Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Talk to your Customers in their Language
A simple, but so important approach with the overwhelming ways of potentially attracting and retaining customers is to talk with them in their own "language." Dismiss the variety of web marketing and traditional direct marketing planning scenarios until you put your hand on your heart and say you truly understand your audience. You can get bogged down with the "how" and miss the "why" or "who."
If your target audience is an IT guy - have away with the acronyms. If you're selling to a less hi-tech literate customer or consumer be very careful to market and sell the benefits of your products or services in terms that they can understand.
Mostly, keep it real with your customers and prospects. Don't second guess what they need and how they would like to be communicated with. Ask them - in person or on the phone. It's a far better way to truly understand the USP and value-add you can bring to them before you make that FB or Twitter post.
Look around. Aren't so many companies jumping on the social media bandwagon without knowing what their customers really want? Know what your customers and prospects want and need, how they like to be engaged and then go full out on your marketing strategy and plans; that's your ticket to a successful conversation with repeat customers in both online and traditional media.
Caroline Birch, Principal, Just Think Consultants