More Sales - Less Marketing

I think the very first thing that I have to tell you is that I LOVE marketing.  It is a great discipline and an essential part of building an awesome business.  Some of my best friends are marketers  ....

And you know there has to be a but … So here it is.

The problem that I see is that lots of businesses spend too much time and money on marketing when they don’t really understand their customers and why they buy from them. 

Let me explain... 

The truth is that until you understand why it is that people buy from you and what real value you provide from your customer perspective, you are in fact wasting your time and money. 

This marketing is ineffective, not because there is anything wrong with marketing, but because it doesn’t ‘speak’ to the client and what they really want, need and will listen to.  

Let's start at the beginning...

The premise is this:

Your first job in business is to intimately get to know your best customers.  The customer you love to work with and who love to buy from you.

You don’t have to believe me.  Some of the greatest business icons of our time agree with me.

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits them and sells itself.”  Peter Drucker

Amen to that Peter! 

What's wrong with marketing?

The problem with some modern marketing is that for the last 10 years small to medium businesses have been told that if they ‘market’ well that they won’t have to sell.  Some marketing companies have sold the idea that if you get enough visitors to your website or facebook page or clicks on a lead magnet; that you will win business.

This just isn’t true.

Great marketing is great.  But the truth is that great marketing is based on deep customer insights.  If you don't have these insights then you can't do great marketing.

These insights come from customer conversations, from getting to know what motivates them.  Getting to know what the emotional, logical and tactical journey of discovery your client has taken to say yes to you and to stay working with and buying from you.

For all businesses - this has to be your primary ambition.  These insights can then drive your customer conversations and yes your marketing.

You can’t do sales or marketing.  You have to do both.  my concern is just that we have it the wrong way around.

The problem with business is that people have put the cart before the horse.  The cart that promises clients but can’t move because the horse is on the wrong end.

So I encourage you - put the horse back in the front of the cart.  It’s about the steps we have to take in business in order to reacquaint ourselves with our most loved customers.  To get to deeply understand their motives and what they value and then to deliver that.

Why do businesses choose marketing?

We love the idea of marketing first, becuase we hate the idea of selling.

The primary reason for this is that selling has a bad name and we 'think' about it the wrong way.

For more on this ... see this article: 
Hate Selling?  You are doing it the wrong way.

I would love to continue this conversation with you.  If this makes sense (or not) get in touch.