mobites - ideas, inspiration, insight

Once upon a time there were three little piggies going to market in tough times. One built his marketing budget out of sticks because that was all he could afford. Another built her budget out of wood so she could hunker down until the storm was over. And one upgraded to brick so he’d immediately improve his market share and move past his competitors as things got better.

No matter what situation you’re in during these difficult times there is one thing you should definitely consider doing. And that is to learn more about what your customers and prospects value when they make a buying decision these days.

Leave the we, we, we at home

Why should you be spending whatever you can afford to listen to your customers and prospects? Because they, not your internal constituencies, are the people with the money. The money to spend right now.

So whatever research technique you use to listen to them, it should answer eight basic value questions. Most importantly, it should answer them strictly from your customers’ and prospects’ points of view. Without any prompting from you.

Because only customers and prospects count now

• What is the buying process they go through to identify sources, evaluate them and approve purchase decisions? (This is not the same as your selling process.)
• Who is involved in this process and what role do they play in it? (This list will probably go beyond people your sales force calls on.)
• What problems, concerns or challenges do they face that your brand can help them solve?
• What specific functional and emotional criteria or attributes do they use to make a buying decision? (Easy, surface answers like price, quality or service don’t count. Dig deeper into their meanings and the emotions behind them.)
• How important is each criterion to them?
• What brands do they consider when making a buying decision? ( Not all of these will be on your list of competitors.)
• How do they rate each competitor’s performance on their buying criteria?
• How do they rate your brand’s performance on those criteria?

Armed with this information, you can position your company and products in way that is most relevant and compelling to people when they are making buying decisions. Based on the things that they value most right now. And you can build brand messages and brand contacts in a way that will truly differentiate you in these turbulent times.

But that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.