Ask Them What They Want

Throughout my life, I’ve been in different types of businesses.? I started out when I was 16, making things by hand for sale. This is something I still do as a sideline, and it taught me the first lesson of business.? Ask the customer what she wants.? My first store was run by a woman my age, who wasn’t in school but running a storefront on Main Street.? We did well by doing exactly this, asking the young women who came in what they wanted.? I could figure out some of it by reading the fashion papers and watching TV, seeing what people on the street were wearing. But the greatest success came from asking the people who were buying my things what they wanted to see next.

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Later in life I got into food service as well. Made sense, since I had extra food growing on the ranch, and I found things that I could buy from wholesalers and then resell to chefs and gift shops.? Here I found that asking people directly what they wanted was the best approach.? “What’s the best day to call you for an order?” “How often do you want me to call?” “Are you interested in the other things I sell?” All these questions made my customers feel heard and valued, and they made the communication go smoothly as I responded to the process they wanted to use.? Efficiency is the name of the game in the food business.? Don’t waste anybody’s time, and you have a good relationship.

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Now, working as a writing professional, I have expanded the question a little more.? “What do you want this to do?” is the first and last question I ask during the time we are creating a project.? By drilling deeply into this question, we can see what direction is the best way to go, and also what mediums are the best way to get there. We can refine the messages that convey the brand promise and meet the customers where they are.?

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It keeps me in touch with what my clients truly want, which may be different from the first thoughts they had on the subject, and then we can work together to have a process that gets them the results that will work for them.

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So now, I am asking you: What do you want your marketing to do?