In sales, in order to match the proper product or service to a customer's direct need or desire, there is something that all master sales professionals must do.
That is...
ask the right questions.
The Socratic method has never been more pertinent as it is in sales and marketing.
Seeking to understand before being understood should be every direct marketer's creed.
After you've already asked - both yourself and your customers - the right questions, here are three tips that will help match your direct marketing solutions to your customer's major problems: 1) Know your business.
You probably already know your business extremely well.
Even if you do, it would only benefit you to review.
It's definitely worth the investment of your time.
Having a solid grasp of your core competencies better than anyone else instills confidence and credibility from your customer's perspective.
You're not the only one that needs to be on point when it comes to self-awareness...
Freelance copy writers...
business consultants...
researchers...
list brokers...
All key personnel should make it a priority to know and intimately understand what your business does and who it does it for.
Knowing this will also give you a clear understanding of what your business is not and will help identify limits, as well as areas for growth and opportunity.
2) Know AND care about your customer's business.
"Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care".
- Theodore Roosevelt Getting familiar with your customer's business isn't so you can brag about how much you know.
It's about wanting to be in a position to serve them better and in ways they've yet to experience.
Knowing your customer will also lead to a deeper level of engagement in the future; something that is not easy to achieve with the decreased attention spans of most consumers in today's market.
3) Provide meaningful information.
Nobody needs another blog or eBook to read.
There isn't enough time in the day and there is a sea of information that is readily available to your customers whenever they feel so inclined to search for it.
Information must be highly valued in the mind of your customers.
By putting your high value information out there, you'll have an exact idea of what it is your market is looking for, and your customers will hold your company in higher esteem.
After you've taken the time to get to know your market...
you've studied the landscape...
you've taken pains to understand the major issues and concerns...
NOW you can custom tailor direct marketing solutions for your customers.
Whether you relate to them through direct mail, email, or your website, you're in a position to bring valuable and actionable information to your target market.
Once you help your customers solve their problems, you have become their hero.
You have come to their rescue in ways that nobody else has.
You have become their "go to" player!