Marketing Simplified

The Marketing 101 Rule We Love to Break

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These quotes really resonate with me:

“Busy can be healthy.”

“We believe that the refrigerator is the best medicine cabinet.”

These are just a couple of quotes that continue to draw me into the meal delivery service I’ve been researching. You see, I am a health nut and am currently in a rut with breakfast and lunch. As a working mom, I have no time to get myself out of the rut of eating the same healthy smoothie for breakfast and vegetable bowl for lunch every_single_day. So—how did this particular meal subscription company get into my head like that?

Simple. They got to know their ideal customer profile and had the courage to speak directly to her.

Marketing 101 says that if you speak to everyone, you speak to no one. We all say this. We all nod our heads. We all repeat it. But… how many of us actually DO this? That’s where things break down. How many times have you changed a sentence to be a little more general just in case you left someone out of your messaging?

It’s okay—everyone has and everyone does. Today, I’m going to give you a tool that will help you let go of your fears of being “too direct” or “leaving out a secondary audience.” It’s my “Ideal Customer Interview Guide” and is part of my comprehensive digital marketing course. I’ve been told by many students that they can’t believe how much it helped them gain clarity and confidence in their messaging.

I’ve mentioned on this blog many times the power of calling three customers to check in and learn more about your products(s) or service(s) from their perspective. In the guide below, I’ve designed the exact questions you need when you call these customers. Once you do it three times, I promise you will come away with more insight than you’ve ever had. Here’s what to do with that insight:

Look back at your last three (hopefully weekly) email blasts and last nine social media posts and do two things:

  1. Figure out what question you can add to lure in your ideal customer. The meal delivery service company I mentioned above once asked me via a Facebook ad, “Do you feed your kids more variety than yourself?” Why yes—yes, I do—tell me how you are going to help me, please. Spoiler alert:  They did, and I was paying attention.
  2. Find at least one way to make each piece of content more specific to your ideal customer.

You may find that you have more than one ideal customer profile and that’s okay. You can speak to more than one… just don’t do it at the same time. After all, if you were speaking to two friends at a party and they both fit a fairly different profile, you’d likely personalize your product pitch to them in different ways. For example, it seems kind of silly for a mortgage broker to give a first-time home buyer and a family in search of a vacation home the same pitch in person… but we do it all the time in marketing materials. There is absolutely no reason to do that, especially these days, because we have SO MANY opportunities to share messages. It’s okay to speak to one ideal customer profile one day and another the next.

Once you’ve interviewed your three customers and taken the generic language out of your messaging, send me an example at hi@marketingsimplified.com. I’m excited to see the next-level content you produce!

THE IDEAL CUSTOMER INTERVIEW GUIDE

{ TIPS FOR USING THIS GUIDE }

  1. Ask for clarification if you don’t understand an answer. This is one of the most valuable parts of the content creation process  so make sure you fully maximize the information you get from it.
  2. Ask basic questions first to “warm up” your customer before you start talking about your business. The best answers in an interview usually come last so save those questions to get the best information you can.

{ BASIC PERSONAL QUESTIONS }

  1. What is your family like?
  2. What is your occupation?
  3. What are your three all-time favorite books?
  4. What type of music do you like/who are your favorite musicians?
  5. What is your all-time favorite movie?
  6. What are your favorite blogs?
  7. What are your hobbies?
  8. What is a daily/weekly ritual that makes you happy?
  9. Where is your favorite vacation spot?
  10. What are your favorite social media sites? How often are you on them?
  11. When do you check your email the most?
  12. What sites do you visit when you are casually searching the web?

{ TOUGHER PERSONAL QUESTIONS }

  1. What do you hope to be known for?
  2. What are your ultimate goals for your family?
  3. What is your ultimate career goal?
  4. What are your biggest fears?
  5. What is your biggest source of happiness?
  6. What stresses you out the most in your life?

{ BUSINESS QUESTIONS }

  1. What are the top three things that made you buy my product/buy my service/give me your email address/give me your vote/give me your donation? (Note: Try to prod a bit with this question and ask them if they remember the exact thing that convinced them.)
  2. What are your top three objections that almost caused you not to buy my product/buy my service/give me your vote/give me your donation?
  3. What did I/we say/do to initially get your attention?
  4. How did you think my product/service/organization/candidacy would change your life?
  5. How did it actually change your life?
  6. What disappointed you about my product/service/mission/candidacy, etc.? (Note: Ask for honestly here and remind your ideal customer that constructive criticism will help you succeed.)
  7. Would you refer my product/service/organization/candidacy to a friend? Why or why not? (Note: Really listen to the why or why not and prod for it because that will give you valuable info.)
  8. What other offerings would be helpful to you?

And finally…

  1. Please tell me one thing we didn’t cover that you think about when you think about my business/product/organization/service, etc. Note:  If your ideal customer says “I don’t know” prod them further. This answer is often the most exciting one!

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