In every industry, businesses should be marketing to 2 distinct groups of customers. Does your marketing include messages to each of these groups? Or are you forgetting about one or the other?
Group #1
These people are aware of their need for your product or service. They are actively purchasing (or looking to purchase) from either you or your competition. In your marketing messages to these people, you want to convey how you are different from your competitors. You should highlight the ways in which your product or service is superior to other choices in the marketplace.
Group #2
These people could benefit from the use of your product or service but are not actively seeking to purchase. In some cases, they are not aware of their problem, and therefore are not seeking a solution. In other cases, they are looking to a different product or service category for help. In your marketing messages to these people, you should clearly define the problem the consumer is facing and how your product or service could benefit them.
If you’ve found yourself targeting one of these groups and not the other, you’re ignoring an important customer base.
Many business owners forget about Group #2 because they are not actively shopping. This is a huge marketing mistake. This second group of consumers represents a completely untapped customer population. Instead of battling over a limited number of active customers, businesses can free themselves from their competition by targeting those in Group #2.
For instance, let’s pretend you own a gel insole company. You provide a variety of gel insoles consumers can place in their shoes to correct posture and reduce pressure in the feet that causes chronic joint and back pain. In your marketing messages, you should target 2 groups of individuals. Group #1 is made up of people who have purchased, or are looking to purchase, insoles to relieve their discomfort. Group #2 is made up of those who have back or joint pain, but are not looking to gel insoles as a solution. These consumers may be regularly visiting a chiropractor, or looking to pain medication as a solution.
Remember, as straightforward as your product or service may seem to you, not everyone realizes how it can solve their problems. You should be sending 2 messages out into the world: exactly how your business can solve a customer’s problems, and how your product or service is better than other options available.
Educating your customers is a powerful part of marketing, and an area in which most business owners do not take advantage. To be of true service to your market, you must display how your product or service will help them. It is a mistake to assume your target market is aware of their need for your product.
We live in a time where new technologies, new products, and new services are released every minute. Consumers don’t have the capability to be aware of every new solution to their problems.
It is up to you as the business owner to lead them to water. Show them exactly how your product or service can improve their life and how you stand out from other options available.
Do all the work for your customers; make their decision easy. Think about where they may be looking for answers, and direct them to your solution. You started your business to help people, and part of that lies in helping them to realize their problem and how you can solve it best.
