How to Focus Your Marketing Message For Meaningful Client Partnerships
As experts in the marketing industry, we’re reflecting on a few older marketing messages and sales techniques that have faded away over the years.
For instance, cold-calling and door-knocking are not only used less today, but they are known for being a little too… in your face.
Sales styles aren’t the only thing that has seen a transformation.
After years of pitching to potential clients in a way that can be pushy and overbearing, businesses everywhere have stopped to think, “is this what my clients want?”
Spoiler alert: No!
Our point here? Stop focusing on your offer. Aim more toward the transformation clients see when using your product or service. Whether you use in-person sales tactics or conduct your business online, the way you speak should have notes of empathy and understanding.
Are you still stuck in your old sales ways, but looking for ways to shake it up?
Read on and find out why you should focus your marketing message for meaningful client partnerships using what is commonly called the “before and after grid” effect.
Build A Relationship Based On Trust
Now, let’s make something crystal clear. Forcing a client to buy something by making them feel uncomfortable or pressured rarely works out long-term. And while you may have made the sale, it probably didn’t leave any positive lasting impression on your client or convince them that their friends need to use you.
The key to creating lasting client relationships involves trust – cue the salesmen jokes about being dishonest. But seriously, it doesn’t have to be this way if you start your interactions with just a pinch of understanding.
Here are a couple of tips to start building a relationship based on trust:
- Keep the focus on the client and ask about their life
- Show your authentic self and don’t be afraid to show off your quirks
- Give value without expectation of anything in return
The Problem With The Old-School Approach
We’ll go ahead and set the scene with a made-up scenario. Keep in mind: this hypothetical situation can apply to in-person and online interactions.
Say someone is looking for a blender because they’d like to start living a healthier lifestyle and make more smoothies. They’re looking for something simple, easy to clean, and light enough to move from counter to cabinet.
You may begin your marketing message pitch with the highest-quality (and most expensive) blender you have in stock. But it’s probably best that you don’t immediately get into its milkshake and ice cream blending features. Why? Because that’s not what the customer is looking for.
It also won’t help to describe the thirteen mix settings if your potential customer is genuinely only interested in one or two. Instead of purchasing the expensive blender, they might be put off by your marketing message because they don’t feel like they’re being heard or understood.
After feeling the heat to make a purchase, they are likely to book it and buy their blender somewhere else.
How to Focus Your Marketing Message For Meaningful Client Partnerships
Let’s imagine we’re facing the same scenario. However, we’ll approach our potential client with a fresh perspective and new marketing message this time.
Now, you take the time to ask them what they are looking for and why they need it. While your prospective customer speaks (or fills out an online form), you’ll use those amazing active listening skills of yours to come up with a solution that meets their needs and isn’t misleading.
While you’re selling your blender, use this opportunity to repeat their problem back to them in a few ways.
Then, you can simultaneously contrast with resulting solutions when they buy your blender. Give them a few options and communicate that they are the ones in control.
Not only will your customer feel heard, but they’ll also feel they can trust you without the sense of being pushed to make a decision right away.
Engage Your Potential Customer
Aside from your sales copy and the way you speak, you want to do as much as you can to engage your customers. A few other ways you can connect with your client base includes:
Offer Honest And Excellent Customer Service
Clients remember an exceptional experience as much as they can recall a bad one. And with 9 out of every 10 shoppers referring to online customer reviews before they buy, that’s a huge deal! Don’t hold back and go the extra mile for your clients.
That’s exactly why we post reviews on our website here.
Absorb And Value Feedback
Your public relations and marketing team can define your brand and get your messaging right where you need it to be. In some cases, they may even be able to monitor your reviews. But clients will only see your business differently if you consider their feedback (especially if it’s negative) and recognize areas where you can improve.
Be Human
Finally, connect with your customers on a human level. Remember our blog covering H2H marketing? It’s right here if you need a refresher. Clients who you’ve made a real connection with are more likely to remember you later on and recommend you to others.
Each of these sales tactics will keep your customer base close enough to reel them in, make a purchase, and turn to you for their future needs.
Create A Unique Selling Proposition To Refine Your Marketing Message
On top of the different ways you can engage with your clients, you should also figure out how to get your unique selling proposition across. This is also known as a USP.
If you aren’t familiar with this term, there’s no need to worry. A USP represents what makes your business special. You know what sets you apart from the rest and why your product or service is unmatched. But you need to be able to use that information!
There are several ways you can refine what your USP should be. For example, you can target:
- How your product is made
- Special certifications or accolades you have in your industry
- Whether your product is biodegradable, environmentally friendly, organic, or natural
Using any one of these differentiators should point out a stark difference between you and your competitors.
A few examples of USP copy are:
- 30 Days With Better Sleep Or Your Money Back
- Keeps Water Ice Cold For 48 Hours
- Softer Sheets With Every Single Wash
- The Only FDA-Approved Artificial Sweetener Out There
The goal of the final round-up of ideas is to create copy that solves the problem quickly, point out why you’re different, and make it snappy.
Have A Winning Brand Voice Guide
There’s a lot that goes behind your messaging in hopes of establishing meaningful relationships with prospects.
But you can come out on top when you have the tools you need to remain consistent and strong in your messaging.
We use our time to create Brand Voice Guides that lays out your client’s problems and how you can solve them. By doing this before we start on any major projects, we understand exactly who you are and what you offer.
Each one comes with a before and after grid. Here, we meticulously define what your customers go through before, during, and after they’ve gone through the purchasing process. It shows us the issue they have and how your business can solve it.Interested in your own Brand Voice Guide but don’t have the time to write one yourself? Contact us today so we can get started on building your brand the best way we know how.
Ready To Start Focusing Your Marketing Message For Meaningful Client Partnerships?
If you want to say good-bye to outdated sales tactics and focus on high-converting copy, let’s have a conversation.
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