For those of you that have seen the movie “Ray”, you might recall the scenes in which Ray Charles feels the wrist of young ladies he has been introduced to. Singer, musician Ray Charles was blind.
Today, we are all a bit blind when it comes to how we are doing relative to fundamental marketing goals, such as; Generating Awareness, Building Interest, Facilitating Trial Sales and Sustaining Repeat Sales.
So, like Ray, we are looking for “signals” from which we can design. But, how do we get those signals? In many cases there simply is no wrist from which to assess the situation, or even check for a pulse. Much has been written over the past several years about the unparalleled power customers now have, and it may seem to owners, executives and managers that are trying to grow businesses, that their desired audience is actually hiding and doesn’t want to reveal themselves.
Customers and members of a company’s desired audience are not the only ones with new powers. Desktop publishing, the internet, eMail, video and a variety of other new ways exist for companies to attempt to “connect” within a variety of venues relatively quickly and easily. But, which is the best?
Ultimately, like Ray, we need to design ways in which we can receive and interpret our own signals to develop a keen sense of how we are doing in our efforts. Within this, a constant effort to really understand your customer’s / desired audience’s concerns, and effectively address them is essential.
From this perspective, here are four ideas to help alleviate some of the dillemas produced by these new found powers; First, figure out “who” your desired audience is. Demographic profiles can be very helpful, and developing customer characterizations can be fun.
Then, spend some time discovering “what” this group, or groups care about. Sometimes it is easier to get this process going by listing what you, and your team know they don’t care about. It is also important here to understand economic drivers and value perceptions.
Follow this by doing some concept testing. Actually ask customers, and members of your desired audience what they think about your message. Include questions that relate to message style and platform. This doesn’t have to be fancy and expensive. You just need to have a few people you can trust, that fit the considered set(s), give you honest answers. You also need to use some common sense. For example, don’t start with your most important customers, and DO NOT SELL in this process. Instead listen, observe, and don’t extrapolate, or “stereotype” what you hear. Most importantly note what people “do”, as this is often different from what they say.
Finally, based on the responses, move the message components; positioning, look, feel, tone and manner, or change the audience demographics until things begin to resonate with what you think is a large enough transaction pool (actual purchasers) to make your financial pro forma work.
Sound daunting? It is a bit of work, but well worth it, and perhaps important to remember that Thomas Edison didn’t invent the carbon filament light bulb on his first try. Instead, he simply designed a way to continue development and assess directional improvements that ultimately led to success.
Is marketing science or art? It is a topic that every entrepreneur or business is interested in and always seeking to improve. I like your ideas in terms of really finding your demographic. A lot of food for though.
Hi Tom;
Re: “Is marketing science or art?”, I would offer that it is a bit of both!
Unfortunately, what seems to permeate the media is fairy-tale-like stories of success that don’t include the background work, and planning that almost always was / is a critical factor.
Thanks for your interest and comment !!
Cheers,
David
As to me very obscure article! Nothing is given in particular!
Hi Andrey;
I think I see what you mean, thank you?!
I’ve departed from my normal, bulleted style here, in an attempt to group related “to do” & “not to do” concepts into four main paragraphs. Perhaps, I’ve made it a bit hard to follow?
For more detail, may I suggest David Aaker’s “Building Strong Brands”? He tends to lay things out in a very detailed manner with a fair amount of visual diagrams.
HTH,
David
Hi David,
You hit the nail on the head.
* Know your audience.
* Know what’s driving them nuts.
* Make your message be a solution to their biggest problem.
The biggest barrier for most small businesses?
They think they’re too “busy” to ask their prospects and customers these ultra-key questions.
Or worse, the ** think ** they already have the answers.
Thanks for raising awareness of this issue that many small business owners completely miss the point on.
Best regards,
Joshua Feinberg
I think the points you make here on finding these signals are great, and should be a part of any well-thought-out marketing plan. Hopefully the first thing you do as a marketing expert in a company is find out who your best customers are and learn what they want and how they want it. Good listening and research skills are the only way really come to understand how to be a better marketer. Would you agree?
I do agree with Joshua on this, you definitely hit the nail on the head. I have an unbelievable amount of clients who have never really taken the time to identify their core audience. Some of these clients are large corporations too! It’s surprising how many people feel they can acquire the masses… or that they can simply market to everyone and gain the few who are interested in whatever it is that they are selling.
Hi Joshua;
You raise an interesting point, which Ed highlighted in his “Graphic Design is the worst brand…” article, and that is the distinct differences between; “thinking”, “knowing”, and being “masterful at doing”.
Appreciate your comments, thank YOU !!
David
Hello Manizesto;
I love that name!
My apologies, I’d previously commented, but now see that thru some technical magic it disappeared !?
Agreed. And, may I offer that by including internal constituents in such an exploration that one can “see” gaps and inconsistencies, which might lead to either some real business development breakthrough(s), or the need to find another gig as quickly as possible ?!!
Cheers,
David
Hi Terra;
Appreciate your comments, thank YOU, it looks like you have some wonderful opportunities to make some valuable offers !!!
Best,
David
David,
You are right! Market research can be exciting and invigorating, or it can be a harsh dose of reality. What’s important is that you use it to make sound business decisions.