What if we have totally missed the mark? What if everything we have done to this point was aimed at the wrong target?

As marketers, we strive to tell the story of our products and services and focus that story on the right sliver of the overall market.

We create phrases like “We Solve Your Plumbing Needs,” or “We Engineer to Your Specifications,” or “We Are Your Bank.” We strive to create meaningful engagement and positive action within our desired customer base.

But, if the ultimate goal is to give our customers something to talk about–something to spread beyond our initial reach (the only way a company can truly scale)–then why are we focusing on what we say to our customers?

Why aren’t we focusing our resources on what our customers should say about us?

In Marketing, this small and under-utilized sliver of the game is called “talk points.” When your customers leave your store, your site, your applications, what do they tell their friends? Their community groups? Their colleagues?

They don’t say “this plumbing company solved my plumbing needs.” They rather say, if you’re a good plumbing company, “this plumbing company came when they said they would come; did the work they said they would do; and was just an absolute joy to work with. I recommend them!”

Now that is marketing!

What sort of world would we live in if marketers instead approached marketing by asking these questions:
1. Who do we want to talk about us?
2. What do we want them to say?
3. How do we confirm that it happens?

Notice: Your (meaning your company’s) opinions don’t matter. It doesn’t matter that you think your plumbing company solves your customers’ needs.

Instead, let’s focus on what your customers should think you do; instead, let’s ask questions that put the focus, the cross-hairs, on the customer’s post-service mindset.

Let’s make marketing a part of business process.

Thinking this way means that marketers come up with customer-centric solutions. They write taglines like “The Best Plumbing Experience You’ve Ever Had, Or The Service Is Free!” Or, “We Are A Plumbing Company that Does What It Says…and Does So On Your Time!”

Now that is a talk point!

If you need help clarifying your brand’s narrative; if you need help aiming at the right target, give us a call! We have been helping companies like your Connect Smarter to their markets since 1999!

Let’s Talk!

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