Marketing Misconceptions

There are few business endeavors more nebulous than marketing and, consequently, there are more misconceptions about marketing than in other aspects of business. Today, we’re going to explore these misconceptions to lift the fog associated with marketing.

Misconception 1: The more, the merrier

As business owners we desire to help as many people as possible with our offerings. While this is a wonderfully admirable sentiment, it ignores the reality that while our offerings could indeed help many, there are few who actually want to be helped.

Change is difficult and becomes increasingly difficult as a person ages. Failing to acknowledge that people resist change, and resist it more vehemently as they age, sets us up for countless rejections from people who don’t want to change…even though it is in their best  interest.

Sales training programs emphasize the need to keep your sales funnel full precisely because there is only a small percentage of “leads” that will result in sales. Imagine how much time and energy is wasted talking to and following up with people who will never buy.

Now imagine what it would be like if your marketing attracted only those people interested in changing and who saw your offering as a way to effect that change. Imagine how much less money you’d spend on marketing and how much less effort it would take to close a sale because the prospect sincerely sought change.

From personal experience I’ve learned that the more specific I am about the values, behaviors and characteristics of my ideal customer, the fewer calls I get; yet my close rate soars into the stratosphere. Only people who are serious about change call; the rest don’t call because they don’t see themselves in my marketing messages.

Narrow the focus of your marketing messages so that you’re attracting only those who are willing to change to get the result you’re offering and repel those who aren’t.

Misconception 2: Going with the familiar

I was fortunate to spend time as a “shark” in a mock Shark Tank with high school students who pitched their businesses. I noticed that many of them chose digital marketing as a way to “get the word out” about their offerings, primarily because that is what they’re familiar with.

Choosing the familiar is understandable with high school students because they have limited experience with other forms of marketing. It is not understandable, or acceptable, for business owners. We need to have a clear picture of who our ideal customer is, where and how they gather information so that we know where to place our marketing dollars.

I’ve seen too many service businesses advertise in areas beyond their economically-viable reach. In other words, if servicing a customer beyond a 30-minute drive isn’t profitable, then advertise only in the area in which it’s profitable for you. If you want to expand beyond that 30-minute drive area, you need to set up another location, roughly an hour away from your current operation, then advertise in that area only for the new location.

Similarly, I’ve seen consultants and coaches who fear speaking publicly and hate to write use more familiar forms of marketing, e.g. brochures and ads, when people who hire consultants and coaches say: If we hear you speak and like what we hear, or read what you’ve written and like what we read, we’ll hire you; everything else ends up in the round file.

Misconception 3: Memorable

Memorable is another nebulous term. I’ve seen ads that I recall because I hate them and vow never to use that offering. I’ve seen other memorable ads that were highly-creative, attention-getting, yet I had no idea which company had created the ad much less what they were selling.

The keys to making your marketing memorable and effective are:

• You distinguish your offerings in a way that has value to the customer.
• Prospects see themselves in your message…or not.
• Prospects know what result that they’ll get from your offering.

In the pricing work that I do I promise to help prospects get higher prices “regardless of what their competitors or the economy are doing.” It’s the phrase in quotes that both distinguishes me from other pricing consultants AND let’s customers know what result they’ll get.

My marketing messages include a description of the values, behaviors and characteristics of my ideal client so that prospects either see themselves or not. If they see those qualities in themselves, they call; if they don’t, they don’t call.

Everyone wins in these scenarios. Those who don’t see themselves in my description don’t call saving themselves, and me, time and energy that could be used in other endeavors. Those who see themselves in my marketing gain the opportunity to get what they want and I have the opportunity to have a positive impact on someone’s life…and make money in the process.

Misconception 4: Why me?

As business owners we tend to make our marketing messages about how good we are or what we think should be important to prospects. In reality, prospects could care less about us; they want to know whether we can solve their problem…or help them achieve their dream.

Years ago, I made a pitch to a major hospital chain. I had received the benefit of their medical expertise and experienced a better result than I imagined. When I later went to their website, their opening message was about their “134 year history.” As someone who had  experienced a serious health issue, I can tell you that I could care less about their history. What I wanted to know is: Can you solve my problem?

Recently I spoke to a group of new business owners. Their marketing messages talked about their mission, their experience, why they were better than their competitors. What they failed to realize is that they were using “I’ statements instead of “You” statements. By reframing their messages to use “You” language, their prospects get to “feel” the result they’ll get from these owners’ offerings. That feeling creates a bond that increases the likelihood of them choosing these owners’ offerings over their competitors’ offerings.

Effective, memorable, marketing enables prospects to experience the result before having gotten it.

Takeaways

Your marketing should be targeted based on a very clear picture of your ideal customer, where they reside, how they get information and the values, behaviors and characteristics that align with yours.

Use marketing media that reach your ideal customer in the form and format they appreciate…whether or not it’s familiar to you. Familiar marketing approaches may be more comfortable for you, but they seldom produce the result you desire.

Make your marketing memorable by:

• Distinguishing your offerings in a way that has value to the customer.
• Enabling prospects to see themselves in your message…or not.
• Being clear about what result prospects will get from your offerings.

After writing your initial marketing message, often written in “I” language, go back and edit it changing “I” to “You.”

These simple steps will help you avoid the traps implicit in these marketing misconceptions.

If you’ve found this post helpful, please share it with your friends. It’s a great way to let them know how much you care.

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