How to market your business in a way that makes people care

Discover 4 simple steps for better marketing, advertising and communications

Most businesses get marketing wrong. Their message goes like this:

“We are Company X and we offer Service X. We have been doing this since 1967. We have won this award. Our skilled staff offer friendly service. Contact us today.”

Did I hear someone leave the website?

Marketing your business this way doesn’t work for a simple reason.

Nobody really cares about your business.

The only thing your customers care about is what you can do for them. This is the case regardless of your industry or offering.

Let me give you a few examples.

People don’t buy accounting services — they buy the peace of mind that their tax is lodged on time and that they can get the best possible tax return.

People don’t buy digital music subscription services — they buy access to millions of songs that they can play wherever they are.

Or, as Harvard Business School marketing professor Theodore Levitt famously put it,

“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!”

If you want to market your business in a way that attracts customers, then you need to change the focus. Instead of talking about your product or service, talk about the end result.

Here’s how to do it in 4 steps.

Step 1: Where they are now

Think about your ideal client. Forget about demographics such as gender or age for a moment (unless it’s absolutely relevant to your business), and focus on the problem they are facing. What is their problem? Only by determining their frustration and pain, can you write to them in a way that resonates with them. To do this, you have to consider:

• What is their current situation?
• What are their biggest frustrations?
• How much is their problem costing them?
• How do they search for a solution to their problem?
• Why can’t they solve this problem by themselves?

Step 2: Where they want to be

What is the end result that your customer wants to achieve? Identifying your ideal customer’s desired situation is how you show them how your product/service is a solution to their problem. Find answers to the following questions:

• What is the end result they want to achieve?
• How do you help them to get there?
• What’s holding them back?
• What questions or objections will they have when offered a solution? Make sure your marketing message covers all of them.

Step 3: Why they should choose you over your competition

Also known as the Unique Selling Point. Why should they choose you over your competitor? Ask yourself:

• Who else offers a solution to this problem? List them.
• How has your client tried to solve their problem in the past?
• What’s missing from your competitor’s offering?

Step 4: Why take action now

You have now determined their problem, presented a solution and demonstrated why you are their number one go-to. In the last step, you need to create the urgency to make them convert.

• What is the cost of not taking action? Calculate the opportunity cost and quantify their pain.
• What is your offer? Is it better than your competition?
• How much time and money will it take to start using your product?
• How do you minimise the cost and time involved?

Conclusion

Taking the focus off yourself and writing about your client is a simple way to get better results from your marketing. This applies to all of your marketing and communications: from emails to your website copy, ads, landing pages and marketing automation.

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