An email came to me a few weeks ago from a friend of a friend who was struggling with their marketing. He told me that he had done everything to tell people about his product and how great it was and how much it cost. He said his message was honest and authentic, but no one was buying. He advertised in the right places and sent dozens of emails with special pricing and bulk volume discounts. He sent his message to everyone he could think of and even advertising broadly to a large audience.
But, nothing worked, and all he was experiencing was his marketing failure.
When he shared with me his product, I had to be honest, and I pointed out to him that his product didn’t have one unique value proposition.
His product was boring without differentiation. It was as if he was marketing his category and doing it broadly to everyone.
He couldn’t tell me one thing his product did for customers that competitors didn’t also do. Not one thing. I used the analogy that it was as if he was marketing a toolbox to a handyman who needs a specific type of pliers. And, he was trying to sell it to people who weren’t looking to make a repair.
In addition, this business owner didn’t have a backstory worth sharing about his business, brand or product. It was as if he was selling something called generic and expected people to buy from him.
Avoiding Marketing Failure
Marketing is successful when you understand the pain, the friction and the difficulties that a group of people has with a product or services. When that community learns of your product or service, it offers them a chance to have a different experience. One that supports the customer’s needs, not your profit motive.
Marketing isn’t about you. I can’t say this enough. Marketing failure happens when you think customers care or are loyal. A customer wants to solve a problem, do a job or tell themselves (or others) about experiences.
When this becomes clear, your marketing becomes much more effective because you become the exact type tool or solution needed for the problem at hand.
Stop trying to sell hammers when customers have a job to do that involves a needle nose pliers.
I can help you create more effective marketing to grow profitable sales. Want to borrow a tool from my marketing toolbox? You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Try my new chat feature on my site if you have a quick question.
Photo by Hunter Haley on Unsplash
