I talk to many business owners on a daily basis…some who’ve been in business for years. There’s a common theme that comes up with all of them. It’s almost a universal misfire when it comes to their marketing efforts. Sure, they have a brand, a nice logo, website, some literature, and maybe they’ve even engaged in direct mail or digital marketing campaigns. They’ve made efforts, and possibly had acceptable amounts of success. But they’re not quite seeing the results they want.

Why is that?…

Part of it comes from the old adage, “To go somewhere you’ve never gone before, you must do something you’ve never done before”. And that place they’ve never gone to is…realizing what business they’re in. But how can a business owner that’s been going for 5-10 years not know what business they’re in? What do you know about it? What gives you the right?!

Ok, Ok…calm down for a moment. I’m not saying they don’t know what they’re doing, or anything like that. They perfectly well know what they’re doing. And I’m sure no one knows their business better than them. Or…is there someone else who does?

Yes, there is. The one person who knows any business better than it’s owner is…it’s target customer. A target customer knows exactly what business the owner is in. It’s because there is a gap between how the owner sees their business and how the target customer does.

For example, a plumber isn’t exactly in the business of fixing toilets. Sure, that’s what they do to achieve the result the customer wants. But the customer needs a place to “do their business”, and not having that is unthinkable. Think of the anxiety you would feel if you didn’t have a functioning toilet. What would it mean to you if it broke? How fast would you want it fixed? You would see the whole scenario completely different from the plumber. He/she just needs to fix a toilet. You? You’ve got far bigger problems if it doesn’t get fixed.

One more example, for fun…Pest control. You could say that pest control companies are in the business of removing insects, spiders, and other arachnids from a customer’s home. The reality is, they are in the business of removing nightmares! Absolutely terrifyingly, unwanted, god-awful nightmares. There’s a lot of discomfort a customer is feeling when they are calling a pest control company. There are creepy crawly things taking over their house. And for some, the level of fear can be almost unbearable.

So where does this all play into digital marketing?

If you can identify what business you’re tuly in, you can accurately predict how your target customer is searching for you. Maybe they aren’t searching for “pest control”. They could be searching for “get rid of spiders” or “cockroach infestation”…or “I need to burn my house down and get a new one”…kidding, of course.

You have to dig a little deeper to find out what benefit you’re providing your target customer. Then you’ll know exactly what business you’re in. And just as important…what business you’re not in. Once you master that, your customer will connect with your brand from channels you didn’t know they would. And you can capitalize on those profitable channels by meeting your customer where they’re at.

If you want to learn more about branding, connecting with your target customer, or powerful tools you can use to bring in traffic to your website, contact me and I’ll be glad to talk about ways I can make it happen for you.