It seems like a simple concept, but customers are often forgotten.
It seems like a simple concept but all too often, customers are easily forgotten when we take on the task of marketing our businesses. As business owners, we want to show the world what we’re all about. We’re building a business or have some great product that we want to tell everyone about. In doing so, we talk about ourselves, our offerings, or our product. What we should be talking about is how our business, our services, or our products can help our customers. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but to get the most out of your marketing efforts, focus on customers.
Customers Don’t Care About You
That may seem harsh, but in your initial engagement with potential customers, they don’t care about you or your business. They are people. They have a problem. They need a solution. And if you’ve captured their attention enough to have an opportunity to solve their problem, don’t squander it by talking about how great you are.
Focus on their problem. Show them the solution. Get right to the point of how your service or product solves their problem. That’s what they need to know now. How can purchasing your product make their lives better. Don’t make it complicated.
No Time for Reading
We live in a fast-paced world. Most people don’t have the time or desire to read long drawn-out explanations of your product or service. Put yourself in their shoes – they’re working long hours, maybe they have kids that are running around doing kid things, this problem they have is making their lives harder and all they need is for someone to help them.
That’s where you come in. Keep it simple. Get to the point. Tell them how you can fix that problem in as few words as possible. Show them, with strategic visuals, how much better their lives will be once they purchase your product. Problem solved! That’s what they’re looking for.
There Will be Time to Talk about You
I’m sure you’re thinking, how will they know how great we are if we don’t tell them. When you focus on customers, it’s not about you – at least not initially. When you engage with customers, they want to know how you can help them. And showing them how you can help them begins to build a relationship with them.
Showing customers that you understand their problems, builds the relationship. Showing them that you care, builds the relationship. Showing them, quickly and strategically, that you have the experience needed to fix their problems builds the relationship. And that’s all you need to do early on. Once you’ve built a relationship with customers, hopefully turning them into repeat customers, then you can share more information about your company.
Applies to ALL Businesses
You’re also probably thinking, but what about my business? We’re different, that won’t work for us. No, you’re not, and yes it will. People are people. Customers are customers. Regardless of what line of business you’re in, you need customers. Those customers are people. People have problems, and your business solves problems. In some form or fashion.
Regardless of what your product is, it solves a problem. Regardless of what service you provide, it solves a problem. If you’re a church or a healthcare facility, in entertainment or food service, or maybe even marketing – we’re all here to solve our customers’ problems. And we can’t do that effectively unless we focus on customers.
This may take some creative thinking, planning, and messaging, but you can get there. And if you need help, we’d love to partner with you to help define your customer’s story. Contact Acorn+Arrow today. We know how you’re feeling and we’d love to help drive your growth.
