So today, we are talking about the very basics of marketing. It’s a simple thing and this is going to be your weekend challenge so I’m talking now.
Quickly grab yourself a pen or a pad or a bit of paper. Now, remember — we write these down the old fashioned way — not electronically.
Weekend Challenge
#1 Know Your Ideal Customer Profile
So, to get started, if you listened on Monday, I talked about something similar about improving response rates by knowing who are your customers.
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If you are going to find prospects and turn them into customers, you need to know who your ideal customer would be. Yeah, simple as that. I mean it doesn’t need any more explanation, does it?
Because you have been listening, I hope and I’ve discussed this quite a lot of times and I do mentioned that this is the single most important part of marketing.
The most important part is you need to know your ideal customer type and only market to them, okay.
#2 Use Your Customer’s Language
Number two. Use your customer’s language or use their language. Do not speak in official corporate tones.
Please, do not use management-speak. All those just, I’ve never worked in a cubicle or being in management meetings or not in the type that sound awful, that people dread.
Just don’t use official language. Do not try to sound clever. I’ve, I get so many emails from people that try to sound all corporate and business-like and that, and they would have to try to sound that way because no one talks like that and that is, if people talk like that, I’d say try and not to sound like that.
So, just talk in their language because they, you need to talk to them like a friend, like a mate, someone who knows them and people who know them don’t talk to them like companies.
#3 Found Out Where They Hang Out
By hang out , I mean, where do they look in forums? Do they read online publications? They read magazines, they read newspapers. Do they read types of blogs? Do they look at Facebook?
Are they more likely to be on Pinterest? Are they in a group that is more likely to be on Instagram or YouTube? Find out where they hang out. Now we are talking generally online but offline as well.
See a lot of people would just throw up an advert in a local free newspaper. Those free newspapers are paid for, manage to stay in business because they just sell advertising, therefore by default, they are packed with adverts and they don’t have a lot of great news in it.
Who reads the adverts? There are so many of them. Who chooses to just read through adverts? Nobody.
So, why are you putting your money in there? Why are you doing that? Find out where people hang out and then talk to them there, okay.
#4 Give Them Good Information
That’s what people are after. When people use Google, they are looking for information. For instance, I wanted a new tripod for my little iPhone to make podcast with.
So, I might jump on Amazon but in my mind, I’m going on Amazon because I know Amazon has lots of these tripods, lots of variation and lots of good information, lots of ratings.
So, I’m actually looking for information. Now I may end up buying it on Amazon but when I find one, I’m so tight, I will then Google it and make sure that Amazon is the best price and the best deal.
I will check if I can get it somewhere else. I’m going to buy it online because I’m not going out of the house, why would I?
So, I’m going to check that but I’m starting with Amazon for the information, so provide good information.
I see so many websites when people ask me to review them and the information is awful. So whatever you sell, searching Google for the top websites, Google orders them in what it regards as the best.
Quite often the best ones in its regard are the ones that have links from the other sites and get the most reads and have them people who spend the most time on individual pages, reading pages because Google can track that through analytics.
So, Google can rank people by, rank websites by the ones that appear to be the most popular. So, therefore, popular means they are good.
So, just look at those and make your information like that. Teach people stuff. Don’t tell them about you. Don’t tell them about your product.
Tell them about how your product will improve their lives if they had it. Show them what their life could look like if they had your product or service. Inform them. Tell them the things they need to know if they are looking for information. Okay.
#5 Show Expertise and Authority
Now that goes hand in hand with the one before. Let me tell you my friend, you are an expert. If you are a roofer, mentioned this the other day.
You’ve probably been roofing for five, ten, fifteen years, may be twenty years? I can assure you that makes you an expert. You know everything.
You know what happens if you use these type of tiles. You know what happens if you use that type of tool. Write about it. Tell people. Tell people why.
What are your favorite five tools? You’re going to think, how boring is that? You’re going to think, ‘oh well who wants to know, we just use a hammer, it’s just a standard hammer.’ Yeah, they do!
They want to know why you use that type of hammer instead of the other type. They want to know that you are an expert, that you are an authority. So, that when they book your services, they can trust that you are the best person for the job. Just see what I’m getting at? Yeah.
#6 Train Them to Take Action
What I mean by train them to take action is don’t assume anything. So, when you’ve written an article, when you’ve put a post on Facebook or you’ve written a tweet or something like that and you’ve given some information.
Don’t say, ‘Here is a great article’ and a link to that, write afterwards, ‘Read it now. Share. Please retweet. Please share with your friends.
Tell me what you think. Look at these special prices that are only available today. Buy now. Add it to your cart. Call me on 011800-whatever. Email me at.’ Talk to them, get an appointment, tell them what to do next because if you don’t, they won’t, because they were just looking for information.
It hasn’t occurred to them.
Quite often people will want to buy, they will want to call you, they will want to email you but they’ll do it later. And as soon as they’ve gone off, then something happens.
Someone rings them up, they got to run up to school, pick up the kid, one of the kids because one of the kids is feeling poorly, he’s got to be taken to a doctor and by the time they got home after all that, you are long forgotten because more important things came up.
However, if you told them to do something, they would do it right now or they may do it right now. Do you see the difference?
That’s where people go wrong. I’m forever driving alone and I listen to books on Audible. As you know I review lots of books and I listen to a bit and I think that is fantastic, that is brilliant.
And as I hear a good quote, I’m going to do that. By the time I get to the other end….Yes I’m old but by the time I get to the other end, I’ve completely forgotten about it.
You are thinking why don’t you bookmark it? Hey, I’m driving alone. It’s not easy and you are not supposed to. I think in my brain, I’ll remember that.
So cool, so brilliant but I’ll have forgotten about it. I’ll even remember that I’ve forgotten something that I wanted to remember. I can’t remember what it is so and I’m not listening to the book again, okay.
So, tell them to take action. Tell them, a call to action. No matter what it is. All this will work. All this will turn prospects into customers and customers is what you want.
They will become good customers, high quality customers, not just customers and then they can become repeat customers and then they can become regular customers and then they can become preachers.
Yeah, you know I’ve talked about that before and I will again. So, that’s what you got to do. So, think about that over the weekend.
Otherwise, but enjoy yourself, you know, don’t work hard, just do that little bit, it’s only going to take half an hour. Find the time but relax, have fun with your family, I’ll be back on Monday.