You have a business, a product, or a service – and you’re ready for the world to see you. However, before you start investing all your life-savings into aimless marketing, stop and think for a second: why should anyone care?
This might sound mean; however, in order to win customers, you have to think like a customer. And more often than not, these are the thoughts that cross every prospective customer’s mind:
- What’s in it for me?
- Why should I care?
- What’s so great about you?
Knowing this, it will be easier for you to shape your brand’s perception. The goal is to present it as an asset to your target audience and to get yourself out of the liability column. So what does this mean and how can you do it?
An asset is a valuable item owned by a business which helps that business in gaining profit, whereas a liability is an item or cost required for the running of a business. The former can provide future economic benefits, whereas the latter is an obligation – either money that must be paid or services that must be performed.
Generally, you want your brand to come across as an asset. You want it to add something to your customer’s worth, not to drain their bank account without giving anything in return. By presenting your brand as something that could help a prospective customer in more ways than one, those customers are more likely to see your services as an asset to their business’s benefit.
How do you make your brand an asset?
Start by answering the above questions. When thinking about promoting your brand, stay clear of a laundry list of features and that no one will read anyway. Instead, focus on a real visceral message that has depth and weight.
The best way to do this is by connecting with your prospective customers on an emotional level. Understand your market and the gaps and needs in it, and provide an answer to those problems. By presenting an unparalleled solution, people will instantly see your brand as an asset that they must add to their own business.
The age-old writing rule applies here too: show, don’t tell. When it comes to marketing yourself and your solution, it’s important to provide information, not to sell. The prospective customer shouldn’t be told that you’re the best – they should get to make up their mind about you, and decide for themselves that they need your services.
At the end of the day, not everyone is a born copywriter superstar. It’s best to pay a professional to come up with a marketing strategy that makes your brand into an asset. However, make sure that they understand how you want to be presented and what message you want to convey. And if you can’t afford a marketing specialist or a copywriter, then just remember: educate, don’t sell! The rest will follow.
