What does your customer think of you?

Many companies can ask this question internally and get replies that vary from; I do not know to they like us to they love us. These vague answers unfortunately are just not enough though to help companies take corrective actions that would lead to better business decisions.

Leading companies make sure that they not only know what their customers think of them but can point to specific metrics to prove their case. If you are not there yet a good start would be to formally meet with your top customers and conduct a  business review / interview asking detailed questions that allow you to better understand their use case for buying your product.
Document answers to questions like:

1. What problem(s) were they trying to solve?
2. What were the company’s business drivers?
3. Was there a driving event that catapulted the initiative?
4. What type of decision time frame were they working with?
5. What was the customer using before your solution?
6. Where their other solutions being considered?
7. Were there specific reasons why they selected our solution
8. Did they roll out all at once or was it phased?
9. Is there a secondary use case for the product?
10. Was there a consultant or consulting group involved in the selection process? Who?
11. How has business improved since implementing our product(s)?
12. Can I use a quote or testimonial or write a case study? 

This "Voice of the Customer" activity will enable you get a more thorough understanding of what "value" you delivered to the customer and how you did it. Armed with this information, you can update your existing marketing strategy and then modify the messaging in all your marketing assets as needed to have more impact.

Make it a great day
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Messaging ....FOCUSED & RELEVANT

In today's fast paced world, successful companies continually review their marketing messages for relevancy and ability to clearly address customer and prospect key business issues. 

To do this companies need to implement a continuous process that asks AND documents solid answers to questions like: Who are your target customers? What are their specific pain points that keep them up at night? Who are your main competitors? What are they saying to the marketplace? How does the customer want to acquire products or service.. direct.. distribution.. or through integrators? What is the economic climate in their market segments? What is their sense of urgency to make decisions?

With the answers to the questions above in hand, the next logical step is a facilitated marketing session with your team to answer these important questions:

1. What urgent problem does your product solve for your prospective customer?

2. How is your customer or prospect solving that problem today?

3. What specific benefits does your product or offering deliver?

4. Why is your product better than the competitive alternatives or their current solution?

5. What about your product is unique and relevant from a prospects perspective?

6. How can you uniquely communicate these differences better than your competition?

Including a cross functional team including marketing, engineering, customer support, business development and leveraging outside help

adds new perspectives and optimizes the final results.

Effective facilitation of this session by a 3rd party can be the key to your companies messaging and positioning success. Have a great day!

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e-Nuggets

• “Leadership is Action not Position” – Neil Lisab Cire 1999
• "Forget about yesterday. Prepare for tomorrow. Change, as you have never seen it, at speeds you've never seen." - Jack Welch
• Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present! - unkown
• "Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can." Mary Frances Berry
•  "Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing." Friedrich von Schiller
  
  
  
  

Commit to early engagement & collaberation

The best marketeers today are collaborating with all parts of the business. This allows them to deliver more optimized marketing strategies and better execution plans that support the overall business goals.

By engaging early in the other business processes, marketing can influence the team brainstorm and help shape the strategy. This enables a company to more creatively apply the best marketing tools & techniques available that will accelerate business results.

 

Early involvement by marketing in other parts of the business planning improves efficiency and drives awesome results!

 

Have a great day!
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Vision and Commitment

e-Nuggets

• "Change before you have to." - Jack Welch
• “You only fail when you decide to quit” - Anonymous]
• "We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present." - Adlai E. Stevenson
• "There is very little success where there is little laughter." - Andrew Carnegie
• “Those who say it cannot be done should get out of the way of those who will do it” - Edward Demming

LAUNCH - Day One

The blog will offer insights, resources and links to some of the latest most innovative ideas & trends in marketing. Additionally, I will share some of my favorite inspirational pictures & e-Nuggets.

Stay tuned and have a great day!

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e-Nuggets

• "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare" - Proverb
• "The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
• "People with goals succeed because they know where they are going." - Earl Nightingal
• "Talent + Relationships + Clear Expectations + Delivered Results = Success" - Neil Lisab Cire 1995