Your customers are exposed to a tsunami of online content every day, so how do you get them to notice your company? In this article, Adam Ferrari, Adam Ferrari, a chemical engineer and the founder of the successful mineral acquisitions company, Ferrari Energy, discusses how best to capture your customer's attention and build your brand.
Laser-focused, not scattered
Many times, when companies see their sales dipping or inquiries dropping off, they instinctually react by throwing more things at the wall to see what sticks. This is precisely the wrong move. You can't blame them because they are only trying to determine what their customers want.
The shotgun approach to marketing and lead generation doesn't work in today's online marketplace. Offering a generic set of benefits hoping to attract a wider audience could misfire.
Because your customers are inundated with online content, they have become desensitized to all but the most relevant ads, posts, or offers. To garner more attention online, sharpen your marketing efforts, and attract a particular set of customers. If your budget allows, run parallel campaigns, each focused on a specific niche or feature of your solution.
Develop a unique brand
When people hear the brand Craftsman Tools, most will think of quality and a lifetime warranty. But, when they hear Harbor Freight, they think of low prices. So, in the end, the point of building a brand is to influence what people think of when they hear your company's name.
Your brand should be different than your competitors. There is room enough in any market for multiple companies, especially if they each have a unique brand. Not everyone wants to pay a little extra for the highest quality, just like some people are not interested in sacrificing quality to save money. Determine what feelings, thoughts, or emotions your brand should evoke.
Be true to your brand
Once you've established your brand, stick to it. If prospective customers see you waffling about what you stand for, they will assume you stand for nothing at all.
Have you noticed that some large companies own multiple brands of the same product? That's because they understand the value of letting each brand be true to the image they have created for it. They are fortunate enough to support more than one brand and attract a wider audience; maybe you can too.
Build trust with touchpoints
Because there is so much online content for people to wade through, they become suspicious of all marketing efforts. The best way to combat this hesitancy is to offer something of value, possibly an eBook, a professional report, a free consultation, or whatever works for your business. Then, and here's the important part, don't try and sell them anything when they respond to your free offer.
This can be difficult because the natural inclination is to try and sell to them when you have their attention. Resist the temptation. You'll want to gather some contact information so you can follow up with them later, but the victory is yours if they walk away from their first experience with your company feeling like they received something of value and didn't even have to defend against an assault from a salesperson. Think of this as the opposite of selling vacation timeshares.
For most products and services, it requires several touchpoints with the customer before they complete a purchase. Don't try and short circuit the process. Make each contact with your company an enjoyable experience.