 90 seconds long so I am guessing they trimmed it down for a TV spot are using the longer form on their website. The second….well, it's not what I would have expected. (Feed readers and e-mail subscribers, please click here to view videos.)
So what do you think? One is incredibly safe…the other, not so much. But, which one do you think will actually sell more razors?
Drew's Note:As I try to do every Friday, I'm pleased to bring you a guest post. Meet another thought leader who shares his insights via the blogosphere. So without further ado…Steve McKee. Again. Enjoy!
The economy stinks. Everyone knows it.
A recent survey commissioned by American Express says that 59% of corporate CFOs expect their revenue to either be flat or go backwards in 2009. Meeting a company leader who actually expects his or her organization to grow this year is the exception, not the rule.
As such, it’s safe to say we’re all struggling with the economic tsunami swirling around us. And we’re all wondering what to do about it. I’d like to suggest one big question for each of us to consider.
In my book, When Growth Stalls, I characterize external, uncontrollable events such as the current recession as “market tectonics.” Just as plate tectonics determine when and where the ground is going to shake (from which nobody is exempt—an important point), market tectonics are events with which every company in this interconnected economy must deal. Nobody gets a pass.
So here’s the question: is your branding and marketing effort strong enough to withstand the tremors, or has the economic earthquake spawned by the financial crisis revealed fissures in your marketing foundation?
If the former, your task is to do the best you can to ride things out—conserving cash without cutting off the fuel to your economic engine. It’s an art, but it’s manageable. If the latter, your task is somewhat more difficult. But you may look back on this time as a key turning point in your company’s history.
Sometimes difficult events end up becoming the biggest blessings.
While all of your competitors hunker down to ride things out, you can use this time to rethink your value equation. It may be that it’s off by just a few degrees, or it may be that you need to make wholesale changes.
But just as when the yellow caution flag comes out on a racetrack it allows the cars in the back to catch up with those in front, this period of economic recession may give you the time—not to mention the kick in the pants—to strengthen your brand proposition.
Steve McKee is president and founding partner of McKee Wallwork Cleveland, an award-winning marketing firm that helps companies get and stay on the growth curve. He writes a monthly column for BusinessWeek.com and speak to a variety of organizations and corporations on the topic of stalled growth and how to turn it around.
It's sales 101. Listen. Ask questions. Listen some more. But we all know that in most selling situations, it's hard to shut up. You have so much to say. You're so good at your job. Your case study is so compelling.
So you just talk, and talk and talk some more.
Long time readers of this blog know I have an incredible respect for the smarts found at RainToday.com. Excellent articles, time-worthy webinars and insightful research and reports. In their recent benchmark report, How Clients Buy 2009, there's lots to chew on. You can download an excerpt of the report here: http://www.raintoday.com/HCBexcerpt.cfm.
But here's the chart and summary that really stopped me cold.
According to the report: “Service provider did not listen to me” is the most widely experienced problem faced by 38% of professional services buyers. Additionally, 55% of buyers said they would be “much more likely” to consider hiring the provider if they listened better.
Holy cow. Everyone is in a panic about how to get more sales and there's the answer right in front of us. Shut up. Listen.
And it you add up the didn't listen and the talked too much….that's 63%. 2/3rds of your sales calls are being wasted because you talk too much.
One of the uncomfortable truths that social media is hoisting upon us is that the clear separation between our personal and professional lives that most of our parents enjoyed during their careers is now nothing more than an illusion, if we even try to keep up the facade.
When I look at my Facebook updates, my Tweets and even my LinkedIn account (not to mention all the other social media hot spots) I see a blend of my old high school friends, my family, my marketing peers and MMG clients.
So when I tweet about my never-ending cough or my daughter's latest role in the school play…my clients see it. And when I have my most recent blog post or a link to a marketing article appear on my Facebook newsfeed…my high school friend the chef sees it. There's no way to keep the two apart.
For me, because I own my agency, that reality is pretty comfortable. I'm mindful of it, but it doesn't change all that much for me. After all, people are going to associate me, Drew, with McLellan Marketing Group no matter what.
But here's what I am wondering. If you are employed by someone else — do they in essence own a part of your social media persona? Aren't you (despite any disclaimer language) representing your employer just as much as you the person when you tweet, blog or update a status?
Does your boss want you posting weekend party pictures to your Flickr account?
Should you be playing "Pimp Fight" on Facebook when you know that some of your friends are also "friends" of your company?
Do your blog posts (again, regardless of the disclaimer) reflect on your boss or company as much as on you?
When you drop an F bomb in a Tweet, do you think your boss has the right to wince?
What do you think?
Do you think employee manuals of the future will have "social media guidelines?" Do you think your boss has a right to censor your social media activity? Do you think you have an obligation to do so?
Let’s face it, stories about shoddy service, a product that flopped or a clerk who was the epitome of rude make much better stories than when things go well. It's basic human nature.
When was the last time you heard about good hospital food? I rest my case!
We all know the power of word of mouth advertising, but what do you do when your customers are telling stories you’d rather not have seep beyond your door?
The best defense is to clearly communicate that your business wants to hear when things don’t go according to plan. Let them tell you, rather than 137 of their closest friends.
Offer satisfaction guarantees.
Always ask, at the end of a transaction, if the client is happy with the results.
Do follow up contacts, by phone or mail to verify that the customer is still satisfied.
Point blank ask if they would refer you to their friends or colleagues.
Of course, you can do all of those things, but if you don’t actually listen and respond to concerns and complaints – don’t add insult to injury by asking. That just makes for a better story.
Look around your business. Check your invoices and receipts. Re-read your “welcome” letters or official business literature. If you were a brand new client – would you immediately recognize that your business was open to hearing complaints?
Take steps today to make your business one that encourages grumbling, grousing, complaining and whining.
Not only will you stop the viral spreading of the bad story but you’ll probably improve the buying experience for all your customers and generate more of that good word of mouth you’re hoping for!
How do you currently ask for feedback? What's the most creative/compelling tactic for getting feedback that you've experienced?
One of the by-products of a struggling economy and wide spread layoffs is the inevitable birth of many new consultants and budding entrepreneurs. For some, it's a natural evolution and wise choice. For others, it's the lesser of the evils and usually ends when the new full time job is secured.
I think the key question that is often skipped in this evolution is "do I WANT to be an entrepreneur?" And of course the follow up questions — do I have what it takes? Will I be good at it? Will I like it? Do I have the stomach and risk tolerance for it?
Here's the truth about being an entrepreneur:
"Entrepreneurship is not a career. It is a way of life."
There are two books that have recently been published that will help anyone of the edge of this important decision.
The first book, aptly titled "So you want to be an entrepreneur?" is by Jon Gillespie-Brown. Jon's book is part mentoring lessons and part workbook, with lots of great exercises that will really help you examine and plan your life based on your passions, ambitions and ultimate visions.
By actively taking part in each of the exercises, you give yourself the best chance of succeeding as an entrepreneur, or the sufficient clarity to decide what other career options are best suited to you.
The book is uplifting and celebrates the truth about being an entrepreneur — the good, bad and the ugly.
All the proceeds of this book are being donated to the Grameen Foundation, which does some amazing work.
The second book you should spend some time with is Sramana Mitra's Entrepreneur Journeys. Mitra interviews a dozen innovative entrepreneurs and focuses the conversations on five core topics:
Bootstrapping
Taking on giants
Disrupting business models
Addressing unmet market needs
Tackling planet scale problems
The interviews are very intimate and frank. There's no sugar-coating or sidestepping the tough issues in this book. I was surprised at how open the entrepreneurs were and how freely their exposed their pain and failures, along with their successes.
The interviewees weren't the standard company or people we hear about everywhere else. So the stories and examples were not only relevant but also fresh.
Both books were enjoyable and fast reads. You'll want to read through Gillespie-Brown's once and then go back and work your way through the exercises. And you'll probably want to re-visit Mitra's if you decide to bite off entrepreneurship and find yourself taking on a giant or doing a little bootstrapping.
Even if you have no intention of hanging out your own shingle…the lessons in the books are good for anyone engaged in leading a business.
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