The single biggest mistake I see when it comes to marketing.

Companies, staffed by real people, not robots, sell things to other people.

I’ve seen companies spend ridiculous amounts of money on consumer research. Gathering every demographic they can ... Age, sex, marital status, the amount of money in their bank account, whether they are homeowners, what they buy, what they do in their spare time, where they went to college, if they went to college and more.

And you know what? Even armed with all this research, when I really start digging deeper during conversations with holders of said data, I find out all too often that they really, truly don’t understand WHO they are selling to.

And that alone makes ALL the difference in marketing that works, and marketing that doesn’t work.

That’s often one of the first questions I ask a client, “Who are you selling too?” And usually their description of who they’re selling to is very indicative of how well they really know that person, or not.

For example, many of my clients over the years have been large nutraceutical companies. They sell natural capsules in a bottle. Natural supplements that help ease anything from joint pain to hearing loss to vision loss to liver malfunction to diabetic neuropathy to heart problems.

These are baby boomer buyers, the greatest generation. They’re an enormous group of consumers, tens of millions of them. And as they’re getting older, they wake up every day, put their feet on the floor beside their bed and ...

They’ve been up all night in the bathroom because their prostate is enlarged and their joints hurt. They can’t remember what day it is. They’re cold because their circulation is poor ... and the list goes on and on. 

That person is having a hard time.

And some of my clients simply see them as a living wallet that should hand over their money and buy a bottle of their capsules.

And while I want a sale too ... What I see is a grandparent or parent that somebody loves, someone that has lived a long, rich life. Someone who is tired of taking prescription medication. Someone who truly wants to feel better, and wants to believe in a product that would really work for them.

Somebody who wants to know they’re getting a good deal. Someone who wants to be able to trust that the company is putting high-quality ingredients in the bottle.

And when you really get in sync, get in step and understand what’s going on in that person’s mind, how they want to feel, their emotions and what they’re looking for, and not just focusing on the purchase of a particular product ... It changes the way you approach them with your marketing.

So, in most cases this becomes my job. Whether I’m selling a cannabis-industry investment fund, Manhattan real estate, fancy ladders, electric scooters or an enzyme for a septic tank system, it’s my job, even if the client hasn’t figured it out, to know exactly what that person’s life is like.

Having done that thousands of times over for clients and their products and services, I can tell you that the deeper the understanding, the better the marketing and profit result will be.

Anyone can employ these same tactics of really knowing, and not just kind of knowing about or guessing, and getting into the mind and heart of the prospect.

When you can do that, you can speak to them at a very personal level and connect with them. And you can communicate with a genuine understanding that you don’t see much in advertising today, unless someone knows enough to do it.  

So how does anybody who is involved in the marketing and advertising of a company’s product or service make sure that this is happening?

It’s really not that hard.

Having reviewed and absorbed the data, it’s then simply a matter of sitting down, closing your eyes and imagining who exactly the ideal prospect is, what’s going on in their lives? What are they dealing with, what emotional triggers are most likely to work with them?

Again, this is different than knowing about your prospect. This is going to the heart of your prospect. 

And it’s easy, especially in the direct marketing world, to see better marketing efforts, created by somebody who understands this, versus an offer created by someone who just thinks that throwing random words on a page will work exactly the same.

I don’t try to sell anything to anyone unless I have done my emotional research, and really thought about the station in life the person I’m trying to sell to is in.

Everybody involved in these marketing efforts should be on the same page. Everyone should be able to say it the same way, and should understand who they’re talking to.

They should understand, “This is who we understand them to be, and this is what we know about their emotional makeup.” 

Then all your advertising and marketing efforts can come off of that single idea and knowledge base.

Trust me, consumers KNOW when you’ve taken the time to understand them. They can sense, even if it’s only in the back of their mind, that you get them.

This deeper understanding and empathy creates trust. And trust leads to sales.

And sales make companies happy.

Now, I know some people, maybe you, are thinking, “What, that’s it? Just think about who they are? That’s your grand advice for this important marketing success tip”?

Yes, that’s it. Everything doesn’t have to have a complicated process or algorithm behind it to be impactful.

Just try it. You’ll see what I mean.

Be one with your prospect and get as close as you can. And good things will come from it.

Want some expert direct marketing help? Contact me directly ... [email protected]