I thought I’d start with this quote:
“Just when I found out the meaning of life
they changed it!”
George Carlin
This sounds a bit like marketing! Just when we seem to get our heads around what to do and when to do it, the market changes. It’s incredibly inconsiderate and costly, not only from a financial perspective but from a time and resources one as well.
Why can’t people remain loyal and committed? Why don’t customers stop asking such inane questions and just pull out their wallets and part with some of that lovely folding stuff!
Well, I guess it has something to do with the times we live in. Customers get inundated from every which way to buy this, try that, switch to the other – how do they decide what to spend their money on? And, more importantly, how can you ensure it is you that they decide to support?
It’s a growing dilemma and the only thing that is certain is that change is guaranteed and here to stay.
There are a number of different takes on what to do when times are tough and the dilemma has different “takes” for different types of people. Let’s visit some of them:
The Accountants Take:
“Our expenses outweigh our income, we must cut expenses”
The Production Take:
“Our widgets aren’t selling, we must make more so we can reduce the costs & discount”
The Sales Take:
“Our current customers aren’t buying as much; we must get out there and find more customers”
The Administrative Take:
“Man this place is heating up, nerves are frayed and we better look busy and stay below the radar – cause heads could fly if things don’t change”
Yes, this is meant slightly tongue in cheek but there’s some truth in the generalizations. Now of course I’m going to give the marketing perception, because if I didn’t you’d be disappointed!
The Marketing Take:
“Times are tough and we don’t seem to understand our market and their changing needs well enough, let’s get out there and listen to what they have to say and then adjust our systems and structures to give them what they’re asking for!”
The key is to ask the right questions and the answers will reveal themselves. Find out why people buy your product/service, when, what need does it fulfill, what emotional state are they in when they purchase, what leads them to decide they want/need what you have to offer, if/how they influence other people to buy, what happens after they’ve purchased (can you build ongoing/repeat business), determine who uses your product/service vs who the decision-maker is, and who initiates the purchase vs who can influence the buying decision!
Only by understanding these, and many more basic marketing questions, can you even begin to understand your customers and their mind-set.
Only then can you begin to address the critical issues that will assist you in getting them returning to you again and again.
You see The Accountant’s Take, cutting costs, could the right thing to do but it will only provide a short term solution and will not enable you to capitalize on potential market opportunities. The Production Take will not assist if the marketing is moving, again you may get short term sales volume increases but you could end up with a warehouse full of widgets you can’t give away. The Sales Take could be a good one and provide a solution but only if the sales team know what they’re doing and who they’re talking to. Otherwise they’ll come back very demotivated that every door is closing in their faces. And, The Administrative Take is very dangerous because people become too scared to offer ideas and suggestions for fear of being fired first. Imagine the negative energy in a company where everyone is watching their back instead of watching and serving the customers!
Marketing is about listening to the market place and assessing how you can capitalize on the needs, wants, desires of your target market. Only once you are doing this can you start to react quicker to changing trends and start anticipating and pre-empting them.
Also, only then can you say – mmm this marketing thing – I think it can really add value!
Happy Marketing
Dianne Perrett
January 19, 2009 at 6:33 pm |
Hence the beauty of social media–tune in and listening mission is on it’s way to accomplished.