The Best Marketing Advice I’ve Ever Received (And Will Give!)
After working with dozens of small business owners and entrepreneurs, there is one piece of advice that seems to resonate with everyone - no matter the industry. If you are a business owner and you sell a product or service, listen up!
Every strategist, copywriter, or marketing guru will tell you that understanding your customer is the most important thing you can know about your business. After all, your customer or audience is the person who will purchase the thing you are selling. So, knowing who they are - and how to reach them - is pretty damn important.
But just because you think you know what they want, doesn't mean you stop there.
What if you’ve created your entire strategy based on an incorrect belief?
What if you don’t actually know what they want?
Don’t panic! Here’s an example to help clarify what I mean.
Take the auto industry, for instance. You can’t drive or walk down a busy street (especially in New York!) without seeing at least two auto repair facilities. It’s a super saturated and competitive market because cars are a necessity. Who hasn’t got into a little fender bender or needed to get their brakes repaired?
But, as the owner of a repair facility, it’s not enough to just think that your customers want to fix their cars. I mean, sure. That’s probably one of their priorities. So when it comes to your website or social channels, you’ll probably say things like “QUICK REPAIR SERVICE” or “HIGH-QUALITY REPAIRS.” And you’ll flex by putting before and after photos on your website that serve as testimonials. Awesome, right? Sure!
But if you think about the process and emotion behind finding (and actually choosing) a facility, that changes things a bit.
Emotion-focused brand messaging matters
What I mean is this - what if your ideal customer isn’t just looking for the quickest way to get their car fixed? What if they are super untrusting of auto repair facilities and are looking for a specific one that can make them feel comfortable? One that they can trust.
Suddenly, your entire messaging around being a “quick repair service” seems to not be the perfect strategy after all, huh? There’s no good feeling around it. There’s nothing welcoming about it. And “quick” can sometimes come off as “lazy.”
That business owner will need to strategize in order to showcase they are a facility that someone should actually trust with their vehicle. So maybe they’ll show friendly photos of the technicians who will work on your car. Or showcase how much expertise they have or about how much they care about the quality of the service.
Now you see the difference, right?!
My best advice is this:
It’s not about what you THINK you’re client or customer wants. It’s about solving their ACTUAL problem.
Once you do that - and position your entire strategy around it - you’ll see a big difference in your sales.
If you have questions about this or want to chime in, leave a comment below! If you think your own strategy could use some help after reading this, click here to get started working with me!
Until next time,
Danielle Cruz
