Hey, we have something – will you buy it?
Marketing plays the key role in informing customers about a business or about a new offer. Generally speaking, to say ‘hey, we have something, it’s great – will you buy it?’ or more bluntly – ‘buy it now’ ☺ Chet Holmes, American business strategist, marketing and sales guru, has discredited this approach a long time ago, presenting the statistics which show that many companies focus their marketing on those clients who actively search for a solution.
Hence all those advertisements: wonderful TV, come to our workshop, now two for one, favourable rates, we have added billions of some molecules to the washing powder which nobody understands, etc. To be clear – this type of marketing works… but it ignores 97% of target customers. Why? Because only 3% of people actively search for a specific offer so your message is attractive to only 3% who actively search for a solution.
Your clients in numbers
Let’s assume that you’re determined to buy a mobile phone – you look only for a reasonable offer and specific models. You’re in the group of 3% who may be tempted by messages related to the mobile offers. How about the whole rest?
A group of 7% is open to your product, offer or service. They have heard about the kind of things you do. They are well informed in the topic. In other words they are considering buying a mobile phone. They want to know more. How to work? –‘buy it now’ is not enough here. Give them more valuable information.
A further 30% is aware of their future needs. They know that they will need such an offer but sometime in the future. Or perhaps they have a working mobile phone but in a near future it will be a good time to replace it. Generally, they are not in a hurry. How to work around it? – Remind them that you are here, inform about the advantages of the offer and about the fact that there’s no need to wait. Show them that if they look are looking for a mobile phone, you always have a great offer.
Another 30% is totally unaware. You know that they have a problem and that you can help them but they don’t realise that they need it. Perhaps they don’t even know that they have a problem. Maybe they have a dated mobile phone that doesn’t have the Internet or GPS and they don’t even know that those features could be useful. How to work? – build their awareness, inform them that things can be different.
The remaining 30% are simply a‘NO!’. They are unwilling to purchase. You can’t help them. Don’t bother.
You lose 67% of customers
Summing up, 67% of potential clients are not targeted by typical marketing. This is because the way in which you should talk ( communicate value proposition ) to them is totally different from the way you speak to people who are absolutely ready to buy something. It’s a slower process. It requires building the awareness, trust and relations with people long before they are ready for purchase. It’s a process of education, inspiration, dialogue and no-commitment relation. How to do it? Of course it can’t be done in an inauthentic way with profit-driven approach because it’s not a genuine relationship and people will instantly feel it.
But if you know that you have a valuable offer which will help your clients, if you meet the potential customers who are not aware how much you can help them, if you want to change the world for better and create genuine relations, this approach is for you. All the tools which build real bonds with clients are good. You can create a blog, a newsletter, host regular conferences or meeting. And you can just keep in touch and give worth, recommendation and useful information.
With this approach to marketing, you meet your potential leads much earlier in the process of decision-making. You don’t put them off with advertising offers, you don’t impose anything. You build a relationship.
But don’t forget that educating doesn’t work by itself – you need to relate it to your product from time to time. If the timing is right and some of your customers are ready to spend their money on a product or a service like yours, you will be surely their first choice.
Best regards,
Damian
