I heard a business owner earlier making an amazing statement. Here’s what he said, along with a massively valuable marketing lesson.
The business owner was being interviewed on local radio. They asked him how his business was doing. He replied that it was really struggling. When they asked him why, he replied:
“That’s simple. The marketplace is too stupid to understand how good my service is, so they hire cheaper providers”.
I guess that’s one way to look at things.
He was wrong. Very, very wrong!
Clearly, when prospective customers are failing to understand the value of the services you provide, it’s your job to build a better, clearer marketing message. Writing the marketplace off as being stupid is… well… stupid. It also shifts the focus away from the business owner [who can fix the issue] to the prospective customer [who can’t].
Some far more useful alternatives
If your prospective customers are failing to understand the value you bring, there are lots of things you can do. Here are just a few.
- Make sure YOU are 100% clear on the value of your service. Check that you’re offering a compelling reason why prospective clients need what you provide. Demonstrate the extra [whatever] you offer, which they can’t get from a competitor. Note: If you can’t explain why they should use your service over a competitor’s service, you’re not ready to market your service yet.
Read this. It will help you.
- Hire a professional marketing copywriter. This is the least expensive, fastest and most effective option. You pay a professional to style your hair, right? You pay a professional to look after your teeth too. So, pay a professional to create a compelling marketing message for your business.
Tip: If you think your business isn’t worth hiring a professional for, get a job. - If you insist on creating your own marketing message, try being clearer. Cut the fluff from your message. Get to the point. Embrace brevity.
Tip: Don’t write your web copy for Google. Really. Don’t! - Then test that new, clearer message on a selection of prospective customers. See if they have a clearer idea of the message you want to convey. If they understand it, others are likely to understand it too.
- If they still don’t understand your message, try explaining things using more forms of media. So, if it was originally a written marketing message, add video, images, graphs or audio.
There are more customers and clients out there than you could ever need. Plus, it has never been easier to reach them, [I explain why here]. This means you never need to settle for a business that’s under performing.
It’s 100% within your control.