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?
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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.
Labels: communications, connecting to one person at at time, marketing, Marketing Moments, one at a time
