What will be the most effective approach to marketing for the coming decade? My prediction is simple and is about the role of the release of tension in marketing.
Think about the last week when someone helped you to achieve something important. How did this helper know what was holding you back? How did it make you feel when their solution could solve an important challenge? What was the tension release like from knowing that there was a solution to your problem?
Last year, one of my clients spent months getting closer to current and prospective clients by spending more in-person time with them. I didn’t think they understood who they were serving and agreed to try something new.
Several of the company’s associates hopped on planes and trains and visited clients in person. They had coffees, lunches, and meetings. The goal wasn’t to talk business – but to get to know them as people.
They invited customers to take walks and to connect in other non-business settings. They spent almost half a year getting much closer to their current clients. Instead of sending emails into the ether or creating content, they talked, they listened, and they connected.
Lessons from Listening
My client realized that they had a lot of misperceptions about their client’s toughest problems. They learned first-hand without filtered data about their client’s struggles. As they got closer to the client, the tensions, they faced become clear. What was unearthed was the true challenge their customers faced.
With these better insights, you can craft a marketing plan to communicate and deliver value. Through my client’s listening tour, they saw the client’s problem and could better articulate their solutions to help break the tension.
Together we created a marketing plan by listening and distilling what we heard into insights that became a light, shining the path forward. We had a better grip on the job to be done.
Awareness, Trust and Tension-Relief
In the coming decade, you will still need to become known. Awareness is important, so you need to become known.
You must be a trusted ally. Trust opens the door for prospects to listen.
Once you see your opportunity through the lens of service, tension-relief, problem-solving, and helpfulness, the marketing path forward is better defined.
2020 Marketing
If I can offer one piece of marketing advice in 2020, it is to focus on getting closer to your customers to learn more about the tension in their business life.
Then, figure out how you can break the tension and provide relief.
Does your business need a marketing coach, guide, or sherpa? Are you generating enough leads? Is your marketing underperforming? I can help.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conversation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com Let’s explore working together today.
Photo by davide ragusa on Unsplash
