Don’t Build a Camel
Someone once told me a camel was simply a horse designed by a committee.
Everyone had input into the process and the result was an unattractive, surly creature that spits and bites. Built to meet specifications, the flat feet work well on the sand. Fuel efficient, it is able to store large amounts of food and water as it traverses the desert, but lets face it, a camel is not very comfortable to ride.
So what does this have to do with small business? The lesson is simple, when you try to please everyone, you water down the offering so everyone is satisfied, and but no one is delighted.
It is impossible to please everyone, so my recommendation – look for the long tail; the group of customers with a specific need you can delight on a regular basis. Exceed their expectations, and and they will bring their friends.
Build a racehorse not a camel.
Basic Needs Drive Consumer Behavior
One of my favorite subjects in college was psychology. I was fascinated by the research which tried to explain why people did what they did, how they processed information, made decisions, learned from their mistakes. I never tired of reading conflicting arguments about nature vs nurture, and how these two elements drove human behavior. It is not surprise, when I went on to study marketing in grad school, it was the course in Consumer Behavior which intrigued me the most.
My professor, Dr. Thomas Reynolds had published a series of papers advancing the theory that every decision could be traced back to very basic human needs. (Food, Shelter, Companionship, Safety, etc) He believed if you could identify which need was driving the decision, you could use that information to create messaging to drive purchase behavior.
His model begins with a simple question – “Why did you buy?” Sounds easy enough, until you understand you never accept the first answer. You must follow up with “why is that important, why, why, why? Much like an annoying child your keep probing , peeling away at the layers of answers till you get to the root.
For example: Why do you drink light beer?
- Because it is less filling.. Why is that important?
- Because I can drink more, without feeling full. Why do you want to drink more?
- When I go out with friends, we may spend a few hours together, I want to be able to drink throughout the evening. Why do you want to continue to drink through the evening.
- I feel like part of the group - Root benefit: Companionship
How do you use this information? You create commercials showing the companionship and good times people have drinking beer. But not everyone will answer the questions the same way. Starting at the same point, you can head down an entirely different path. Why do you drink ight beer?
- Because it has lower calories.. Why is that important?
- Because I can drink more, without gaining weight. Why is that important?
- How I look is importnt to me.. Root Benefit: Self Esteem
For a customer who answers this way, the ads probably need to focus on attractive people, sipping beer moderatly. Not the ‘Frat Boy” party campaign you might use to reach the inital target audience.
So how does the average small business owner use this information – Start by asking your customers why they buy, and don’t take the first answer at face value!
Two Classes To Accelerate Your Recovery
As the economy is starting to come back, are you ready for the uptick? Is your marketing, website and sales skills up to date? If not, now is a good time to take a refresher or learn something new. I will be offering two programs this coming week to help you do, just that.
Both will be hosted at the Offices of Trustpointe
6666 E. 75th St., Ste. 150, Indianapolis
May 5, 3:30-5:00 p.m. How to improve the ROI of your Website. In this 90 minute program you will discover:
- How to use social media, email and even traditional media to drive traffic to your site
- How to create forms and offers to convert visitors into prospects
- How to use blog posts and drip campaigns to increase repeat visits, demonstrate your expertise, engage your community and increase your sales.
Cost: $35 Click here to register
May 6, 8:00 – 11:00 From Random Strangers to Raving Fans In this class you will learn a systematic approach to using marketing to generate qualified prospects, and move them through the stages of engagment from prospect, to client, to raving fan. You will discover:
- How to identify the most attractive niche
- How to focus marketing messages and content on your niche
- Creaete conversion experiences and drip campagins
- Discvoer your prospects pain and provide solutions which make clsing the sale the natural outcome
- Develop a self sustainging referal process
Fee: $29.99 Seating is limited, so be sure to register soon. Click here
From Random Strangers to Raving Fans workshop
I’m excited to be team-teaching a course with my sales coach, Matt Nettleton of Sandler Training Trustpointe. The class is called “From Random Strangers to Raving Fans: Using a system to create the right messages for the right people at the right time.”
We’re going to talk about how important it is that your sales and marketing support each other. After all, the best marketing plan in the world won’t help you if you can’t seal the deal, and the best sales strategy won’t help you if you don’t have leads in the first place!
Check out the details below. Hope to see you there!
March 25, 8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Sandler Training Trustpointe Offices, 6666 East 75th Street, Indianapolis
Fee: $29.99 Seating is limited, so be sure to register soon. Click here
Episode 21 – Finding Your Ideal Customer
With Matt Nettleton
This blog has been very focused on business planning for the last two weeks. I think it is time to change it up just a little. Today I want to share an interview with sales professional Matt Nettleton.
I am an active participant in a Sales Training Class with Matt Nettleton of Trustpointe. I love his direct, no nonsense appraoch to building my business.
One of the things we have focused attention on lately is the difference between my average customer and my ideal customer.
The average customer, are the clients I attract now. But the ideal, are the clients I want to do business with. Doing business with these companies will help me grow my business over time.
Want to learn more about the difference? Take a moment, and listen to the interview with Matt
Business Plan Mistake # 4
Today we look outside your business to your customer to find our next mistake.
Business Plan Mistake #4 Poorly Defined Customer.
Everyone is not your customer! Too often small-business owners, afraid to walk away from even one potential customer, try to define their market so broadly they include everyone. The danger? Without a focus, you end up spreading yourself so thin you do not effectively reach any particular customer.
The chiropractor who defines his target as anyone with a spine may think he is indicating he has unlimited potential. In reality, he is showing a lack of understanding of the buying characteristics, beliefs, and biases of consumers in his market. There are people who do not believe chiropractic treatment is “real medicine.” It is often expensive to convert nonbelievers. Selecting a narrower market would allow him to concentrate his marketing efforts on those customers most likely to buy.
Once you truly embrace the idea of focus as the key to a successful business, you are ready to begin developing the rest of your plan. With a clear definition of your customer, it is easier to answer the questions that follow.
Start Planning with Analysis
Whenever I want to use my GPS or Google map to find a location, I have to figure our where I am first. The same is true in business, before you can develop a comprehensive marketing plan to take your business forward; you have to have a starting point.
When we work with clients to develop their marketing plan, we often use a two part assessment to help them evaluate where they are and where they want to be. This gives them a starting point for the general direction, and emphasis of their marketing plan.
Part One: Where are You?
- What do your clients think of you and why.
- Who are your most profitable clients?
- What are the purchase factors which motivate clients and drive their decision
- What are your barriers to selling?
- What are the characteristics of your typical client
- What are the characteristics of prospect who rarely become clients?
- What do your clients think about you?
Part Two: Where Do You Want to Be?
- Who is you ideal customer?
- What are their problems which you solve?
- What are the benefits of buying from your company?
- Define solutions to eliminate buying frustrations.
- Identify buying objections and define solutions to overcome them.
If you are ready to start working on your 2010 marketing plan download our free marketing assessment to frame your thinking!
Everyone Is Still Not Your Customer!
For years, I have been trying to convince my clients that “everyone” is not their customer. Many small business owners are afraid to focus on a niche, because they are afraid they will miss out on an opportunity.
Selecting a niche and targeting your message on a specific segment will not prevent you from working with others. Targeting simply forces you to focus your resources and attention on the most profitable segment.
Seth Godin hit the nail on the head when he said:
The problem with “everyone” is that in order to reach everyone or teach everyone or sell to everyone, you need to so water down what you’ve got you end up with almost nothing.
So stop trying to sell to everyone, get really good at selling to the right people and the rest of your business will fall into place. This isn’t just theory. I have put this into practice in my own business lately, focusing my messages more and more on planning. The result? We are getting more calls about planning, which is the most profitable part of my business.
If it works for me, it can work for you! And as Seth says:
As soon as you start focusing on finding the right someone, things get better, fast. That’s because you can ignore everyone and settle in and focus on the people you actually want.
I am not ready to ignore everyone else, but I am enjoying the conversations we are having!
The Beginning of a Podcasting Journey
Written by Neil Chaggar
There are many ways to inform, educate, and communicate with people over the internet. However, there’s one medium that literally gets your voice across to your audience; it’s called Podcasting.
Podcasting works similar to blogging; however it can be far more effective if the presenter is an exceptional speaker rather than a writer or if the audience prefers listening to their media/feed rather than reading it.
Earlier this week, Lorraine expressed an interest in Podcasting to compliment her written blog.
I was excited to work on this project since I already knew how useful yet simple this medium is to get your message across. I’ve listened to Podcasts in the past but didn’t know exactly how to set it up on our website; so began the Podcasting research.
I soon learned many people choose iTunes to publish their Podcasts so they are easily available to anyone and everyone. In addition, there are many other things to consider before you can start Podcasting. To begin, you need to have a quality recording tool. While most computers can record sound into a WAV file, you need additional software to save your files as MP3s.
Turns out, there are many software options from which to choose from but finding a cheap yet efficient one was tricky. Finally, we settled on Audacity, which is free and has decent effects and features, along with capability to save and convert MP3 files.
Another issue Podcaster face is choosing a third-party server where you can upload all your files and material along with RSS codes so iTunes can publish your Podcasts. After looking at several website, some more expensive than others, we chose www.solidcasts.com, which allows users to have first 100MB of space for free and reasonable monthly prices for up to 20GB of space.
Now we have all the precise tools and software to create and publish Podcasts, you can soon listen to Lorraine Ball has to say, literally. Furthermore, if you already publish Podcasts on your own website, feel free to check out the websites and software mentioned above to see if it can improve your Podcasting activities.
Neil out!
Who is Your Customer
As the owner of a small business marketing firm, I spend a lot of time talking with entrepreneurs. I never get tired of their enthusiasm or their passion for their products. I do however, get tired of explaining over and over and over that “anyone” is not their customer.
No matter how universal you believe your product to be, there are subsets of the larger market which are more likely to buy than others. The key to running a successful business is to identify that subset and focus your energy and marketing efforts on that segment.
Defining a target will not limit to whom you sell, simple who you chase! For example, my target and ideal clients are companies with sales between $100,000 and $1,000,000. So, I spend my time networking with small business owners. This allows me to make a big impact in a smaller community and create a consistent voice in my newsletter, blog and other marketing material and establish myself as an expert.
And, it works! The more I focus, the more I build a reputation and expertise in a specific segment. After 7 years, I have an established reputation as a Small Business Marketing Company. Do we have clients larger and smaller? Absolutely, but we don’t go looking for them. We don’t spend our time or resources chasing those segments, but are happy to help when they call us!
What about you? Do you have a niche?
