How many people do you market too?
Whether I am marketing corks or Slim Jims or Cheerwine, I always approach the effort by thinking about one person at a time. My target isn’t big and wide and filled with millions of people. I focus on one person and talked to them.
When I write my blog posts, it is helpful to focus on writing to one person, not the full base of people who are going to see the posts. There are many people similar to this one person, and I hope they can gain an idea or insight from my writing. Writing to one encourages me to be more engaged. Writing to thousands feels wrong, complex and hard to connect.
When you market your craft beer, mismatched socks or sofas – who are you selling them to? Do you try and reach a big, mass-market or do you bring your message to that one person who might really spread your story on your behalf? Think about marketing to one person at a time. Be focused. Be clear. Be connected.
4 marketing suggestions
THINK 10 PEOPLE NOT 10,000: Don’t try and sell a stadium filled with people. It is more powerful to get one person in 10 sections who can tell their neighbor a personal story about your work. Limit your communications to get to people who already prove (through social shares) that they like to curate products.
WHAT JOB DOES MY PRODUCT DO? Understand what job your product or service might have in the life of the person you reach. If you sell luxury goods or auto parts, understand the emotion behind the purchase. Some marketers get lost in telling you about features when what a customer truly cares about is how they will feel after the purchase. I recently gave a Seth Godin book to a young entrepreneur who is trying to get motivated to start her business. I wanted the book to make her feel reassured that, as Yoda said, do or do not do. There is no try.
OVER DELIVER BEYOND EXPECTATION: When you market to one person, you can make sure you are giving them something above and beyond what they expected. By over delivering on value, you separate yourself from all others in the category – particularly if you do something that resonates with that one person’s needs. So 15 minutes after AAA replaced my dead battery, I received a phone call that asked, is there anything we could have done to make your experience with AAA better?
TALK DON’T MARKET TO ONE PERSON: One person may be a proxy for a larger group or bigger audience. But when you make one person so happy that they share their experience, you are probably offering benefits that will match the needs of others. And talking (not marketing) to one customer forces you to listen, to understand and to be see how your product/service fits with their day.
Trying to mass market a message is like calling 10,000 people at the same time. No one will hear you and you can’t possibly be listening to them. Call (market to) one person at a time. Get connected and understand how your product or service might solve a problem they have, and then over deliver on that promise. Help them to feel so good that they will share the story of how your product made them feel.
What job does your product or service do for people and what is the feeling you want them to experience?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you dialing one customer at a time? Maybe I can be of help to you in marketing your product or service? Yes, I’m talking just to you. Connect with me here through Clarity.
