Marketing plays an important role in the growth of every business. Companies can no longer will their way to a win. Acknowledging the changes that have taken place in the buyers journey is critical for all companies trying to grow and increase market share. To do this…grow…a Marketing organization must perform with a strong sense of urgency, focus, customer insight, and innovation. Keeping an open mind and willingness to consider the unknown, or untested tactics, falls squarely on the Marketing organizations feet. After all, Marketing is all about generating new ideas that help increase revenue.

The 3 jobs every Marketing department must do include: define the pain, provide a vision for the solution, and finally communicate the value of the solution. How are these 3 jobs performed? Let’s look…

1. Define the pain. How do you know what your customers pain points are? Have you asked them? When did you ask? How long ago did you ask? What did you do to understand their business well enough to really “get” their pain? One method to help define the pain is to conduct a series of “Follow Me Homes” (FMH). This is a tactic that places you squarely in your customers place of work to observe first hand the operation of their business and the pain for which you believe your product provides a viable solution. Ask questions like, “what happens if you can’t do….”, or “how does this impact you personally?”. The personal focused questions will identify fears and potential risks if a solution is not found, such as a missed bonus, tension with the boss, etc. Understanding the pain is critical and cannot be overlooked.
2. Solution vision. Once you have a clear understanding of the pain and its impact on the decision maker you can begin to align your solution against the problem. Assuming your product eliminates or minimizes the problem and pain you must focus on exactly how it creates a better life for the business and its decision maker. If it saves time, how much? If it reduces “x”, by how much? Answer the “why” question. Why does it matter? What is to be gained? Connecting those dots and providing a clear solution vision is critical for the potential buyer to see…and believe in.
3. Communicating the value of the company/solution. It’s been said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Your brand and its attributes are crucial components of your value communication. Your prospects want to know what you do, why you do it, and how you get it done. Often times the “how” is more important than the what. Think of a hair cut. Most people go to the same salon and hair dresser forever. It’s not that they can’t get a hair cut elsewhere and perhaps cheaper. But instead it’s the how, that keeps them coming back. The free coffee, cookies, conversation. The trust that’s developed over time based upon the consistency of receiving a quality hair cut is usually enough to keep you going back even if you could save some money trying someone else. Being able to demonstrate the “how” over and over again is key to communicating an effective message.

What do you think?