Harcourt Lane

Content consultancy.

Your target customer

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What do you really know about your customer?

What assumptions are you making about your potential customers? How sure are you that those assumptions are correct?

The success of your business lies in knowing your customer very well. You must know and understand his motivations, as well as the context in which he makes ‘relevant decisions’.

‘Relevant decisions’ include the following:

  • His decision whether or not to act on a perceived need for the type of product or service you supply;
  • His decision whether or not to buy that product or service;
  • His decision from whom to buy that product or service (i.e. whether to buy from you or from your competition); and
  • His decision to continue buying that product or service (whether from you or from your competition).

Do you know what assumptions lie behind all of these (and other) relevant decisions? If not, you should.

So how do you get to discover these assumptions?

The ready answer might appear to be: ‘customer research’.

Up to a point, yes. But customer research depends on your customer giving accurate responses to the questions you ask. This shouldn’t be a problem if your customer knows why he makes those buying decisions.

But what about those decisions that your customer makes unconsciously?

He will not be able to give you accurate answers for those.

And this is important. Because, as human beings, a lot of the decisions we make are, in fact, made unconsciously.

Studies have shown that we often make decisions at an unconscious, deeper, level, and then subsequently rationalize those decisions through our conscious process. Thing is, in such a situation, we are not able to access the unconscious process through which we made the decision.

We cannot access it because we are not even aware that it’s happening. And if we are not aware of it, we cannot report it, for example, if asked in a customer survey.

Which leads us to this key question:

If we (as customers) make buying decisions and we don’t even know how we made them, how much reliance should be placed on a customer survey that asks us about our buying decisions?

That’s the quandary most marketers face.

This is not to say that customer research isn’t important. It is, but it’s only one part of the story. A good marketer must be able to access the unconscious biases that customers hold; those hidden motivations, fears, desires. Without these insights, the marketing campaign will fail.

So how effective is your marketing campaign?

What assumptions are you making about your customers?

How confident are you that these are the right assumptions?

And your customers’ unconscious biases and motivations – how well do you know them? Have you put them successfully to work in your marketing campaigns?

Knowing your customer is a difficult business. You have to listen to him, not only to what he says, but, perhaps, more important, to what he might not actually say.

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Top tips for a successful sales visit

Some business owners look forward to visiting potential customers. They embrace this opportunity to pitch their products and services. But not every business owner finds this exciting. In fact, many dread having to make sales visits.

But sales visits do not have to be daunting. Here are some tips to help you have a relaxing and successful visit.

1) Before the visit

Do your homework beforehand. There is no substitute for this. If you want to have a productive visit, you cannot afford to skip this step.

You will need answers to the following questions

Who is your potential client? Not just the name of the person you are going to see, and the name of his company. But also, what does the company do?

Also, what are the wishes or pain points of that particular business? You need to look at this from the perspective of that business, and also from the perspective of the industry in which that business is operating. Basically, what you’re trying to find out is this: exactly what problem can I solve for my potential client?

So you must do your research.

Based on what you discover, you will then be able to come up with concrete ways in which your product or service can help your potential client. Prepare a list of such examples, with as much detail as you can find.

Also, anticipate the questions your potential client might ask. This should be possible to do once you have researched your client and his industry.

2) During the visit

Practical point – get there early. Prepare for unforeseen events, such as traffic jams or late trains. You don’t want to rush in there flustered. You want to arrive calm and in control. So give yourself plenty of time.

Right. Now that you’re sitting opposite your prospect, what should you do?

Listen to your client

Remember that it should be a conversation, and not a monologue. Don’t focus on pitching non-stop. However great your product or service, you won’t sell it by pitching breathlessly about its top features. You will sell it by creating trust between you and your potential client. To achieve this, you need to start a conversation.

Listen to what your prospect is saying. This shows that, primarily, you are interested in his problem, and that you’re not just in there for a quick sale. After all, if he is to buy your product or service, he needs to be convinced that it will work for him. He can only be convinced of that if, first of all, he sees that you actually understand his problem. Next, he will want to see that you know how to solve his problem. You will have to be listening actively to him to be able to show that.

Also, by listening to your potential client, you can get valuable insights into what he actually wants.

The thing is, no matter how thoroughly you do your homework beforehand, you will not learn all the relevant facts about your potential client. However, by listening to him, you can glean insights into what his real needs are. And even if he reveals something that you had not anticipated, you should be flexible enough to change your approach right there. L

So assuming you had gone in there to sell a particular service, but, on listening to your client, it becomes clear that he has different needs which you can also meet, you should be flexible enough to ditch your initial plan, and to offer him the appropriate service for him. But note: this opportunity would only arise if you are actively listening in the first place. If you are not listening to your prospect, you would end up wasting your time pitching the wrong service (which he won’t buy), and then missing the clear opportunity to give him what he really needs.

3) After the visit

Follow up

Sometimes you may get a ‘yes’ from the potential client during the visit. It’s always great when that happens. However, at other times, it could be a ‘no’, a ‘not yet’, or a ‘let me think about it’.

If it’s a ‘no’, there are still a few things you can do. For example, find out why the potential client did not take up the offer. Depending on the answer, you might be able to turn the ‘no’ into a ‘yes’. For example, if he declined the offer because of the price, you could discuss flexible payment options, if these are available.

Sometimes a ‘no’ is actually a ‘not yet’. So don’t just take ‘no’ for an answer. If you ask the potential client for the reasons he said ‘no’, you may find out that it wasn’t really a firm ‘no’. For example, a prospect may have really liked your offer, but just wasn’t ready to purchase at that very time. You could then agree a follow-up call or a visit at an agreed date in the future. You would then have higher chances of securing a ‘yes’.

The point here is that you should follow up with your potential clients. Do this in every case apart from where the prospect has said a firm ‘no’. Anything less than a firm ‘no’ should be followed up. Don’t give up too easily. But at the same time, always accept a firm ‘no’, and thank your potential client for having considered your offer.

If you have made any promises to your potential client during the visit, be sure to keep them. For example, if you have promised to call them on a particular day, call them back on that day. If you have promised to send them further information, do so without delay. The sales visit does not end when you leave your potential client’s premises. He is still assessing you (and your company) in the way you conduct yourself after the visit.

Conclusion

Sales visits can be daunting, but, done right, they can also be rewarding. The key thing to remember is that you are there to build trust between you and your potential client. It is not about delivering him a monologue pitch, but more about engaging him in a discussion that frees him to discuss with you how you can help him solve his particular problem. So even after the visit is over, keep regular contact with your potential client along the lines you have agreed with him.

What do you think about sales visits? Do you look forward to doing them? Share your tips and experiences with us below!

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What’s your story?

In an earlier post, I shared with you the idea of marketing as storytelling.

One can say that marketing is the story you tell about yourself.

But it’s not as simple as all that.

You see, it’s not just down to you the story you tell.

Your customers have a big role to play in this as well.

They are not just sitting there, mouths open, ready to drink in whatever story you pour down their throats.

No. They also contribute to the story about you.

So, in getting to the heart of your story, you have to get to know your customers.

This is where market research comes in. But this is also where psychology comes in. You need to know the psychology of your customer. Why will he choose your product? How does having your product make him feel? Crucially, how does not having your product make him feel?

All these things contribute to your story. These are all important elements.

When you look at your product, look also at your customer. Don’t just focus on the features and benefits of your product. Focus more on how these affect your customer. What emotions do they trigger in him? If you can connect to your customer on that level, you are well on your way to earning his trust.

So, what’s the story of your product or service?

Look at your target customer. That’s where you’ll find your answer.

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How to target your marketing message

The key to an effective marketing campaign is knowing where you stand in the eyes of your target customer.

So where do you stand?

There are three possible places.

However, regarding any particular customer, you can only ever stand in one place at any one time.

In this blog post, I will show you these three scenarios. For your marketing plan to succeed, you have to know which scenario fits you best, and then create a plan within that scenario. Your marketing plan will not succeed if you create a plan that does not align with where you actually stand in your customer’s eyes.

So here are the three scenarios.

Scenario 1: Your target customer is unaware of his problem

In this scenario, your target customer is not even aware that he has a problem. Or he may be aware of it, but does not see it as sufficiently serious as to warrant a solution.

If this is where you are positioned, your marketing plan should first be to open your target customer’s eyes to the fact that he has a problem, and also to convince him of the consequences of not taking action. Only then can you begin to market your product or service.

Here is an example.

You are a marketing consultancy, pitching your services to a potential client base that doesn’t believe in online marketing. It would be futile to approach these clients, in the first place, with a proposal for a social media marketing strategy. They don’t believe in online marketing, so they are unlikely to be persuaded by such a strategy. Your first order of business should be to convince them of the fact that online marketing is beneficial for them. You will have to show them that they can win lots of customers (and business) online. And that, without marketing online, they would be at a serious disadvantage against their competitors who are currently marketing online.

So your marketing strategy here should be: first of all, make your target customer aware of his problem.

Scenario 2: Your target customer is aware of his problem, but does not believe it can be solved with your type of product or service

Here is an example.

You sell weight loss supplements to people who wish to lose weight.

You are not in Scenario 1 above, because your target customer is already aware of his problem: he knows he needs to lose weight, and wishes to do so. Thus there is no point in running a marketing strategy trying to convince your target customer to lose weight. He knows all he needs to know about that.

The issue here is that he doesn’t believe that weight loss supplements (whether yours or someone else’s) are a healthy and effective way to lose weight. So it doesn’t make sense trying to convince him to lose weight (he already knows he should). And it doesn’t make sense trying to convince him to buy your supplements (he doesn’t trust supplements generally).

If  you do decide to go after this type of customer, your primary task should be to convince him of the effectiveness and health benefits of weight loss supplements, generally, before introducing him to yours.

Scenario 3: Your target customer is aware that he needs the type of products and services that you provide, but is not convinced that he should buy from you

Let’s take the weight loss supplement example one step further.

So our customer is convinced that weight loss supplements are a healthy and effective way to lose weight. However, there are scores of such supplements on the market. Why should he buy yours, out of all the others from which he can choose?

In this scenario, your marketing plan would be to show why your product is the best one on the market for your customer. This is where you highlight the benefits to your customer if he chooses your product. You can also show him a comparison of your products to others on the market.

Basically, you do not need to convince your customer that he has a problem (as in Scenario 1), or that your type of product or service would solve his problem (as in Scenario 2). What you need do here is show him why he should buy from you.

Conclusion

Before launching your marketing plan, determine where you stand in the eyes of your target customer. Tailor your marketing strategy to the relevant scenario. Put quite simply, address your customer where he’s at.