The Straight Truth
Everybody wants to know how to “get” a customer to want what they’re selling. How to “make” them buy. I hear it all the time from clients, and I have a simple answer:
You can’t.
That’s right, you can’t get someone to want what you sell. Because you can’t change what the customer wants, and you sure can’t change what he or she needs—not with a marketing budget the size of China.
What can you do?
When I work with clients on increasing sales we focus on one or more of these three goals. Which one would move your sales needle fastest?
- You can get your message to a customer who didn’t know that you sell it, and who’s been looking for a new provider. Market smarter.
- You can get your message to a customer who had no idea the product or service existed, but has been looking to solve the problem that you solve. Market louder, and clearer.
- You can tap into a need or a want (problem) that the customer already has, and alter your offering (solution) to meet that need. Give the people what they want!
It all boils down to: Get your message to the Ideal Customer, the person who already does want what you (plan to) sell, and who wants it right now.
Don’t waste your time trying to “get” people who don’t need or want what your company sells, to change their feelings suddenly. Do your research, and plan ahead rather than shouting in the wrong direction. Find the people who do need it or want it, and change their buying behavior instead.
If your sales are not where you’d like them to be, take a few minutes to think about this today: Are you trying to get people to buy what they want from you, or to want what you’re selling to them?
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
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14 May 2010, 6:20 am
My rallying cry to all entrepreneurs out there is to please try to “Serve the Underserved!” Try to look at target marketing in a different sort of way. Instead of taking your product or service and trying to find a target market to buy your product or service, we should sometimes first do a lot of research and testing to determine what group of people are underserved in this vast world of ours and then look at the services and products in our own arsenal and attempt to DEVELOP something that this group really needs or wants to buy. This philosophy seems like a no-brainer to me. This is exactly what APPLE does all the time, ESPN did, 24 hour headline news did, even what McDonald’s did.
Just what do consumers and business people really want now that they don’t have? What do stressed-out families want now that they don’t have? What do entrepreneurs really need from us to really take that business of theirs to that next great level?
Maybe this sort of thinking will help us entrepreneurs figure out why our marketing efforts mainly fail. Research and analysis of the marketplace are key and are often brushed aside by us because of the cost and time required. We must be patient and not rush to put out marketing campaigns which look good on paper, but often lack real testing and second opinions from peers and professionals and just plain old consumers. Let’s really take the time to do our homework instead of just jumping in and forcing our own services and products down everyone’s throats.
14 May 2010, 7:18 am
Earl,
Yes, agreed. Nothing beats good ol’ homework. Saves time, money, and heartache—a powerful combo for the small businessperson.
Regards,
Kelly
2 June 2010, 9:05 am
The secret is in the last line of your post which I usually paraphrase like this.
In a transaction, you are not selling, the customer is buying.
Steven Di Pietro´s latest blog… Trying is not good enough – what we can learn from Yoda
3 June 2010, 8:44 am
Steven,
Absolutely. If you are “selling,” you’re seeing it all wrong.
Until later,
Kelly