Many business owners miss out on thousands of dollars of online selling opportunities because they don’t follow the #1 rule of marketing:
Give your customers what they want – FAST!
OK Gerry, that’s easy to understand. Now, how do I figure out what they want?
Good question and before I tell you how to do it, I’m going to give you a universal answer to start off with that will help guide all your marketing efforts when it comes to giving your customers what they want.
Here it is:
Your customers want your websites, emails, sales letters and brochures to communicate in a few seconds whether or not you may have a possible solution for their problem or need.
Why?
Cause they have miles and miles to go before they buy. That’s because they have to look through so much crap (affectionately referred to by those who create it as “marketing”) to find what they want.
Poor copy, missing benefits, selling stories that never get airborne and a ton of other things they couldn’t care less about.
They hate battling through all the junk and that’s where your opportunity lies.
To get an understanding of this, let’s compare an offline shopping experience vs. an online one.
Take shopping at a mall. For many of the shoppers, that’s what they want. They actually want the shopping experience that goes hand in hand with walking around with a bunch of strangers and simply popping in and out of stores that catch their fancy.
That’s why, despite the best efforts of 95% of the salespeople who work at stores and do their very best to bore them, annoy them and just generally be obnoxious, they enjoy themselves. They are getting what they want.
Now here’s a key thing. There’s no way the salespeople can “guess” what a shopper is looking for. But they don’t have to. The mall has already given most of the people in it that day what they need.
OK, follow me over to cyberland.
TOTALLY different story.
When people go online, they are looking for something. Usually ONE thing. They have a problem. They have a need. But they have a very different expectation as they move through their online shopping experience
They are on a mission.
They know what they’re looking for. They want to find a source for it. Make sure it will do what they want. And make sure the source can deliver the goods.
See the difference? The mall is a shotgun approach. Online is a laser experience.
That’s why so many marketers miss out on sales that should be theirs. Instead of presenting a core solution that their web visitor is looking for, they use a “stop me when you see something you like” strategy that is VERY expensive.
Here’s why:
They got the person to their site. That takes time, energy and money. But then they completely dropped the ball by not giving the prospect what he or she wants.
If the lights are going on for you as you think about your marketing, you’re not alone. A huge percentage of business owners make this mistake by not giving their prospects what they want.
OK. Pull up a chair and sit down. Tough love time.
If you’re still wondering what it is your customer wants, you may have another problem.
One that is hurting all of your sales and marketing efforts.
Remember I talked about the laser approach a minute or so ago.
You need to hit your prospect right between the eyes with the solution to the problem you solve for the majority of your clients or customers.
Here’s why this is so critical: THAT’S what they are looking for! They have a problem or a need and they want a solution.
Your headline (you DO have a headline, right?) offers a possible solution.
Side note: If you DO NOT use a headline on your website, you are throwing money away. YOU must create one that gets your prospect’s attention.
Prospects come to your site and look at your email with their problem or need top of mind. That’s what all of us we do when we have a problem. It follows us around and when we see a potential solution, it gets our attention.
Remember the tough love part? Well, I was being a bit facetious but you’re wasting money, until you get a clear selling message in place and a solid understanding of the your ideal target market and what makes them tick.
If you’re marketing doesn’t cut to the chase by giving your prospect what they want immediately so you can attract their attention, sit down today and start working on how to make sure it does.
You’ll likely see a big difference in your sales.
