By Noel Peebles
1. Consumers Are Individual Customers
The idea of mass marketing to consumers
is outdated. Consumers are individuals and deserve
to be called customers. The days are gone when marketers can think
of consumers as a mass audience to "push" advertising
out to. In fact, wise marketers will remove the word
"consumers" from their vocabulary altogether.
Think about it. You can't have a relationship with a
consumer; you can with a customer. Customers are
individuals.
The fact is that these day's customers are more
demanding than ever. They expect more from you.
They deserve your respect and expect to be treated
like equals. The old fashioned general store knew
how to look after their customers. The trick for
the modern marketer is to take those old "values"
and use the new technology to build a relationship
that treats each customer as an individual.
2. Be First In The Mind Or The Marketplace?
It is better to be first in the prospects mind than
to be first in the market place. Once somebody else
gets into your prospects mind you can't take away
their position with money alone. We're all quick to
pass judgement and it's difficult to change a mind
once a mind is made up. You have to blast your way
into the mind because people don't like to change
their minds.
Once they perceive you one way, that's it. They put
you into a category and file you away in their minds
as a certain type of person or business. The only
way to change that perception is to become a
different kind of person or business in someone
else's mind so that the majority overwhelms the
minority. You haven't changed their mind, somebody
else has.
Marketing is not a battle of products, it's a battle
of perceptions. It does not matter if you have the
best product or service; it's what people think that counts.
3. Think Of Your Product As A Service
These days there's no shortage of "me too" products
and short lived technological advantages. It can be
difficult to find a point of difference for your
product to own in your customers mind.
So, here's a thought. When thinking about competitive
differentiations for your product don't consider only
the physical aspects of your product. Instead think
of your product as a service. What is the service it
provides? What are the "experiences" it offers to a
customer? The answers to these questions will be more
fruitful in developing your marketing strategy than
just focusing on the physical aspects.
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