Meet The People
At this very moment people are looking for a product or service like yours. But are they thinking
of you? Do they know that what you have to offer is their best choice?
Whether you’re new in business or have been at it for years, whether you have a microbusiness or a spot in the Fortune 500, it’s easy to lose touch with your customer. You can be preoccupied with other demands of business, competition can show up out of nowhere, technological developments can cause you to suddenly have to make major changes.
Everyone needs to ask, “Who is my customer now? What does my customer need?
And where is the customer looking to have those needs met?”
So the first order of business is to determine your target audience now. Not yesterday. Today, and tomorrow. Who are the people most interested in what you have to offer?
That’s the subject of the initial session. We consider what’s most important to you about what you do, who is most likely to think what you have to offer is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and which aspects of what you offer are most important to those on the receiving end of it.
With that accomplished, it’s time to take a look at how to reach those customers.
What Has Your Marketing Done For You
(And Your Customer) Lately?
There’s no shortage of spiffy doo-dah things you can do in the way of marketing. But all marketing is not created equal. As Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerrilla Marketing fame observed, “There are two kinds of marketing: inexpensive marketing and expensive marketing. Inexpensive marketing is marketing that works.”
So, how well does your marketing work? Come in for a Marketing Vehicle WorkupTM
to find out. This is like a checkup at the doctor, only here we’re assessing the health of your marketing efforts. Bring those ads, business cards, postcards, web copy, brochures, blog and Facebook posts, and Twitter feed—anything you’ve been using to try to connect with your customer. We’ll review what’s been working well for you (and how to get even better results), what’s not worked as well (and what to do about it), and consider vehicles to add to the mix for more marketing firepower.
Some people call the Marketing Vehicle Workup “the cure for ‘seminaritis’–a common affliction resulting from reading half a marketing book or taking a class or two or, say, trying about three of the “30 Days to Better Marketing!” program your friend found online. (Not to worry: a. We’ve all done it; and b. You’re here now.)
Spoiler alert: Among the vehicles we discuss in the Marketing Vehicle Workup are networking, cold calling, and public speaking.
“But Our Work Speaks for Itself.”
Even if that were true (and last we checked, most products and services don’t talk),
a. Maybe your competitors’ products and services can do that, too; and b. Why deprive your customer of the opportunity to talk about your work with someone who knows as much about is as you do? There’s a reason so many people tell their friends about “Born to Schmooze!TM training.
Time For A Marketing Makeover?
Someone wise once observed that people in business get tired of their marketing material long before their customer does. So the first question we need to ask is,
“Who is tired of the material, you or your customer?”
If the answer is you, hang in there. But if it’s your customer that’s been stifling a yawn, come in for a Marketing Makeover.
Remember, the Marketing Vehicle Workup is for purposes of assessing your current marketing efforts–what works, and what doesn’t. The Marketing Makeover is called for when it’s time to redo your marketing. It’s a bit like those makeovers you see on TV, only here we are refocusing, retooling all your marketing material so it feels fresh and up-to-date and speaks directly to your best customers. We provide the writing and work with top designers, illustrators, photographers, printers, web professionals—whatever you need, we’ve got it covered.
