By: Chris Nesbitt, Client Advisory Director at Huntington Copper
Everyday, the average American is exposed to thousands of marketing messages a day. Each one of these marketing messages come from an agenda of someone (or some organization - whether it's business, political, non-profit, spiritual, etc.) who wants others to think or feel a certain way about what they believe or are trying to accomplish.
In business, one of the biggest challenges is to figure out how to get your message heard through all of the clutter. So, how do you do it?
Instead of trying to get your message heard, listen.
Listen first.
I believe that the people in our world today are longing for someone to listen to them and understand what they are dealing with in their life. THEY want to be heard.
You may have wanted to read this article as soon as you read the title because you want to be heard. Your target market and current clients are no different from you in that respect.
Your target market really does not care what you are marketing or selling. They want to know WIIFM (What's In It For Me?). They want to know how they can solve their problems. As most of you know, if you can help them solve their problem(s) with your product or service, you win.
How do you know if they even have a problem or think they have a problem you could potentially solve if you don't listen first? You may offer a great product or service and deliver it with phenomenal service. However, if you are trying to get your message to the wrong people (those who don't have or believe they have the problem you solve), you are wasting your time.
Unless you offer an extremely obscure product or service, there is most likely a large enough target market for you to create the amount of sales you need or desire. So, you don't have to get your message out to everyone...just those who believe they have a problem you solve.
There are many ways to listen to the market (market analysis, surveys, searching online for those talking about their problem, etc.) and many ways to listen to an individual prospect (utilizing good questions, understanding the four different communication styles, active listening, etc.), but discussing those is not the purpose of this article.
So, if you're asking "how do I get my message heard?", you're asking the wrong question. Instead:
Listen...Understand...Connect
A better question would be:
How can I really hear and understand my target market?
Followed by:
How can I connect with them in order to provide a product or service that meets their wants/needs?
What am I doing to add value to them so they feel comfortable or confident enough to buy my product or service?
What does your company do to listen to it's target market?