If you want to give an effective marketing message, you must identify
with your target customer. That means first, you have to HAVE a target
customer, and second, you have to learn to think like they do!
Ever read an ad and got bored in the middle and turned away?
Ever heard an ad and thought, “How utterly stupid!"?
Ever heard a description of a “problem" from someone offering a “solution", and thought, “Nope! Not me!"?
When you have a product or information which you feel can help someone,
the last thing you want is for them to class you as an oaf who just
doesn't get it! And if you don't understand who your target market is,
and what they will respond to, that is exactly how they will categorize
you.
There are tons of marketing instructional manuals out there about
writing effective marketing materials. And to the last, they almost all
recommend pushy hype, or what they call “hypnotic messages" for
marketing. I don't subscribe to their theories! Because for me, hype
turns me off. And when a seller tells me what to feel, or how to react,
that just leaves me cold and I go away. It may work for the people they
are trying to sell to, but it does not work for people like me, whom I
am trying to sell to.
You see, I want to sell to people who like to take charge of their
life. Who want practical information to help them do that. People like
that don't like to be told what they think or how they feel! They are
suspicious of hype, and will run at the sight of it. That is who I
specifically choose to market to, so the techniques employed by many
sellers are exactly what I want to avoid. I know this about my
customers, so I use other strategies.
The marketing method that you use is not a right or wrong one, unless
it fails to reach YOUR customer. You need to know what the most
important aspect is for them – whether it be value, price, quality,
special features, function, service, caring, etc. Your copy needs to be
written to convey that aspect both in the words you SAY, and the feel
of what you are saying.
Impatient customers want you to get to the point.
Intellectuals want you to prove your point and offer more information as an option.
Frugal people want to know about VALUE, not just price.
Cheap people want to know the price, and how much they get for it.
Business minded people want to know how it will improve their bottom line, specifically, but concisely.
Academics want to know not just WHAT, but HOW your product can help.
If you don't understand your market, you'll lose their interest, and
perhaps earn only their scorn. You can't market anything to anyone
without establishing some kind of relationship of trust. The more your
message reaches out to their direct needs, wants, and personal style,
the more successful you'll be at helping them understand why your
product or information has value to them.
Written by Laura Wheeler, mom to eight, and owner of Firelight Web Studio - http://www.firelightwebstudio.com/ ,
where you can find a wide variety of honest business resources. Laura is an experienced web
designer with many corporate and small business clients, and a
specialist in shoestring startup business issues.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
