The old adage of “Timing is
Everything” applies to one of the most basic marketing principles.
An effective marketing
strategy is all about bringing the right message to the right person
at the right time! That sounds so simple and yet a lack of customer
understanding is the reason most marketing programs fail.
So what can you do to
improve the results of any marketing program and maximize your investment?
Careful planning should be
at the top of the list!
Before you begin you must
be able to answer these three important questions. If you cannot answer
these questions, then you need to do more homework.
Question One: Who are my customers?
Question Two: What do they need?
Question Three: What is the solution that I'm offering to my
customers?
Unfortunately the word
"solution" has been overused in marketing. By definition, solution is an
answer, explanation or resolution. All of these require a question, problem
or need.
So, you can't promote your
products or services as solutions if they're not solving any real problems,
needs or answering any questions for your customers.
It’s imperative that you
understand how your customers perceive the value of your products or services
if you want your marketing investment to pay off.
Here are some additional
points for you to ponder and questions to answer to help you more clearly
“Know Your Customer!”
< Find out who your
customers are. What are their needs? What are they looking for?
< Profile your customers by
their occupation, income and age. Different groups tend to buy for different
reasons.
< Do you know (not think
you know) the reasons your customers buy from you? Is it your service, your
price, convenience, quality, dependability, hours, uniqueness, competence or
your availability?
< Do you know what your USP
is? Your Unique Selling Position. Can you clearly and easily explain to
anyone what makes you better and different than your competition?
< Can you step into your
customers’ shoes and identify the benefits of your products or services?
Remember to do this from the customer’s point of view!
< Does your staff
understand that customer service is marketing!
< Do you have a system to
keep track of who your customers are and the qualities of service that are
most important to them?
< Are you measuring your
results? When a customer calls and inquires about a product or service, does
your staff ask them how they heard about that product or service? Do you have
a way to measure your marketing investment to know whether or not it generated
any results? And if so, what were they?
Remember . . . if you
can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!
MEASURE-X
6227 North 15th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85014
888-644-5499
www.measure-x.com
The Customer Service Training Experts!
