Image Credit: Xelcise via Flickr
I wish I had a dollar every time I heard a small business owner say – “I tried direct mail but it didn’t work” or “I’m doing email marketing but not getting any response”. Because when I look at the direct mail piece or the email campaign the problem is obvious – it’s lost its marketing mojo. There is unfortunately a disease in the small business marketing world called “talk-about-yourself-itis”. Small business owners seem to think customers care about ”who you are” and “what you do”. Let me tell you something – they don’t. They care about how your business can solve their problems – get your marketing mojo back by showing them how.
It’s Not All About You
Don’t get me wrong, “who you are” and “what you do” has a place in your marketing. It’s in the “about us” section on your website – not on the front page or in the headline of your direct mail piece. Your first step is to stop beating your own drum and start telling customers how your business is going to offer a solution – and say it clearly and succinctly.
Put Yourself In Their Shoes
So how do you figure out your customers problems? Put yourself in their shoes. See your business from their point of view and think of what triggers them to need your product or service. When you start thinking like a customer and less like a business owner, you get clarity on why the customers you have are coming to you. This will highlight the reasons why they need to contact you and allow you to write customer driven marketing messages and not messages that are self-involved. There are a few ways to find out this information – the easiest is to just ask your customers. You can do a survey, but it’s easier to just talk to them – learn what makes them tick and find out why your best customers are coming to you and not the competition. You might be amazed at what you find.
Look Professional
Once you’ve got your marketing messages right, make sure everything you do looks professional. Unfortunately, a flyer put together and printed on your home computer won’t give you the results you are looking for – customers won’t take you seriously. Spend some time getting your marketing materials professionally designed and printed and make sure the look of all your marketing is consistent with your brand.
The key message here is – the problems not always the medium – it’s often the message. Get your marketing messages right and you’ll get back your marketing mojo and start attracting more customers.
Chris Dale
Chris Dale is the founder and managing director of MarketingHQ. He loves to help businesses of all sizes get more out of their marketing – and by more he means more sales! Find out more about him here or feel free to connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.
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