What are people hoping for, when they hire you or buy from you? That’s one of the most important questions in marketing.
Think about it.
- People visit Facebook, because they hope it will entertain, inform or connect them.
- People donate to charity, because they hope it will make things better for others.
- People relocate to nice areas, because they hope it will improve their quality of life.
- People subscribe to a newsletter, because they hope it will be useful.
- People buy big name brands, because they hope it will ensure high quality.
- People buy from local providers, because they hope it will help the local economy.
Your prospective clients are just the same. They’re hoping for something. And it isn’t always obvious.
A marketing lesson from coffee shops
Ask the owner of any successful coffee shop and they will tell you, the quality of their coffee isn’t the secret of their success. It isn’t even in the top 5 reasons why people choose them over their less successful competitors.
Instead, successful coffee shops thrive because they focus on what people hope for, when they visit a coffee shop. People hope it will provide them with a great place to meet friends, an interesting change of environment, a space where they can relax… and a thousand other non-coffee-related things.
Struggling coffee shops fail to provide the kind of experience, which the marketplace is hoping for. So even if their coffee tastes great, it doesn’t matter. That’s because no business, in any industry, can succeed or even survive, by failing to meet or exceed what people hope for.
As business owners, our task is to uncover what our prospective clients are hoping for. And then make it a foundational element of our service and our marketing. Offering a great service (or great coffee) isn’t enough, by itself.
IMPORTANT: If you want to make more sales, boost your profits and grow an amazing business, this will help you!