Not Getting the Marketing Results that You Want?

It was right-under-my-nose and if it’d-been-a-snake-it-would-have-bitten-me. The lunch box that I carried everyday to work was missing and I had looked for it everywhere. I looked all over the dining room, the car and my lunch spot at work, repeatedly, daily, frequently. I mulled over the possibilities with increasing frustration and bewilderment. How could it have disappeared into thin air? Had I been in a total mental fog and left it somewhere exotic? Where else could it be?

I had just about resigned myself to buying another lunch box when I was clearing the table in the breakfast area one day and saw it sitting on the floor by one of the chairs. I had walked by this table, eaten at this table and cooked near this table for several days and failed to spot the bag. I had spent countless minutes either looking for it or contemplating where to look for it. How could I miss something so obvious?

I think this happens all the time when we use preconceived notions or patterns to try and solve problems. I often see a similar problem with clients in their marketing plans. A launch is planned. A sale is advertised. A new product is on the horizon. And the marketing begins. And so often they follow a marketing plan that they have followed before… rather unsuccessfully. The assumption is that it isn’t the marketing that’s the problem, after all social media is THE WAY TO  MARKET AND MAKE MONEY, RIGHT? It was just that the last idea or product or promotion was somehow flawed. So they follow the same format over and over with the same results: crickets.

What if the problem isn’t the product or service that you offer, but the way that you are approaching the marketing? What if instead of following the same format to market, you change your message? Here’s how:

1. Show empathy with your potential customer by recognizing and connecting with their pain points. Speak to them personally by using words like “you” and “your”.  For example: Are you constantly tired and stressed out because of an inability to sleep?
2. Be solution/results focused by identifying the plan that you offer. For example: I have a proven series of meditations that will help you get to sleep and stay asleep . 
3. Create a vision of success by letting them know what is possible. For example: Imagine what it would be like to wake up every morning well-rested and ready for your day. 

Much like I didn’t have to look very far to find my missing lunch box, sometimes we don’t have to make huge changes to create success in marketing. Sometimes all it takes is recognizing how to better communicate with our customers so we can get our message across.