Whenever people ask me, “what business are you in ?”, and I respond by saying, “I’m a Marketing Consultant”, it’s always interesting to me to hear their reaction.  Some people will reply with, “oh, you’re in sales”, or “oh, you’re in advertising.”

Actually, they’re all partly correct.  “Marketing” does include “sales” and “advertising”, as well as strategic planning, market research, pricing, packaging, promotion, public relations, customer service, merchandising, and many other functions.   

Part 1: “Catching” New Customers

As every experienced “fisherman” (and “marketer”) knows, the “first rule” of fishing is: “fish where the fishes are”.  In marketing terms, this first rule relates to “customer profiling” and “targeting” of your message. 

You first have to know who your “most likely customers” are: their age, gender, education level, economic status, ownership characteristics, hobbies/interests, geography, beliefs, organization memberships, etc.  In the case of “business-to-business” customers, you need to know: company size, industry, geography, markets served, market share, current suppliers, distribution channels, pricing & service philosophy, etc.  Even more importantly, you need to know “what makes your most likely customers different” from all the rest of the potential prospects in the marketplace.

Once you’ve profiled your most likely customers, you need to identify the “best places” to “find” them.  This will make the “targeting” (or delivery) your message more effective and efficient.   What media (i.e., newspapers, magazines, radio, television programs, trade journals, web sites, etc.) do they read/listen/watch/visit regularly ?  What organizations/clubs do they belong to ?  Where are they most likely to congregate (e.g., sporting events, trade shows, movie theaters, a specific web site, etc.) ?  This is where you want your message to be seen/heard/read. 

The “second rule” of fishing (and marketing) is: “always use the right bait”.  What “catches” prospects is an ad message that includes a “promise of a benefit”.   The “traditional” benefits are: “save time”, “save money”, “improve efficiency”, “solve a problem”, etc.  These are all “rational” promises – they appeal to the “head”. 

The most effective “promises” are those that appeal to the “heart”.  A promise that speaks directly to “human emotion”, like guilt, greed, love, revenge, respect, vanity, popularity, heightened self-confidence, etc. will be more effective in “touching” the prospect and their “real” motivation for purchase.  For example, does a person buy a particular car because it has “rack & pinion steering” or an “ABS braking system”, or because they can envision “how they’ll be perceived by others” when their friends, family, or coworkers see them driving it ?   Or, does a person purchase a particular brand of flour because it will make their cake “turn out better” or because they want to earn/reinforce the “love and respect” of their family members ? 

The “third rule” of fishing (and marketing) is: “once you’ve got ’em hooked, you still need to reel ‘em in”.  Catching their “attention” and “interest” is only half the battle.  To convert “prospects” into “customers” you need to provide a “special offer” in your ad message along with your “promise of a benefit”.  The objective of the “special offer” is to encourage the prospect to “take action now”.  The “special offer” adds a “sense of urgency” to your message.  Examples include: “20% Off on all purchases before July 15”, or “the first 100 customers to respond to this offer will also receive a FREE cookbook”, or “subscribe this month and be automatically entered into our Free Vacation Sweepstakes”. 

If you follow these three rules of fishing (and marketing), your advertising efforts are guaranteed to “catch” more customers.  Now, let’s go fishing !