There’s an old saying that has been used to describe exceptional salespeople: “They’re so good that they could sell ice cubes to Eskimos.” The point being that Eskimos, living in a cold climate, really don’t need ice cubes, and are likely an audience that is going to be tough to crack. But, great salespeople could crack them.
Our perspective: Why? Continue reading “Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should!”
We recently responded to a reporter’s question of: “Are buyer/audience personas just a better way to say ‘stereotypes’?”
The answer:
Yes, but…
Continue reading “Do Buyer Personas = Stereotypes? Yes, but…”
Most of the time I exhort the audiences I speak to—students, clients, conference attendees–to identify, analyze and work hard to connect with their various audiences. It’s Marketing 101 and, generally, it makes good sense. But, I recently came across an example of when connecting with your audience might be at cross-purposes with an organization’s mission or brand. Continue reading “Sometimes You Really Shouldn’t Connect With Your Audience”
It seems like just about every week I see a question on social media, or coming through various media feeds that I monitor, asking something like: “What’s the best way to market to millennials?” or “What’s the best way to market to Baby Boomers?” or “What’s the best way to market to mothers?” or…insert any group you can think of.
While I do believe that any question is a valid question, and this one obviously must resonate with many, the question itself points to what would be my key recommendation: Continue reading “What’s The Best Way to Advertise to (Insert Group Name of Your Choice)?”
Too often businesses – large and small – cast a wide net when it comes to those they believe they can or should serve. Perhaps counter-intuitively, when you attempt to serve everyone, you lose the ability to effectively serve anyone. Just because your product or service literally could be consumed by the masses, doesn’t mean that should be your focus.
The more you are able to effectively segment your broad market into niche-specific “chunks,” and the better you understand those chunks, the more effective you will be at both identifying the appropriate communication channels and developing the right – and most compelling – key messages. Unfortunately, many marketers fail to do this, or fail to do so effectively.
The biggest misstep we see Continue reading “Narrow Your Focus!”
One of my favorite parts of the “creative process” isn’t what most people consider “creative” at all — it’s the process of spending time to research and understand my situation, my target audience and my competition. To most this seems like drudge-work. To me it’s like being the detective in a mystery novel. The more I can Continue reading “Key Messages: Connecting With and Compelling Your Audience to Action”
One of the most common missteps made by businesses large and small, in both the for-profit and not-for-profit arenas is a failure to clearly identify the desired target market. Why? In my experience, I see this happen for a variety of reasons: Continue reading “Why Marketers Often Fail to Sufficiently Narrow Their Target Audience”
We sponsor, and I present a session on marketing at, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s Entrepreneurial Training Program; my session is on marketing. When I first spoke with the program’s director about the program he pointed out that one of the major missteps that he saw from participants was that they too broadly defined their target audiences. They generally felt that their products or services appealed to “everyone.” He was right. Continue reading “How Do You Find and Target the Right Customers”
