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Establish Authentic Connections

How do we tell our buyers that we solved their problems so they buy from us?

I have created a great new product, now what?

How do I not waste money on "marketing"?

Authenticity beats “messages” every time! By living in your buyer’s world you create deep connections; empathy for them as people and not just as an account number in some database.

Leaders should start by asking their internal teams or departments if there is a consistent, powerful voice out to the market. One method your customers will use to gauge authenticity is to ask the same question about your product to their salesperson, customer service representative, technical support person and others. If they do not hear a consistent message there is an interruption. If the interruption is large enough, you have potentially severed the most important part of the business relationship, which is trust.

You have to communicate with buyers that you have the perfect solution to their problems. We often hear “well, isn’t that what we are already doing with our ads, website, and sales brochures?” The answer is both yes and no. While establishing an authentic connection is a form of marketing communications, it's not the same as the command-and-control, one-way advertising approach most organizations practice.

Tuned out companies have to buy their way in with expensive marketing campaigns or beg their way in with large PR retainers.

How do you know if your organization is tuned out when telling buyers about the perfect solution to their problems? Ask the following questions:

Is my organization currently participating in a PR campaign?
As a percentage of the overall advertising budget, is the print ad budget the largest item?
Does our website speak to a specific buyer persona, or is everyone a potential customer?
Does our marketing communications use the words “we”, “us” and “our” more than “you”, “your” or words that speak to specific buyer personas?
Does our marketing focus on what we want to say rather than what buyers want to hear?

At this point, we often hear comments like “we have always advertised in the XXXX trade journal, we would be conspicuously absent if we pulled our ad” Or “we have always attended the YYYY trade show, it’s a key opportunity to sell new products to our market” To these comments, think about the following:

In the last ninety days how many times have you seen a print ad in a trade journal and acted on it because it was a perfect solution to a problem you had?
In the last year, how many times have you attended a trade show trying to find a solution to a problem you had?
In the last 30 days, how many times have you, or someone who works for you, done a Google search to find a solution to a problem you had?

If you are like the vast majority of people we know, your answer to questions 1 & 2 is “I have not.”

In recent surveys, we found between 5% - 20% use print ads and trade shows to solve problems. However, 80% - 100% said they use web search engines like Google to find solutions to problems.

If you are spending big dollars on print ads, trade shows and direct mail, while your potential buyers are searching for you on the web, how's that working for you?