
What can happen if your marketing messages don't respect your customers? Think DOOM and DISASTER. Think New Coke! Here are things you can do to avoid these bad outcomes.
- Do your homework. Study your customers. Find out what that they like. What they do. What they want and need. What's important to them.
- Apply what you learn. After you've gathered the information, analyze it and find where you can meet a need...solve a problem. Make that your core message.
- Be interesting. You need to grab attention. It's hard to bore someone into buying. Maybe humor will do the trick. An intriguing visual and headline. An eye-catching presentation.
- Be engaging. The very best marketing doesn't sound like marketing. It sounds like one person talking to another. A conversation.
- Tell the truth. Folks are very good at sniffing out untruths. And they're suspicious of hype. Why risk ruining your reputation with even a small fabrication?
- Be persuasive but not pushy. You have a good story to tell, so tell it. But if you get too aggressive, you may get pushed back.
- Invite feedback. Check with your customers to see how you're doing. What you learn can inform future marketing and make your programs better.