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• Take a Moment and Wear Your Customers Shoes - The Consumption Chain

  Posted by Rich Garling

  

  Rich Garling

  Rich Garling has been helping clients and customers develop sales and marketing

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   Finding opportunities for business growth starts out with a need to know and ends with a final disposition of your product/service.

   

  The question is: Where and when does the customer think about your product? Many a client gives me a puzzled look when I ask them to describe when a customer first realizes they have need for what they're selling. Many answer that they first think about it when the need arises. That is partially true depending on the need or the problem, but certainly not a complete answer.

   

  And, as I tell our clients, without a need or a problem, you simply do not have a sale. Solve the problem or fill the need and you have a customer for life.

   

  So the question remains: Where and when does the customer first think about? At what points in the chain can you offer unique services to your prospect that will change them into a buyer? When I initially asked customers that question, they have no clue. Oh sure, they would come up with the fairly obvious answers like the one given above.

   OK, so when is that…exactly?

   The look given back is similar to a deer in the headlights. They’re perplexed because they thought they had given me the answer already. The reality is not really. If it was that simple, we would all be making more money then we could possibly handle.

   I like to use an example of when do you first realize that you need a plumber. A plumber is not someone you think about until you really have a problem. Yeah, there are other things a plumber does like install a whole new bathroom for you (you know, new shower, new vanity, etc). But, generally you don’t think about the plumber until you really really need him.

   So precisely when does that happen?

   I can best describe that moment with a story of what happened to me many years ago. I was in the bedroom folding laundry (yes, I do many things, of which folding laundry is one) when my 5 year old niece comes running into the bedroom yelling at the top of her very young lungs “Uncle Richard, Uncle Richard, Uncle Richard (ever notice how kids say things multiple times in a row?), there is water coming out of the toilet!

   So, put yourself in this position and answer this question…what precisely would be your first thought at that moment?

   Now, you and I both know it would not be “I have to call a plumber”. Why in the world would you call a plumber, especially since the only information you have is that a 5 year old little girl is screaming at the top of her lungs that there is water coming out from the toilet?

   As a business owner, when answering these questions along the consumption chain, you need to be realistic in guessing what one would be thinking at any given moment. Remember, it’s what they’re thinking, not what you’re thinking.

   The first thing I’m going to do is to think…”What the heck is she screaming about?” Once I have her calmed down enough to understand her, my next move is to go into the bathroom to see what she is talking about. After all, it could be she plugged up the toilet and it’s a simple matter to unplug it.

   OK, perhaps you’re getting the idea here is that you want to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer of your product/service at every possible moment to determine what their thoughts may be at that time. So, ask yourself…”is this a moment I could be addressing my potential customer with marketing that shows how my product/service can help them with a problem or a need?”

   When I walked into the bathroom I discovered that there was water coming out from underneath the vanity.

   Now, what am I thinking about at this moment?

   Well, I’m not thinking about a plumber. Why would I? At this point I’m going to be trying to figure out where the water is coming from. My immediate thought is that I have to stop the water from leaking, immediately. So I’m looking under the vanity to see if it’s coming from there and if I can shut the water off from there.

   I managed to successfully shut the water off.

   So what am I thinking at that moment?

   No, I’m not thinking about the plumber yet.

   Now I have water all over my floor and my brothers kids want to play in it. I need to clean this mess up before it starts to leak through the floor boards and the kids are all a mess.

   Once I got the mess cleaned up is probably the first moment I would think about the plumber. I have a moment in which to assess the situation and I know I need to get it fixed. I also know that I know enough about plumbing to know I don’t want to do it.

   So how does the plumber get into my head? Now that you have identified a potential marketing moment you can begin to answer that question. And there are many ways in which to position you in the mind of the consumer. But now that you have identified a moment, you can address it with the proper type of content.

   With each business, identifying those moments along the consumption chain will be different. Once you have that moment of awareness the next question to answer is: “How do customers identify alternative solutions? Why would they pick one solution over another?” and a myriad of other questions, each related to the moment that you identify as being a potential marketing moment. Answering these questions helps you to develop content that delivers an answer to the consumer.

   As you go through the presentation you will see other instances where you could position yourself in the consumers mind and capture their businesses. Be truthful, be thorough. It can only help benefit you in the long run.

   I hope that the plumber story gives you an idea on how to use the information contained in the workshop presentation. I want to give thanks to my good friend Dave Verbeten of Action Coach for his help in how the consumption chain works.

  Feb 23 Tags: Articles, consumption chain, Internet Marketing, web development

• Blogging Brings Traffic to Your Doorstep

  Posted by Rich Garling

  

  Rich Garling

  Rich Garling has been helping clients and customers develop sales and marketing

  User is currently offline

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  It's been shown that there are over 250 million active blogs on the Internet today. So the question is "How do I get my blog seen?" In this presentation we show you some of the basics of blogging as well as how to get it noticed in the blogosphere.

  Feb 16 Tags: Articles, Social Media, Strategic marketing

• How to Find Your Target Market Online

  Posted by Rich Garling

  

  Rich Garling

  Rich Garling has been helping clients and customers develop sales and marketing

  User is currently offline

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  Finding your target market online takes a little bit of work, creativity and perhaps a bit of ingenuity. You really need to be aware of your market, your product and its usage. With that in mind Yellowbird Marketing shows you in this next seminar how to find your target market online.

  Feb 16 Tags: Internet Marketing, SEO, Strategic marketing

• All your Customer is asking is: "Give me a reason to buy from you and not the other guy"

  Posted by Rich Garling

  

  Rich Garling

  Rich Garling has been helping clients and customers develop sales and marketing

  User is currently offline

  - 0 Comments

  
  

  
  

  Perhaps you need to create a sustainable competitive advantage.

  You have probably wondered why it is taking so much effort to sell this one particular customer, or perhaps you're wondering why it takes so much to sell any of your potential clients.

  Perhaps the biggest reason is that you're not answering the one question all customers have on their minds when you ask them to buy...

  Why should I buy from you and not the other guy?

  And in order to be able to answer that question you have to create a competitive advantage over your competition. A competitive advantage exists when your company is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a lower cost (cost advantage), or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products (differentiation advantage). Thus, a competitive advantage enables the firm to create superior value for its customers and superior profits for itself.

  And to gain that competitive advantage requires that systems be set in place. One of these systems is marketing.

  How does marketing fit in?

  Traditional marketing theory talks about the “Four P’s”: Product, Place, Price and Promotion. All marketing campaigns use a mix of these ingredients to build customer awareness and loyalty. Differentiation is a key goal of any good marketing program. The Four P’s are sometimes referred to as the Four C’s: Capability, Convenience, Cost and Communication.
  
  How do we use this framework to differentiate our product or service?

  The Unique Selling Proposition

  A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a promise to deliver a unique product or service, or deliver it in a unique way. The USP often derives from the Sustainable Competitive Advantage, but not always.

  Your USP = your brand

  There is no one approach to creating a USP, but what you choose to do must be honest. Start by analyzing your personality, capabilities and goals. Do not create a USP based on superior service if you are not 100% committed to that in your DNA. Do not create a USP based on low price unless you can sustain those prices through low-cost sourcing or low overhead.

  Be unique through personality

  No one can duplicate you. That's right, only you can be you. So let folks see the real you in  the content you share with others about what it is you do. Let the customer see the product/service you sell the way you see it.

  Be unique by combining old ideas

  You don’t have to invent something new, but you can find a new spin on a familiar product or service.
  
  Be unique by narrowing your focus

  Choose your target audience and cater to them exclusively.

  Be clear, concise and repetitive

  Simple messages resonate because they are quickly understood in the clutter of daily life. Consumers do not have more than a few seconds to decide whether your message is important to them. A great USP can often become a great slogan.

  Here are some examples of USP's that give you an idea of what we mean. Note how each of these USP's spells out precisely why they're unique and how they aim that message to address a need or solve a problem.

  • The Greatest Show on Earth
  • Is it live, or is it Memorex?
  • When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight
  • The ultimate driving machine
  • We're Number Two. We Try Harder.

  A copy of the workshop is available for downloading at
  
  

  Feb 16 Tags: Untagged

• News From the Treetops 1/19/2012

  Posted by Rich Garling

  

  Rich Garling

  Rich Garling has been helping clients and customers develop sales and marketing

  User is currently offline

  - 0 Comments

   

  A New Power Hits Washington

  Washington’s old guard of media lobbyists — including the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Recording Industry Association of America and the motion picture lobby — was forced to make way for the new on Wednesday as Web powerhouses backed by Internet activists rallied opposition to anti-piracy legislation.

   

  Whose Protest was Stronger, Googles or Wikipedia?

  Should Google of closed the number one site for the day as Wikipedia (number 6) did?

   

  U.S. online ad spending to increase by 23% in 2012

  Total spending closing in on $40 billion.  $$$

  Nine things you didn't know about Twitter

  Look closely because there is more to Twitter then meets the eye.

   

  Facebook Announces Tighter Integration of 60 Apps to timeline, more a coming...

  Facebook is making it so we can choose which apps will appear in our timelines.

   

    Young, in love and Sharing Passwords

  Teenagers sharing passwords with each get life lessons when the relationship turns south.

  Jan 19 Tags: Facebook, Google, Legislation, SOPA, Wikipedia
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