Marketing From the Consumer Perspective

Marketing From the Consumer Perspective
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ed_Wills]Ed Wills

Does your business find itself marking down too much product at the end of each season? Do your scratch your head when you review the monthly income report asking yourself, "Why are more people buying our product or service?" This can often indicate a marketing failure. Making the best cup of coffee or importing the finest wine does not mean people will open your door. So you market. You buy ads. Still no one comes. It could be that your marketing reflects what is important to you, not to your potential consumer. Here is a simple two step process to help you reach consumers from their perspective.

Step One, identify your ideal potential consumer.

Is your ideal consumer male or female. Does your product or service appeal mostly to teenagers, young professionals or seniors? Is there an economic or education bracket that defines who visits your shop or uses your service? Answering these and other questions can help you identify who your ideal consumer is and develop a plan that targets them. Don't fall into the very common trap and assume people like you are your ideal consumer. Just because you love your product or service does not mean you are representative of your ideal consumer. An expert wine enthusiast may feel compelled to open a wine shop, but if he markets exclusively to other expert wine enthusiasts he is destined to go out of business because his market is too small.

Step Two, market to your consumer's buying process - Learn, Feel, Buy.

Consumers always go through a 3 step process for everything they buy.

First, they learn about the product or service. Most marketing campaigns do a good job of informing the public of their product or service. Information is easy. It takes almost no thought. We already know enough about or product or service to fill volumes. It makes us feel good to show off our immense knowledge. But too much will leave the consumer cold. While information is essential to the marketing effort, it should be simple and basic so as not to confuse the potential consumer. The confused customer never buys.

Second, the consumer must want to buy at an emotional level. The reason many marketing campaigns fail is that the exclusively inform but do not evoke an emotional response. Product features and benefits may be clearly outlined. Your hours of operations may be spelled out. Contact information may be correctly placed in the upper right hand corner. But if your ad does not evoke an emotional response, your campaign will fall flat.

Analyzing your consumer's emotional reason for buying takes some serious thought, but it is well worth the effort. Consider some great campaigns everyone remembers. "You deserve a break today." "Proud to be an American. Made in the USA." "Be the best you can be." "Just do it." These slogans evoke a strong emotional response and drive people to buy, even though they say little or nothing about the product or service. In the end, all decisions to buy are emotional decisions. Appeal to those emotions that cause your potential consumer to become your loyal customer.

The third step is to buy. You may think that your ad campaign has no control over the third step, but it does. Three factors affect where and when people buy - convenience, urgency and loyalty. Your ad campaign should touch on those purchase triggers. Phrases such as "limited time offer" or "while supplies last" appeal to urgency. Programs such as "open late every night till Christmas" or "free delivery" appeal to convenience. Identifiers such as "Your friendly family-owned neighborhood coffee shop" appeal to loyalty.

If you are your best customer, you are going to go broke. But if you can identify and reach a broad base of ideal potential consumers, success is in your grasp.

Ed Wills is a franchise and small business startup consultant with WFA Franchise Consultants. He specializes in helping people identify business opportunities that will help them reach their personal and financial goals. He writes, speaks and coaches on a variety of business and success topics. You can learn more about his services or request a free consultation at [http://www.WFAFranchiseConsultants.com]http://www.WFAFranchiseConsultants.com.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Marketing-From-the-Consumer-Perspective&id=4622500] Marketing From the Consumer Perspective