Marketing: Are You Unplugged?

A few years ago, my son and his four friends—geeks all of them—gathered at his apartment for an all nighter of networked gaming. Several of the guys brought their computers and they proceeded to hook them up. Everything went fine, but one computer wouldn’t show up in the system. Brows lowered, they ran diagnostics and checked settings. They went back and did them again. Still nothing. They rolled up their sleeves and dug in deeper. Two hours later, someone screamed. The other four looked up as from a dream. In the screamer’s hand was the dangling cord. The computer was unplugged.

How about you? Are you working frantically with focus and precision, typing feverishly and marketing anxiously with few results to show for it? Chances are, you are also unplugged.

Latch onto the problems, needs, and values of your prospects, and you’ll plug into the power you’ve been looking for. Understanding your buyers is the first step to success. This is foundational to your success. Without a complete understanding of your prospects, you have no starting place for your marketing message. Your bio will sag and your blog posts will flounder without this information.

Are your prospects caregivers? Talk about fatigue, the need for a quiet moment now and then, and ways to care for their loved ones more effectively with less effort. Are your prospects leaders? Give them a plan to reach the status and respect they crave. Are your prospects free spirits? Relate your product or service to living life on their own term. Authentically, of course.

A weak message means blown fuses and short circuits. Get clear and you’ll be hardwired into the source with the results to match.

Good news. It’s easier to get plugged in than you might think. While most entrepreneurs struggle with knowing their prospects, you can get insights by studying the values, the attitudes, and the problems of your best clients. Take a good look at the people you love to work with and think back to your first meeting. What did they hope for when they came to you? What did they fear? What did they actually need from you? Identify these and you’ll be plugged in sooner than you think.