Strapline

Copy - Content - Marketing Communications Planning

Wednesday 22 July 2015

What is your marketing motivation?

Why do you bother with marketing?

Is it all about profit?  Or is it all about the product or service benefits? Is it about raising awareness of the thing you love to do and can do well,  and you hope will bring in some money?

Whatever it is unless you market with the right fundamental attitude you will fail.
What really motivates your marketing?
The secret is not why you market what you do it's the way you get up in the morning and go about it.

The only mindset or key attitude you need is the right motivation - and that is:

To Always Exceed Expectations

If you do everything connected with your marketing with this attitude you will succeed. 

If you consider the other person whether a client or supplier as a possible advocate for your business or organisation and you always try to exceed there expectations you will succeed. 

If your key motivation is to make everyone who can influence the success of your operation to really be impressed with what you do and how you go about it, then YOU WILL SUCCEED

Because there are so many scumbags out there whose main motivation is to:
  • Screw the customer
  • Pay suppliers late or not at all
  • Make false claims about their products or services
  • Never deliver on-time
  • Ignore complaints
  • Etc.etc
You must do everything, say everything, deliver everything, driven by the desire to exceed the expectations of everyone all the time.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Monday 13 July 2015

Trust - the lifeblood of every business, brand, individual and even a country

As you stare across at the person you are doing business with today, perhaps for the first time or for the hundred and first time, ask yourself what are you really buying or investing in.

The bottom line is you need to be convinced that what you are promised is what you're going to get.

If you're unsure you might take a reference or even a risk, but what's at stake fundamentally is this

CAN I TRUST THIS PERSON OR THE BUSINESS HE OR SHE REPRESENTS?

Trust takes years to earn and seconds to squander. But amazingly everyday promises made will be broken, invoices deliberately not paid when they should be, total untruths sold as fact, and individuals let down.
Do you think trust had something to do with this mess?

Greece has lost the trust of the whole world and the consequences are having and will continue to have terrible consequences for the whole population. People will die, the hopes and aspirations of probably two generations will be severely curtailed, and the impact on other lives across the world will be dramatic. All because the "Greek Brand" has become synonymous with broken promises, 
self-interest and total mistrust.

Is your company like Greece? Are you aware that you as an individual could have as much credibility as a Greek politician?

Things go wrong, timescales have to slip for health or other reasons, but the way you communicate unwanted information is critical to the way you and your business is perceived, the real secret is if you recognise the value that trust has in the relationship you will be sensitive to the needs of the people you are dealing with - if you don't think trust is important then you'll just treat them with contempt and not worry about letting them down or not paying an invoice etc etc.

Do you care?

If you don't eventually you will end up like Greece, friendless, bankrupt, and without a future.

Image courtesy of thephotoholic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Thursday 2 July 2015

How do your customers decide when making a purchase decision?

You know your product or service offer better than anyone else - or you should do!

You know what makes your product or service different and special  - or you should do!

You are responsible for making sure you have a clear value proposition that can be easily understood by your new and existing customers. Those purchasers need to make a purchase decision in your favour - and you need to help them every step of the way.

What information do your customers need before they buy from you?

Just for the next few minutes put yourself in that prospective purchasers position. Write down all the motivations that they might have, what they are looking for, the significance of price and availability etc.

Make sure you include if they might need to take others into the decision making process. Perhaps they might need credit, or perhaps they might need to be sure you have a sound business platform before they buy from you!

Also consider if this purchase for them is a risk. What guarantees would you expect to find?

What you will find is that in most cases the number of factors that could impact on the purchase of your goods or services are many and varied.

Now the problem is that before the internet gave us access to perceived unlimited information, if a prospect was unsure they would contact you and ask questions.

Now if you don't have the information on your website, in the vast majority of cases

YOU NEVER GET THE CALL

That's why it's imperative you put yourself in the buyers position and make sure your online presence both static (website) and dynamic (social media) deals with all the information needs your new and existing customers need.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net