Just Shut Up
It’s great that your product is the best on the market. It’s great that you have 400 years of experience selling it. But shut up about it already. To truly make a connection with your customers, focus on them. Don’t be the guy at the cocktail party who won’t stop talking about himself.
To truly make a connection with your customers, focus on them. Don’t be the guy at the cocktail party who won’t stop talking about himself.
Your customers have many challenges. Find out what they are and find ways to make their jobs and lives easier.
For example, let’s look at the challenges an architect faces and a few ways we can provide assistance while marketing our products to them at the same time.
Will Choosing This Product Get Me Sued?
Many times over, the architect will have to decide which product to include in a project. This is a difficult decision. One which could result in professional suicide if he chooses the wrong product.
Before he even pays attention to things like features, benefits and even cost, the architect is thinking “will using this product get me sued”.
For this reason, your marketing should inspire confidence. It should demonstrate that you have put the necessary engineering, design and research.
How can your marketing demonstrate all these things and inspire confidence? What tools can you, the building product marketer, possibly use to make this person believe in your products?
Be An Educator
Use whatever means possible to show your customers how your product works and how they should use it. Don’t be like the tile manufacturers i saw at the surfaces event in Las Vegas.
I walked through booth after booth of tile manufacturers. Beautiful ceramic tiles, stone tiles, glass tiles, the whole nine yards. Do you know how many of these tile manufacturers provide details on how to install tile? Zero.
It appears to be; pick your tile, pick your quantity and maybe, just maybe they will help you load it into your truck. After that, you’re on your own kid!
It seems to be up to the companies which make the mortar products, to handle all the installation stuff. I would think that if one of these tile companies decided to create a series of videos and details showing how to use their tiles to make a shower, or a backsplash, or whatever, they would just have gained a competitive advantage because they are providing a service . . .. not just a material. They are adding value to their customers’ lives.
Be a Friend
Consumers are becoming more and more aware of when they are being sold to and when they are being educated. It is becoming more and more obvious every day that your success is directly related to how many people you can help.
If someone arrives at your web site or gets an email from you and if feels like you really understand their problems and you have a solution, you are more like a friend to them.
So, quit being that guy at the party who won’t stop talking about himself and start listening to your customers problems and start being a good friend to them.
Your Friend,
Jason Yana
About the Author :
Jason Yana has 2 decades of experience in architectural technology, 3d graphics and construction marketing. This unique combination provides highly-effective visual representations of building products that fuel marketing and support efforts.
His award-winning body of work informs, inspires and educates building product customers.