Problems in Marketing: Solve These First

Marketing is a whole set of divisions by itself. It's very big.

After indulging myself with the hall of fame Seth Godin, he wrote the following problems to be solved in marketing. Which to me is wholesome marketing.

Every business will face this marketing problem, these are the most common ones.

Problem 1: They don't know you.

Your target audience don't know you (your product, brand), therefore they cannot buy.

A friend of mine has an amazing fat loss product. The business was ok, could do better. What was not okay, he didn't want to pay for traffic.

He didn't want to notify people about his business and get the words out there.

Choosing the right message can be a daunting task. What are you going to say?

At this stage, it doesn't really matter. Tell them the features and benefits would be enough. Letting them know you exist is good enough.

Key: Target the right target audience.

Action: Allocate and spend some money to get the word out.

Problem 2: They know, but won't buy.

Once you get the word out, they've heard about you, they won't buy.

This leads to either of the following

1. They don't have money - Find a different target audience.
2. It's not the right timing - Wait it out.
3. They don't know what it solves - Simple fix with copywriting.
4. It lacks social proof - Logical numbers, testimonials, familar logos
5. Your sales suck - Instead of shoving, ask more questions.
6. You are the same competitor - You need a USP a reason why they should buy from you instead of your competitior.

Some of the fixes are pretty straightforward, some require a certain degree of expertise.

Problem 3: They buy, but don't repeat.

At this point, you gotta look at your product. Quality, pricing and experience.

Disney World in Florida, USA charges 40% less for locals but full price for visitors. Why? Because people from outside Florida only visit Disney World once in their lifetime.

Meanwhile, residents of Florida are already there. It would be logical to get them to repeat visits.

Another example is Kychon Chicken near my house which serves delicious chicken but I won't repeat it because the staffs were rude.

Some products are just not repeatable (soon), for example, my Web Design Business. Once a customer redesigns their website, it would take about 3-4 years before deciding to rebuild the website.

The quickest and possibly the best way to learn is by asking your customer.

Don't send 100 list item surveys. Pick up the phone and call. If it's not a good time, ask for a better time.

Another sloppy trick is to give a discount on the next purchase. I called it sloppy because it eats margin, and it does somewhat offset marketing costs.

Bottom line is to look at your products and services. Are they repeatable to begin with? If it's not, what can we do to improve that?

Problem 4: They repeat but don't refer.

Finally converting them to loyal customers.

If you'd ask me, what is the best keyboard and mouse? To my limited knowledge, hands down Logitech. I have been using the brand for as long as I can remember.

When your product is focused on quality, it's very difficult not to refer you to other people.

Like running a web design agency, people don't buy websites daily. My clients only refer at the right moment and when the need arises. Only if they remembered me.

Another way is to design repetitive touchpoints.

• Send birthday coupon
• Launch a campaign
• Give them a new story to talk about

However, not all products are referable.

Referrals can't happen without 2 things, an easy Name (to say) and a Good Reputation.

Summary

Like anything else, marketing is a process of not knowing to become loyal customers. What we're looking at here is more like a Marketing Funnel which you can read on Laman7's Insights (a very long post).

While we can go as detail as we want, we can't dismiss the bigger picture.

Don't be too hung up on creatives and copywriting. There are broader matters to worry about.