02 Aug How to Not Alienate Potential Customers

Have you ever been on a bad date before? 

Almost everyone at some point in time has gone on one of those bad rollercoaster dates. You might ask, “What on earth is a bad rollercoaster date?” You are also probably asking this because I just made it up right now. I guess I should call this one of my Shermanisms. If you know someone who doesn’t like rollercoasters, they can never wait to get off if they do happen to go on. They also want the ride to end soon, much like a bad date. When people have a bad date, they sit there and wonder how much more they can take and when it will all be over.

How would you feel if your date told you they were planning on being a doctor, an astronaut, Justin Timberlake’s roadie, and also worked part-time at Taco Bell. Well, if it were me, I would be impressed actually. I mean how could a doctor force himself to such low-quality tacos?!

 Ok, seriously, most of us would think that person is all over the place. Ok, maybe impressed, but still all over the place. Also, you don’t think of him as being great in one area. The $64,000 question is what on earth does this incredibly well told, yet confusing explanation has to do with marketing my business?

Just like that date who doesn’t seem great in any one area, ultimately confusing you, companies who have a marketing message all over the place tend to have the exact same effect on the people to whom they are marketing. A date is a preview to get to know more about the person, and your marketing message is a preview to get them to want to know more and perhaps do business with you. Your potential customers want to know what you specialize in. What you specialize in is what will attract them to you. Yes, you can up-sell them on other things, but when it comes to your marketing approach, be specific.

3 things you can do to enhance and simplify your message so you can influence those in your target market:

1. Know your audience – Think of occupations, age, interests, hobbies, family, and other demographics. Take the time to do this or have someone help you create a uniquely defined target market. It is game-changing when a business does this.
2. Know your competition: Successful people copy certain aspects of other successful people. Don’t look at admiring your competition as a negative. If they are doing something well, think about how you can learn from that. No, I am not suggesting you copy them VERBATIM. I AM suggesting that you analyze it and learn from it. Great athletes learn from other great athletes over the years, to enhance their game. Marketers and business owners need to do the same.
3. Know your keywords: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads have changed over the years, but it will always be influenced by keywords. Have an expert work with you to determine which keywords are best for you to target. Depending on your level of competition, some keywords can be difficult to rank for in 30 days. Still, there may be long-tail keywords or alternate ways of saying things that are being heavily searched in Google. 

Most importantly, do not try and be all things to all people.  You only muddy the message on your website and confuse your visitors.  You have mere seconds to capture their attention before they move on so be clear to whom you’re targeting and make sure you have a clear value proposition that sets you apart from your competitors.