Top 5 Ways Marketing Professionals Help Your Business
Here Is Another Top 5 List To Help Your Business Grow!
Okay, this will be a bold statement: “Marketing professionals are the unsung heroes of the business world.” There I said it. There is no glory, no fanfare, and no one — for the most part — understands what we do to help their business.
I am hoping to change some of that with this post!
So, Why Do Marketing Professionals So Often Get Ignored?
In today’s world, the act of marketing often gets confused with sales, and while the act of sales is important and ultimately the end result, they are two very different methodologies.
Many businesses operate based on “sales-out-the-door” — and they should — as, without sales, there would be no business. However, what is driving the lead conversions to the sales team is the creative methodologies of your marketing team.
That all said, here in the information age — as it has been for hundreds of years before — the way business marketing is done can be the difference between success and failure in bringing in quality prospects to whom to sell your service or widget.
Marketing Professionals Know That It Has Always Been This Way!
In fact, today’s funnel has been completely flipped on its head, finally giving validity to the power of not only the deliverance of leads but the deliverance of good, qualified leads that allow you to close the sales process faster.
That said, the biggest fault has also fallen upon the shoulders of your marketing team.
“A salesman’s mistake may cost little. An advertiser’s mistake may cost a thousand times that much. Be more cautious, more exacting, therefore. A mediocre salesman may affect a small part of your trade. Mediocre advertising affects all of your trade.” ~ Claude Hopkins in Scientific Marketing
Today’s purchasing funnel is now 75% marketing and 25% sales, whereas even as recent as 15 years ago — circa 2002 — ‘sales’ was the dominant focus to drive business at 60% sales and 40% marketing.
Here is my Top-5 list for how we marketing professionals can help your business.
#1 – We Know Why People Make Decisions…
Trendsetters like Claude Hopkins or Simon Sinek know that when you market to the “emotional-why”, you are marketing directly to the part of the brain that makes a decision. This ‘direct response marketing’ methodology is used by 100% of today’s successful businesses such as Apple, Inc..
#2 – We Focus On The Perspective Of The Buyer…
There have been many times when I have seen marketing that is all about the features. Unfortunately, it is little about the benefit. You have the best widget or service, or you claim to have a low price, you may even claim to have all the right colours & all the right sizes — and within your message, it was forgotten that all the prospective buyer wants to know is how you will solve their problem or fix their need. Remember, benefits sell; features don’t!
#3 – We Deliver Better, More Qualified Leads…
The shorter the cycle, the faster you can grow. Good marketers deliver leads to your business. The ones that are qualified can then be given an offer from the sales team. Quite often businesses have their sales teams out there trying to market, but they do it like salespeople. Some will be successful, but the majority will falter. Today’s discerning customer has more direct access to your competition, and the bigger the impact, the deeper the relationship must be! Simply, driving better/more qualified leads to your sales team will bring in your profits faster.
#4 – Brand Continuity…
All us marketers say that consistency is important, but “why” is it important? Brand continuity affects what people think about your company. People are emotionally driven to buy and as such, an inconsistent brand will not drive confidence. The more consistent your messaging, the more consistent your branding — whether via words, design, offerings or perspective. That’s why it’s so important to develop standards for brand consistency in your business.
#5 – We Are Professionals At Showing Value…
Price is often pitched as value and just as often, they are not related. There are two aspects to the definition of value: ‘desired value’ and ‘perceived value’. Desired value refers to what customers desire in a product or service. Perceived value is the benefit that a customer believes he or she received from a product after it was purchased. One-hundred percent of all generated value is delivered by your marketing team before they even talk to a salesperson.
And there you have it. If you found value in this post, please share it.
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The Power Of Why Marketing Methodology
“People Don’t Buy What You Do, They Buy Why You Do It” ~ Simon Sinek — that’s the power of why!
My Inspiration For The Power Of Why
To understanding the Power Of Why, let’s talk about biology… yes “biology”. We are all inspired — at the top level — by our experiences. From there our feelings take over; and while we are always gathering information, that ‘information’ influences our feelings… which in turn influences our decision, and ultimately, we buy based on what we feel, not what we know.
“When we are confronted with a decision, emotions from previous, related experiences affix values to the options we are considering. These emotions create preferences which lead to our decision.” ~ Peter Noel Murray Ph.D.
So how does this tie into biology you ask?
When you look at the information and “decision-making regions” of the brain — top down, like the image above — the”Neo-Cortex” is the ‘WHAT’ ring, and the “Limbic Brain” (or “Allocortex” region) are the center two, ‘HOW’ & ‘WHY’ regions respectively. When we buy, our final decisions are most often attributed to the ‘why’. In other words, does it make us feel good, or special, or sexy, or smart, or [whatever].
So more often than not, your marketing message must seek to tap into that Allocortex response region, eliciting an emotion, putting the buyer on a path to make a decision in your favor.
This is only century-old knowledge, and the ‘message delivering methodology’ within this knowledge is at the core of why DRM (Direct Response Marketing) works so well. In fact, one of the most successful companies in the world uses this methodology all the time. That company? Apple.
So, Gimme Some Examples Of DRM and The Power Of Why
Okay, we are just scratching the surface here, here are a few ‘slogans’… see if you can name the brand:
- “Think Different” (we all want to be unique)
- “Melts in your mouth but not in your hands!” (still true)
- “Fly the friendly skies!” (well not so much anymore)
- “Snickers really satisfies!” (okay that one is a give away)
Well, how’d you do? My guess is, most will — while maybe more in a sub-conscience way — easily relate to the emotional experience we have had with each brand. The first one, by the way, was Apple. “Think different.” was an advertising slogan for Apple, Inc. (then Apple Computer, Inc.) in 1997 created by the Los Angeles office of advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day. The slogan has been widely taken as a response to IBM’s slogan “Think”.
The Golden Circle — Explaining The Power Of Why
Simon Sinek codified this whole concept in the creation of “The Golden Circle”, and with 32.6+ million total views, you can be guaranteed that more than a few have been inspired. Here is that video:
I hope you left inspired today about “The Power Of Why”!