It is getting harder for marketing messages to get through to people as busy lives and a fog of noise from multiple communication channels often gets in the way.
Increasingly it is making real commercial sense to focus on small groups of customers at a time – ones who share some kind of similarity in their interests, needs, job or stage of life and who you can present a more relevant or tailored offering to.
The more you can align your products, services and their related marketing to the preferences of these customers, the more appealing your brand or business will become. So here are 3 areas which can really help to get your marketing heard and acted on:
1. Determine how “digitally-savvy” they are
Consider if their life, work and purchasing relies on utilising digital media as this will guide you on the channels you’re more likely to reach them through. Find out which channels they favour and don’t waste time on those they avoid. Are our customers responsive to direct mail or email newsletters? Do they respond to Facebook advertising or are they more about LinkedIn? Is Twitter the place where your clients hang out or do they prefer to be on Google+? Or how about online forums or Pinterest? If your clients aren’t so digital savvy then maybe print is your focus – magazines, brochures, flyers, even a quality prospectus could be the key to engaging your clients.
2. Find out how time poor or rich they are
This will guide you on how short or detailed your marketing messages need to be. The more time your target customers have on their side, the more they’ll allocate to reading and evaluating marketing messages before making a purchasing decision.
The less time people have, the more you will need to build your marketing messages around images, short videos, simple statements and easy calls to action. Also, consider when may be the best time of day and day of the week to gain their attention. Testing different campaign timings will give you the answers here.
3. Find out how much importance they allocate to this purchase
The more valuable a purchase is to someone the more time they’ll spend weighing up the options. Value may take the form of price or it can also, especially in Business-to-business (B2B) environment, factor in aspects such as risk reduction, reputation enhancement or hassle elimination. Knowing how much value your customers allocate to the purchase of your product or service will guide you on the volume, detail, look, feel and messaging of its marketing and sales collateral. For example, with some impulse buys it may just be a case of getting the price right, or ensuring the buying process is as quick and efficient as it can possibly be.
If you’d like more ideas on aligning your offering to different customer preferences then contact Clever Marketing via our easy contact form, or call us on 01276 402 381.