How to Win Customers When Everyone Ignores Your Sales Messages

Marketing is changing.

And it’s difficult to keep track.

Each year brings new technologies, new tactics, and more confusion.

Is it mobile you need to pay attention to? What’s this thing called phablets? Does advertising still work? What about the latest search engine optimization tactics? Is email dead or isn’t it? Do you need to get back on MySpace or is Facebook still okay?

It’s enough to drive a business owner crazy. And what’s worse, each guru seems to have a different opinion about what’s important. Each expert gives different advice on how you should or shouldn’t market your business.

Does it drive you mad?

Let’s get back to basics briefly. Let’s start with your customer’s purchasing journey.

Why most marketing handbooks are out of date

Do you still have an old marketing book?

I’ve a few heavy marketing handbooks on my bookshelves. Each of these multiple-tree-felling books – does weight indicate importance? – is based on the sales funnel, because that’s been the basis of marketing for a long time – for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing.

The sales funnel describes a purchasing journey as follows:

1. Customers become aware of a wide selection of brands or suppliers at the start of their purchasing journey.
2. Prospects are comparing various brands. The number of brands being considered reduces.
3. Finally, the customer decides which brand to buy.

The funnel concept helps to plan marketing activities. You need to advertise to create brand awareness, and then you need to convert this awareness into interest and business. Clear and simple, isn’t it?

Yes, it’s simple, but it doesn’t work.

It’s wrong. Totally wrong.

The internet has messed up the sales funnel, and that has a huge impact on how you should market your business.

• Creating brand awareness at the start of the purchasing process has become less important because your brand may be considered even if a customer isn’t aware of it when he starts his purchasing journey.
• As consumers become aware of other brands (more competition!) during the decision process, it’s hugely important to stay in touch with potential customers during their decision making process.
• No standard purchasing process exists. There’s no funnel, because each journey is different. Marketers lose influence as customers seize control. Customers actively seek answers to their questions, look for reviews, ask for recommendations, etc. As a business, you have to ensure people can find you when they’re looking for information.

Marketing your business requires a fundamental shift in attitude, because you need to stop selling and start helping people make purchase decisions. Let’s have a look.

How to market your business in a noisy world

In in a noisy crowd trying to attract someone’s attention? What did you do? Waved your hand? Jumped up and down? Screamed?

That’s what advertising is like. And the crowd is getting noisier and noisier. So you have to scream louder and jump higher. You need to buy more adverts. You need to make your adverts more entertaining or more controversial. Standing out becomes increasingly difficult.

Is there an alternative?

If shouting doesn’t work, stop shouting. Quit telling people how good you are. Because people will ignore you.

Don’t push your message to customers who aren’t interested. Instead, let customers find you when they’re looking for information.

People are actively searching for information that can help them make a purchasing decision. Are you helping them answer their questions? Are you providing honest advice? Or are you just pushing your own sales message?

This is a fundamental change. We’re used to marketing and selling our products or services. We’re used to talking about features and their benefits.

Now, we need to start conversations; we need to listen; we need to give honest advice rather than yell and sell.

3 steps to winning business with content marketing

People ignore advertising. Because life is too noisy and they’re not interested in sales messages.

If you’re using your company blog to promote your products, you’re going to fail. If you’re using social media only for sales messages, you’re going to fail. If you’re using email to annoy your subscribers, you’re going to fail, too.

A successful content strategy starts with understanding what your ideal customer is interested in.

Below follows a three-step plan to creating your content marketing strategy:

Describe your ideal customer

Think about these questions:

Male or female? How old is he? Does he have children? What is he reading online and offline? Does he use social media? What humor does he appreciate? What are his challenges in life? What is he dreaming of? What are his hobbies? How does he make purchasing decisions? What’s important to him?

Your description needs to be vivid. You need to be able to picture having a conversation with your ideal customer.

Create a content strategy for your ideal customer

Imagine your ideal customer and think about what content he’s interested in – information that’s directly or vaguely related to your business.

For example: If you’re a nutritionist, your ideal customer may be interested in recipes as well as general advice on healthy living. If you sell holidays, your customer may be interested in learning more about architecture or exotic food.

Consider all questions your ideal customer has about your industry, your company, and your product or service. Think about the decision making process, what questions come up as your customer learns more and compares different providers, products, or solutions?

Lastly, consider what format your customer prefers: text, audio, or video?

Determine how to keep in touch with your ideal customer

You’re creating content. You’re publishing it on your website – in your faq section, your blog, your forum or article library.

Potential customers are finding you when they’re searching for answers to their questions. But how are you keeping in touch? How do you ensure you don’t lose potential customers before they decide to buy from you?

Social media can work. But email provides an even better way to stay in touch. Email is more personal and more intimate than social media. An email stays in an inbox until it’s deleted while social media messages quickly drown in an incessant stream of messages.

Choose an email marketing provider (I like Aweber); get people to sign up, and start sharing your tips, recommendations, and advice with subscribers. Don’t just promote your products. Start a conversation. Build a connection. Share your knowledge and be helpful.

Creating content to start a conversation with potential customers is hard work. You need to know your customers well. You need to be genuinely interested, because fakes are quickly exposed.

But you don’t need to shout louder and louder. You don’t need to sell your soul.

You can attract customers because of who you are. You can share your knowledge and help people. It’s more fun. More exciting. More enchanting.

How to enchant your customers

Quit interrupting people. Because most people are ignoring your messages.

Stop shouting to get yourself heard. Instead talk to the people who are interested in hearing from you.

If you’re genuinely interested in helping people, they’ll listen to you. If you know what you’re talking about, they’ll come back to you for advice. And if you’re passionate about your business, they’ll buy from you.

Share your expertise. Share your passion. Be yourself.

Sell less, and you’ll gain more sales.

Have fun.