Increase customer loyalty, repeat business, and word of mouth advertising.

Almost all new businesses face the same problems: You think you have a great product or service, but nobody knows that you exist. You simply cannot find people to buy what you are selling. They do not understand or appreciate the value of what you offer. You spend a lot of money on advertising but get little response.

In order to survive and grow, every business has to attract new customers¾and moreover, do it in an environment full of competitors. When a new business fails, the reason is usually that it failed to find new customers, build customer loyalty and repeat business, and create favorable word-of-mouth advertising.

Many businesses operate under the false impression that marketing is simply advertising to sell products or services. In reality, a successful marketing plan entails much more. Everything a company does is marketing. A good marketing plan comprises a host of fresh ideas and strategies that drive prospects to you, while delivering the right message to those prospects at every customer touch point. It will also satisfy both the customer’s stated and unstated wants and needs. A truly effective marketing plan builds such a high level of value, trust, and loyalty with customers that it creates a shield to protect their customers from competitors. It differentiates the company to such a degree that it reduces competition as the company pursues untapped market space.

Believe it or not, as you develop your marketing plan, facts about your company are unimportant. The reality of successful branding is how the customer perceives you when they interact with your company. The customer’s perception may be positive, negative, or indifferent. The test of a successful marketing program is in what the customer is saying about your company to others. First and foremost, is your brand strong enough to get people talking about you? Next, are they saying what you want them to be saying?

The first step in developing a strong marketing program is to list the stated and unstated needs and wants of your target market.

Second, list every place a prospect and customer will touch your company.

Third, identify the training and systems that will need to be developed at every touch point to exceed the customers’ identified needs and wants. As your company satisfies its customers’ inner wishes in excess of their expectations¾every time they touch the company¾your customers will develop a trust in your brand.

Start by uncovering the answers to some key questions. Those questions will help you identify the needs and wants of your target market, and also decide how to differentiate your company from the competition.

When you are going through the exercise below, remember not to attempt to be all things to all people. Keep a very narrow focus or you will risk being invisible in the marketplace. Also, be diligent and collect reliable information about what customers really want and need from a business in your industry.

1. What are your customers’ pains and frustrations when they do business with companies in your industry?
2. Why are they attracted to your business rather than to a competitor?
3. What are your customers’ unstated and emotional needs that must be satisfied?
4. What actions must take place to develop caring and trusting relationships with your customers?
5. How do your customers want to make a purchase and receive the product or service? How can you be more proactive, and provide solutions before customers realize there is even a problem?
6. How can you provide more face-to-face encounters and build stronger relationships?

Here is another good exercise. What happens when a customer compares you to the competition? Take a shopping trip to the competition and find out. Examine its customer touch points and brainstorm how you can look different. Examine your competitions’ weaknesses and look for opportunities. Do not fall into the trap of focusing on you, your products and services, or the sale. Conduct your research as a customer. Remember, effective marketing strategies are all about the customer. Focus on what will spark interest, engage curiosity, and add to your company’s image and reputation.

Next, examine every place a customer touches your business and determine what the customer wants at every one of those touch points. Frustration at any single touch point will cause a customer to drop out. Examples of the many points where a prospect or customer can touch your business are

• the receptionist who answers your telephones,
• telephone conversations with a salesperson or customer service person,
• interactions with your website or an advertisement,
• a face-to-face sales encounter,
• the delivery of the product or service,
• the payment method,
• how a complaint is handled,
• the level of enjoyment in experiencing the product or service,
• a solicitation from a telemarketer,
• the appeal of your storefront,
• the presentation of your product in the showroom,
• your catalog,
• your trade show booth, or
• a follow-up phone call.

As you develop strategies for fixing your brand in the minds of your customers, this path will invariably lead you to the subject of operating processes. In other words, you should now examine your training and other related processes¾everything that touches your customers and guides the actions of your employees.

Start today to invest the time to gather the necessary information to build a successful marketing program.