You won’t find “el crappo” in Webster’s, but it’s the exact verbiage used when I was emailed this topic and invited to offer my insight. So, here goes.
But first some background. I run a creatively-driven, advertising and marketing firm geared toward smaller businesses. I also do something called “Marketing Therapy” which is the way I often begin with business owners who realize they have marketing issues and also realize they need professional help. I’ve been doing Marketing Therapy for the past few years and running a business, in various forms, for the past 24. During these 24 years I’ve been responsible for getting my own clients for all but 4 of those years. So, I’ve managed to get through several tough economic times. Oh yeah, I should add that I’ve had no formal business or sales training.
I’ve learned that the way to get customers in a bad economy is not a lot different than the way you’d do it a good economy. A bad economy just forces you to do it better. “Better” means smarter and more creatively. Because in business, as in battle, the spoils don’t always go to the biggest or richest. They usually go to the smartest and most innovative. But being effective at it depends on the specific business and situation. For example, are we talking about a law firm, or a car dealership? Is this about a national branding effort, or a personal job search? To get a real idea of what I mean you can see some real problem/solution cases at this link. Whatever the scenario, however, you must be really clear about who your prospect is and then devise a way to get their attention in an exiting, positive way. Once you do that, then comes the fun part — convincing them.
I was recently interviewed on BlogTalk Radio and asked about an article I wrote entitled, “No One Give a Damn About Your Product — unless you Give’em a Reason to.” If the title isn’t obvious, it means that unless you’re selling cold drinks in a desert your product benefits may not be as obvious to your prospect as you’d like to think. And, this is where business owners really need help. Entrepreneurs and business owners, as a rule, are passionate, ego-driven people. As a result they tend to have a blind spot when it comes to seeing their business or product as nakedly as their prospects do. So, besides lacking marketing expertise, they lack something equally critical to their success in getting customers — objectivity. I’ve seen it time and time again when a business owner’s ego blinds, or distorts, the realities. Some examples are… not knowing or respecting your competition… not acknowledging a poor presentation of your product… or thinking you can write compelling ad copy because you majored in English. These things will not help get more customers. If you’re truly looking to improve your odds at getting more customers start by being as clear as possible about how your product or service is being perceived. You may not have the thousands to invest in research, but spending a few hundred to get a trusted, qualified outside perspective is a wise investment.
Another key point about attracting customers is this: Information, no matter how complete, is not enough. You won’t convert prospects into a customers if you don’t excite them. Your message needs to touch your prospect on an emotional level.
Besides creativity, and objectivity, and knowing how to appeal to prospects on an emotional level, it also takes persistence, patience, and occasionally a little luck. Here’s a true story of how I landed one of my biggest pr