Monthly Archives: December 2024

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What Can You Do to Cultivate Customer Loyalty?

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Recruiting a new customer is a victory, the goal of every business owner and Freelance professional—but you can’t exhale yet. When it comes to making money it’s not only what you make, it’s what you keep, and that folk wisdom applies not only to sales revenue, but also to customers. The real genius of being in business is learning how to retain customers.

Building a thriving community of customers is foundational to sustaining a business entity; strategies dedicated to nurturing customer loyalty by persuading them to continually do business with you is an important part of a comprehensive marketing plan. Loyal customers are repeat customers; they also refer new customers and that makes it imperative to develop strategies that generate and encourage customer loyalty. Neglecting this function can easily result in customers you worked so hard to attract eventually moving on, perhaps to do business with a competitor.

Unfortunately, many businesses struggle to retain customers, a consequence that can diminish sales revenue and weaken the ability to survive. It has long been known that implementing strategies designed to retain customers is fundamental; customer acquisition cost has increased by nearly 50% since 2013, making it so much more expensive to acquire a new customer, as compared to the cost associated with retaining an existing one, further proving the value of repeat customers and promoting the loyalty that stimulates repeat business.

Customer loyalty is the happy result of the relationship between satisfied customers and the businesses they know and trust. Building a loyal customer base for your entity brings benefits in at least two ways—it discourages customer churn and therefore limits the marketing dollars you’d need to spend trying to retain them and second, loyalty helps you grow and preserve your current group of customers. Not only that, promoting loyalty can also convince customers to become cheerleading advocates for your brand.

In other words, encouraging customer loyalty can do wonders for your business, like enhancing sales revenue, strengthening customer relationships and brand building. You just need to work at it consistently! Below is a list of customer loyalty strategies, one or more that’s sure to be useful for you.

Exceed expectations

Customer expectations are feelings, actions and outcomes that customers anticipate will result from their experience with your brand, from first impressions to final purchase and on to using the service or product that was purchased. You’ve probably heard the oft-repeated advice that urges businesses should “under promise and over deliver”—you do that by exceeding customer expectations. So, if you promise a customer that you’ll follow-up to answer a question or resolve a problem within 24 hours and you contact the customer within six hours, you’ve exceeded customer expectations and planted the seeds of loyalty. Common customer expectations include:

  • Quality product. Product quality is at the top of most customer checklists. They want a product that meets their needs and delivers on the promises of its description, photos and reviews. 
  • Great customer service. Customers expect businesses to provide friendly and knowledgeable customer service before, during and after they make their purchases.
  • Value for price. Value is represented by the satisfaction customers feel when the price of the product or service seems appropriate (or like a good deal). Perceived value for money spent is subjective, but customers want a price they believe is justified.
  • Personalized interactions. Customers want to feel like the company values them by providing an efficient, pleasant and personalized buyer’s experience.  

Exceptional customer experience

Promoting customer loyalty involves more than offering products and services that satisfy the needs, goals, or problems of customers. To truly win over a customer and create loyalty, you must persuade them to become your cheerleaders. An exceptional customer experience is the true foundation of customer loyalty. Superior service is integral to encouraging customer loyalty and promoting positive word-of-mouth that differentiates you from competitors.

Customers who are pleased with the experience your brand provides, and also trust the reliability and quality of your products and services, are positioned to become loyal customers. They’ll usually be happy to share their favorable experiences with friends, family and colleagues and give your brand enthusiastic endorsements that commonly result in referrals of new customers and repeat business. These demonstrations of customer loyalty are a powerful, and inexpensive, way to reach new customers and build your customer base, sales revenue and brand.

  • Surprise and delight. To create a positive, memorable experience for your customers, remember that it’s the small and unexpected things that keep them coming back.

Expertise

Because your goal is to attract and retain customers, generate referrals and recruit brand cheerleaders, know that you’ll promote those aims by demonstrating that you are a reputable and trustworthy expert in your field. You’ll build credibility and customer loyalty by sharing your professional know-how with customers and prospects.

  • Educate customers. Content marketing is all about educating customers and it is now the marketing strategy that most customers prefer. The purpose of marketing is to persuade prospects to do business with you. For example, if you are a Freelance gardening and landscape specialist, you would do well to create videos, and/or publish a monthly newsletter or blog that focuses on helping plants survive winter and how to prepare a garden for spring plantings. Throughout the seasons, new posts will address how your readers can create a beautiful garden. Distribute your customer/ follower education info to your email list and encourage list members to subscribe to regularly receive the info.

Reliable

Conscientiously build a reputation for being consistent and dependable to further support customer loyalty for your brand. For example, if you promise that a product will be delivered within 48 hours after purchase, take steps to ensure delivery occurs within that time frame. Or if the graphics for the marketing campaign brochure you’re creating for a client must be ready for a 10:00 AM meeting that your client has scheduled with his client, be prepared to work as long as it takes to produce a perfectly designed and edited deliverable at the agreed-upon time and place, to make both your client and yourself look good.

Flexible

While it’s important to have policy and procedure guidelines in place, it is smart to remember that customers have circumstances and problems they grapple with. So, if you’ve established a 14-day return policy, but a customer wasn’t able to return the product within that window, perhaps because of a business or family emergency, graciously accepting the return and offering either the usual refund or store credit may be the best course of action. It’s likely that you’ll gain much more than you’ll lose and it will be an effective way to encourage customer loyalty.

Communicate

One of the easiest ways to keep in touch with customers is through email. Ask for customer email contact info after completing purchases, or while they explore your sales/marketing funnel during the buyer’s journey, so you can send information that a prospect would like to see, or keep existing customers updated on new products, or perhaps follow-up with them after a sale to inquire about their perception of their customer experience. This information can be used to improve customer satisfaction.

Studies have proven that personalized emails have a transaction rate 6 times higher than impersonal emails. Addressing recipients of your marketing emails by name, sending birthday or holiday greetings to existing customers, or thanking a customer for a recent purchase are the types of outreach that customers appreciate. Personalized messages can help create an emotional bond between your brand and your customers that promotes customer loyalty.

Social media platforms will help to bring your customers into a community. Communities are an effective way to start conversations with your customers and also encourage user-generated content. You might start by inviting customers to share pictures of themselves using your product for posting on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, for example.

Feedback

Whenever a customer makes a purchase, request their feedback with an email questionnaire or online survey link sent to their email (you can also place that link on your company website). It’s important that you know what customers like or dislike about your products and/or services and how they feel about your customer service and experience. If you aren’t aware of this information, you will be unable to make changes that will make your customers happy. Always be ready to listen to customers and address their concerns a timely manner. Make it easy for them to get in touch with your company by clearly displaying the email address, phone number and social media links on your website and in emails.

  • Make it easy to communicate with a real person. While technology has made it easy for customers to find information regarding your product or service, it’s a mistake for business owners to hide behind a wall of tech. There’s going to be an event that causes a customer to feel the need to speak with a real-life person. Make sure that your contact information is easily located on your website and in your emails and follow-up on inquiries in a timely fashion.
  • Spend time with customers. Speaking with customers is good business—they’ll immediately recognize that you care about them as individuals and want to provide a pleasing customer experience for them. It’s Relationship Building 101. Furthermore, you can learn a few things, such as what motivates them become, and remain, your customers. What you learn in conversations with customers is invaluable—the intel can be used to generate more specifically useful content and support the development of more effective marketing campaigns. Moreover, you might even be able to recruit customers who are especially happy with your brand to share their experiences in testimonials or case studies.

Transparency and integrity

There will be days when things fall apart. Rather than retreating into excuses and denial, put your big boy/big girl pants on and be honest with customers about the bad news. Mistakes happen; customers know this and when you face up to the problem, customers will respect and appreciate your honesty. Don’t get defensive or over-sensitive if you get called out on something that was your fault. Instead, use emails and social platforms to take responsibility and resolve the issue.

Train employees

Employees are part of your team and they are capable of generating customer loyalty—or destroying it. Employees who buy into your brand promise and culture are more likely to themselves feel loyal toward your company and inclined to share their enthusiasm with friends, family and the customers they assist. Make sure your employees have the proper training and tools to enhance the customer experience and keep them updated about company developments that will support their work. Always treat employees with respect and listen to insights and suggestions they have to streamline procedures, sharpen your marketing campaigns and pay special attention to any rumblings of customer discontent.

Incentives

You want to give customers reasons to keep coming back and that’s when incentives can be helpful. Your give-away could be as simple as a 10% discount on their next purchase that is at least $50 or giving them a free (relatively inexpensive) branded item after their tenth purchase. Instituting a loyalty program might include the following.

  • Points System – Customers earn points which can be used for a reward.
  • Tier system – Provide a small reward and increase the reward over time.
  • Support programs around your customer’s values – Customers aren’t just concerned with monetary rewards, show your support for programs that they support.
  • Coalition programs – Team up with a related company for deals outside of your company

Happy New Year!

Kim

Image: © The Next Crossing. Marrakesh, Morocco 2017

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“Why Should We Hire You?” Your Answer Impacts Client Acquisition

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As you’ve figured out by now, an interview with a prospect who you hope will become your next client, is a sales pitch. In this scenario you, Freelancer friend, are both the product and the service. When you are being considered for a Freelance consulting assignment (or if you are an employee searching for a new job), the mission is to sell yourself—your brand—to the decision-maker(s) by demonstrating you are best in class. IQ/hard skills as evidenced by your education, professional expertise and experience and EQ/soft skills demonstrated by your work ethic, communication ability, teamwork skills and values when viewed together can predict with a high degree of confidence that project deliverables will be produced on time and within budget and, as well, contribute to a positive team experience that encourages productivity and camaraderie.

When hiring managers interview candidates to discuss project specs, a common tactic is to ask “Why should we hire you?” The question is quite helpful for decision-makers; they listen as the candidate basically sells him/herself and reveals who s/he really is. The insights that decision-maker(s) receive is known to promote selection of the right candidate. Prominent information that “Why should we hire you?” brings out includes:

  • Does the candidate grasp the importance of the project to the organization?
  • How might the candidate’s understanding of the relevance of his/her work contribute to realization of the project mission?
  • Which competencies and characteristics make the candidate stand out?
  • Might the candidate’s values and work habits be a good cultural fit with the project leader and team members with whom s/he will interact?
  • Does the candidate display enthusiasm and passion for the project and mission?

“Why should we hire you?” is usually one of the last interview questions asked, which means you can use your answer to sum up why you are the ideal candidate. Moreover, you can use what decision-maker(s) have said during the interview to your advantage. To that end, pay attention to competencies and qualities seemed to be especially important to the decision-maker(s) and as you reply to the big question, link your skills and experience to what matters to them. What do you say if “Why should we hire you?” is asked early in the interview? HR specialists recommend that you deflect and ask for more information about the role and include their language and priorities while describing your expertise, experience, work ethic and other factors that the decision-maker prioritizes.

Prepare for the question before the interview

Freelance consultants know that you are much more than a hired gun who operates with a narrow, “just the facts” mindset. It will be wise to obtain a big picture view of the project and gain an understanding of how the company will benefit from and utilize the project deliverables. Also search or inquire while in the interview the company’s history with this or or similar projects? The more you know, the more persuasive your answers and the more impressive you look to decision-maker(s).

Your best source for info that references the importance of the project and its mission to the company is certain to be the project specs. Give the document another read and pay attention to must-have and preferred professional skills and experience, as well as the expected project deliverables and/or outcomes. Item Two of your search could be “About Us” on the company website and Item Three might be the organization’s most recent annual report.

You will be much more authoritative and persuasive when you learn how company leaders visualize and measure achievement of their project mission. Don’t shy away from using their words to describe your own skills and values—chances are, they’ll love to hear it! Read on to learn how to compose a winning answer to a powerful, and common, interview question: “Why should we hire you?”

Elevator Pitch

A good elevator pitch is so useful. You can drop it in here and let it be the opening statement of your response to the Big Question. Remember that you get to sum up your qualifications and overall suitability and explain why you deserve to win this coveted assignment. Presenting your elevator pitch as the intro to your response sets the stage for a succinct and powerful statement that details your qualifications and experience and defends your ability to successfully produce the project deliverables.

Review and rehearse your pitch to ensure that your message will effectively reinforce your candidacy. Your pitch should be a 30-45-second well-articulated story that gives a brief introduction and overview of you and your work that tells decision-makers you can be trusted to deliver results and make them look good.

Competencies and success stories

When answering the question, link the project’s purpose, goals and desired outcomes to your ability to guide the project to a successful conclusion, as a key component of the strategy to distinguish yourself from other candidates. Lead with your most recent and relevant work to showcase your successes with previous projects that echo the aims of this project. Briefly share specific examples that illustrate why you should be hired. Rehearse your answers to ensure that your narrative is clear, concise and compelling. You’ll likely include some combination of the factors stated below.

  • Expertise. Educational degrees, professional certifications and work experience are proof of expertise. Providing examples of successfully working on similar projects will assure decision-makers that you are a competent and trustworthy candidate who can be expected to successfully produce the deliverables and/or desired outcomes (and make them look good).
  • Unique skills. Highlight relevant competencies and professional and/or volunteer experiences that make you uniquely qualified for the assignment and set you apart from other candidates. Some of your special skills do not need to be strictly job-related—maybe you have a pilot’s license, speak a foreign language fairly well, or sing in a choral group? The decision-makers may appreciate nearly any unique advantage that showcases you as an exceptional candidate.
  • Accomplishments. Communicate your appreciation for business imperatives and give the decision-makers yet another vote of confidence for your candidacy. If, for example, you include in your “Why should we hire you?” response that when you worked on a particular project you showed the client that it will be possible to reduce operating costs by 10%, or your work resulted in a 20% improvement in customer satisfaction ratings. If this was the case, share the good news in your reply.

Your vision of success

Recognize that “Why should we hire you?” is a gift that allows you to help decision-maker(s) visualize you in the role. For sure, it’s worth your while to envision yourself successfully performing in the assignment, so that you can create a powerful narrative that describes how you will bring about that success. Include in your vision narrative a description that is more than a recitation of your skills and education. Paint a verbal picture as well by describing examples of you working with their team, contributing to and supporting the purpose, goals, mission and/or bottom line associated with the project.

Your answer is short and sharp

As with all interview questions, deliver organized and concise replies and especially so when responding to this decisive question. Your answer must be easy to follow — not rambling— and presented logically. HR specialists suggest that point out three benefits associated with hiring you and conclude by emphasizing your genuine interest in the role and the company. Furthermore, convey your confidence by modulating your voice and body language in a way that communicates your command of the necessary skills and leadership ability. Speak slowly and clearly and use a friendly, yet professional, tone of voice and mannerisms as you discuss your unique suitability for the project.

Show Enthusiasm

Do not neglect to demonstrate your enthusiasm for working on the assignment. First off, the decision-maker(s) want to see it and second, it’s how you feel. You want this project, whether you’re motivated by the billable hours you’ll receive, the opportunity to work with a prestigious client, or access to an assignment that adds luster to your portfolio.

However you communicate your enthusiasm, make it memorable and personal. If you position this job as your dream job (assuming it is), the decision-maker will recognize and appreciate your enthusiasm (and energy) to take on the role and meet or exceed performance expectations.

Be Humble

A small dose of humility could be music to the ears of decision-maker(s), after listening to candidates tell them about how wonderful they are! When your answers are matter-of-fact and not obviously bragging, you come off as authentic and that’s a quality decision-maker(s) can appreciate.

Happy Holidays and thanks for reading!

Kim

Image: © fizkes/iStock

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Freelancers Do the Side Hustle

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When a local small business owner and acquaintance of mine opened her second venture, a tiny breakfast and lunch place with a retro cool vibe that I love, she soon started “moonlighting” as a dinner service waitress three nights a week at a small artisanal pizza restaurant nearby. She burned the candle at both ends, finishing the waitress shift at midnight and crawling into bed at 1:00 AM, only to wake up at 4:00 AM to make the 45 minute journey to the wholesale restaurant market six days a week, to help her contain food costs and offer menu prices that customers would accept. It was exhausting, but Nicky was determined to pay her share of the debts from the failed first business venture in which she was a partner and also maintain adequate cash-flow in the new one, where she is the principal owner.

About three miles away from Nicky’s restaurant is Anthony’s, another tiny breakfast and lunch place that I love. A few years ago, Anthony told me that his venture’s cash-flow foundation is real estate. Some years ago, Anthony was able to buy the building where his restaurant is housed; upstairs over the restaurant are four apartments that command premium rents for his harbor-facing location.

Cathy, a former client of mine (who, sadly, passed away about three years ago), worked for three or four years as a Lyft driver, to build cash-flow that safeguarded her ability to make the weekly payroll and cover other expenses in her medical billing business (which her children sold). My friend Jackie, a fitness instructor and trainer, launched a boutique gym 20+ years ago, yet she continues to teach classes at a large, prestigious gym where she receives training and certifications in new exercise techniques that she passes along to her gym’s fitness staff so that her team has updated skills. Jackie is also able to now and again observe smart business practices used by her mega-gym employer that she can apply at her operation to improve her performance as fitness center owner and manager. Then there’s my friend Paul who once co-owned four outlets of a popular skin care franchise. To provide health insurance for himself, his wife and their four children, for many years Paul worked 20 hours/week as a FedEx delivery driver.

I also created a side hustle strategy to protect my business cash-flow. Until about three years ago, I periodically taught noncredit skills development workshops to aspiring entrepreneurs—business plan writing, sales skills training, marketing and networking skills—at a local school and at a business incubator that serves aspiring female entreprenurs. Unfortunately, pandemic related shake-ups torpedoed my access to both teaching positions but if an invitation is made, I’ll gladly return—and money is not my only motivation—I enjoy teaching! On the plus side, since 2016, I’ve been a contributing writer at Lioness Magazine, a globally distributed publication that’s targeted to female entrepreneurs.

So where are we going with this? You noticed that the recurring theme of these stories is how Freelancers and small business owners take action to strengthen their business cash-flow. Freelancers and small business owners can be dangerously vulnerable when it comes to financial security. Keeping an entity healthy throughout the inevitable ups and downs of the local or national economy or, in the B2B sector, protecting yourself from cash-flow crunches that can result if a client is late paying your invoice or worse, doesn’t pay at all, is an essential function of your risk management strategy.

The phenomenon once known as “moonlighting,” that is, working in a second (or third, or even fourth) job, and now called a side hustle, burst into the public discourse during the pandemic, when the economy as we knew it suddenly turned upside down and most jobs tumbled into a confusing transition. The shutdown resulted in the swift closure of numerous restaurants and fitness centers and was soon followed by waves of lay-offs and bankruptcies that are ongoing, especially in the tech and retail industries.

Life gradually returned to what’s called “the new normal” and markets rebounded and stabilized, on paper anyway. Contrary to the many glowing reports of a low unemployment rate, subsiding inflation and millions of jobs that are unfilled (and, allegedly, looking to hire qualified candidates), many Americans are experiencing a different reality and the desirability of earning extra income has taken hold. The popularity of the side hustle economy has continued to grow, publicized by rideshare giants Lyft and Uber and fueled by financial pressures felt by both independently and traditionally employed workers.

Recent data confirms that side hustles are on the rise and here to stay, with CBS News reporting that nearly half of America’s workforce has a secondary source of income or their own side hustles. Surprisingly, according to Side Hustle Nation, side hustles aren’t exclusively for the financially challenged—the 2024 Side Hustle nation survey found that more than 40% of participants have household incomes that exceed $100,000 and 78.4% stated that they aren’t struggling to make ends meet.

The changing societal zeitgeist gives today’s Freelancers and SMBs the greenlight to radically reframe their feelings and expectations toward “moonlighting,” with its former connotations of operating in secrecy in order to rustle up money needed to supplement an insufficient income, to a potentially impactful revenue stream that could surpass mere cash-flow support and extend into financing new business ventures or other investment. For today’s Freelance professionals and SMB owners, a side hustle can translate into a unique growth opportunity but to make the strategy work, the side hustle must be managed with intention. Proper structure, planning and assessment are required. If you are Freelance professional or SMB owner considering the enhanced security that can be provided by a good side hustle, here are six steps to take to help make your side hustle worth your time and effort.

  1. What’s in it for you? As you’ve seen, the side hustle economy gets lots of publicity and the noise may get you thinking—is there an opportunity for you? Life continues to get more expensive and also, extra money is an essential resource when one has financial or entrepreneurial goals. You might see a side hustle as a vehicle to pay off debt, finance your retirement, or build capital to launch a start-up. Then again, you could be motivated by a basic need or desire to supplement your Freelance or other business revenue or your W-2 paycheck. There are also those who harbor the goal of building out a promising side hustle that will become a full-time business venture and replace their current employment. Before you focus on what might be your most promising side hustle, however, you would be wise to clearly define your motivation.

2. What are your marketable skills and are they expert-level? Once you’ve made an uncensored examination of your interest in launching a side hustle, make an accounting of your potentially marketable skills and evaluate what customers might be inclined to pay you to do. For example, might your knack for graphic design open doors to projects such as designing wedding invitations, or perhaps creating marketing and sales materials? Talented writers might parlay that competence into a Freelance editing side hustle. If you were born with a green thumb and can keep blooms popping, from crocuses in early spring to chrysanthemums in late autumn, then window box and garden management may be the side hustle for you. Be aware as well that it’s a valuable competitive advantage to invest in your side hustle skill with training that upgrades your expertise. Certifications, degrees and experience (communicated by customer reviews) can be posted on your website and social media accounts to increase the confidence that prospects have for you. Skills training helps you stand out against competitors and can increase customer demand, grow your client list, justify premium pricing for your services and ultimately, position your side hustle to earn more money, faster.

3. What will success look like? It’s important to align your side hustle’s driving purpose with your marketable skills that a critical mass of customers will pay to receive and also fit your definition of financial success. This is about managing expectations—will the side hustle you have the skill set to get paid for earn you enough money to make it worthwhile doing? For example, you may want to become a piano teacher but research of the most respected teaching qualifications, or your access to potential students, may not support either the price you’d like to charge for lessons or the billable hours you’re likely to get. You may be able to tap a new market and improve access to students—maybe retired adults who want to revisit their childhood piano lessons?—but since you can’t charge your preferred price for lessons because you lack a certain qualification, so you’ll have to work harder and give more lessons. Basically, you must be honest about how much time and focus you care to devote to your side hustle venture and define your picture of success.

4. How disciplined are you? The side hustle will not get off the ground and fulfill expectations if you can’t make yourself put in the time and effort to make it successful. This seems obvious, but for some it may not be as easy as it seems. Before you invest significant money into developing your side hustle consider likely the time commitment, along with the necessary tools, equipment, relationships, training and administrative duties (marketing and bookkeeping, for example) it will take to launch and operate your venture and guide it toward your definition of success. Estimate the number of hours per week, with a realistic hourly service rate, it will take to make the thing worthwhile. Be brutally honest about the number of hours per week or month you can (or will) allocate to working a side hustle. BTW, as you calculate your estimated time commitment, do not even think about infringing on the time and focus needed to effectively do your day job.

5. Create milestones with timeline and success metrics. Operating a side hustle means lengthening your to-do list and spreading yourself thin, making it essential to be organized. Keep yourself on track and also alert yourself to what is or isn’t working by creating a simple and revealing tool—a timeline. At periodic intervals—monthly or quarterly will be good—over a 12 month period, it will be very helpful to track and assess Key Performance Indicators that demonstrate side hustle growth, or lack thereof. Look at billable hours worked, number of customers seen, revenue generated and business expenses to get the story of side hustle performance. Pay attention to prospects who don’t work with you to learn of some element you may want to adjust. It’s important to use a timeline to project what you think is achievable so that, as an entrepreneur, you are setting yourself up for success.

6. Course correct when necessary. You’ll quickly know if something is not performing as you’d hoped (like revenue generated), but the above-mentioned timeline will confirm the diagnosis with metrics. Along with defining your KPI timeline is to recognize what’s working and what’s not, so you can make corrections where necessary. The big-picture view is a revealing perspective. Take the time to consider why those who tell you no are declining to work with you—are you falling short somewhere? On the plus side, are existing customers referring new customers and/or writing good online reviews? Once a month or so, hunt for time in your very busy schedule to think about your side hustle for a couple of hours, just as you think about your Freelance consultancy or SMB. Know that it’s okay to periodically reevaluate and change course if necessary.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Shutterstock. Working as a fitness instructor or trainer has been a popular side hustle since the 1980s.

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Rip Off the Band-Aid: Why Prospects Refuse to Be Customers

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You’ll never preside over a thriving business enterprise, be it large, small, or somewhere in-between, unless you consistently recruit new customers—as you simultaneously encourage repeat business, that is! Maintaining a healthy customer list is a balancing act that requires constant attention. When creating marketing strategies and campaigns for your entity, I think it’s safe to say you create content expected to interest current and prospective customers who have at least a back-burner need for your service or product categories.

But as you brainstorm potential marketing messages to fuel your next inbound or outbound marketing campaign, your thoughts could eventually land on a cohort of elusive and reluctant prospects—- noncustomers, who buy little or nothing from either you or your competitors. Who are those outliers lurking at the fringes of your marketplace, you may wonder? Admittedly, Freelancers and owners of small or medium size businesses will (correctly) assume that it’s a smarter bet to direct your time and money to prospects who’ve shown a need for products and services offered in your marketplace. Nevertheless, you may not be able to ignore the silent awareness of noncustomers who may have a latent, unacknowledged need for what you sell. Could they exist in sufficient numbers and hold revenue potential to constitute a niche market for you? Maybe.

The answers you seek can most efficiently be revealed with comprehensive market research, data-driven and available in software like Qualtrics and other SaaS companies to get trustworthy customer intel that helps you make informed decisions. Once you’ve discovered the identities of your noncustomers, guided by the industries they occupy, you can then verify the business case for how your services and/or products could be worthwhile for them.

As you research your noncustomers, you may quickly see that they’re not all alike and that each subgroup has idiosyncratic biases, doubts, concerns, even misperceptions that explain why they’re noncustomers. Research may reveal that for some of them, the decision to decline to buy from either you or your competitors could make sense. That said, your noncustomers, while perhaps operating in different industries and maintaining different perspectives, might share certain similarities—goals, challenges, or concerns, for example, that could give them something to talk about if they all show up at the same holiday party. Subject to an analysis of relevant data that’s interpreted well, you may be able to build on what your noncustomers have in common and discover a potential niche market that you might convert into a few good customers.

Noncustomers categories

The challenge of noncustomers was researched by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, who sought to help companies more effectively understand and, where possible, convert the untapped demand of these inaccessible prospects and in so doing create the genuine demand for a company’s products and services that they named blue ocean. Kim and Mauborgne are professors of business strategy at INSEAD (Institut Europeen d’Administration des Affaires) and coauthors of Blue Ocean Strategy (2005), the book and the marketing theory. The developed an analytic framework used to study the phenomenon of noncustomers and they sorted the cohort into three tiers.

  • First Tier: Soon-to-be

First Tier noncustomers are on the fringe of your market and waiting for an opportunity to leave your industry. They’re not precisely noncustomers; when they must, they’ll buy certain products or services offered by companies in your category but know that they have no love for any company operating in your industry.

What drives First Tier noncustomers? They may be dissatisfied with the available products or services in your industry and hoping for a solution that better satisfies their needs.

  • Second Tier: Refuseniks

Second Tier noncustomers make a conscious choice against your market and deliberately decline to buy your industry’s product or service offerings. These noncustomers have seen the available solutions that might fulfill their needs but have decided against them.

What drives Second Tier Noncustomers? They may find the available products or services unaffordable or somehow inappropriate for their needs.

  • Third Tier: Unexplored

Third Tier noncustomers are psychologically farthest away from your marketplace. These noncustomers have never considered products or services sold in your industry to be an option and so they’ve made no purchases. It’s assumed that the needs of third tier noncustomers are addressed by another industry.

What drives Third Tier Noncustomers? They never viewed your industry’s products or services as a viable option and therefore never considered exploring what you sell.

Marketing messages for noncustomers

Prospects who erect barriers and refuse to be considered are not easy to overcome, as you know. Kim and Mauburgne recommend that those looking to appeal to noncustomers to first, search for similarities that link your various noncustomer subgroups and second, focus on low hanging fruit. In other words, figure out which noncustomer groups you can expect to most easily, quickly and inexpensively communicate with and then create strategies and campaigns to win them over, if that is possible. Spotlighting benefits they stand to receive when using your products or services may be persuasive.

Identifying those similarities shared by your different noncustomers will be a good job for your data analytics software. Once you’ve figured out the landscape, you can then decide which problem or priority to address. After that, you create a marketing message you expect will resonate with your chosen cohort and distribute through channels they can be expected to trust and follow.

  • Neuromarketing: emotional appeal

Some behavioral experts believe that 95% of customers’ buying decisions are made subconsciously and this strategy seems to me like a potentially successful one for reeling in noncustomers. It’s entirely possible that even your toughest B2B customers aren’t using as much logic as they’d like you to believe when they evaluate (or ignore) the possibility of buying your product or service. Moreover, the biggest urge that’s attached to unconscious decision making is emotion. What all this means is if you effectively appeal to your noncustomers’ feelings, you’ll have a better chance of influencing their buying decisions.

Research also shows that marketing campaigns that have purely emotional content perform twice as well when compared to content that only uses logic. Furthermore, for some unexplainable reason, content that includes both emotion and logic doesn’t connect as well as exclusively emotional marketing content, whether the content features positive or negative emotions. Emphasize emotions in your marketing content when reaching out to customers or noncustomers by including storytelling, humor, music, or other behaviors that resonate with their emotions. Instead of focusing solely on product features or benefits, create emotional content that strives to encourage a personal connection with your viewers.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Getty Images/Ingram Publishing (2014)

Marketing , Leave a comment

How to Choose the Right PR Expert

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When the goal is to promote your business, to spotlight a product or service or nurture your brand, for instance, it has been convincingly demonstrated that your marketing content is king. Promotional content, packaged as relevant information, has become a highly effective vehicle for businesses looking to build reputations and engage with audiences. When appropriately developed and presented on platforms trusted by the target market segments, good PR/marketing content can convey the story that a brand needs to publicize. If you have at least a modest talent for promotional marketing, you may be able to perform reasonably well as your own in-house PR/marketing specialist. However, should you have a big project in front of you—like maybe the launch of a new service or product? An objective assessment of the task may tell you that the talent of a marketing expert who is also a public relations savant, who knows how to wordsmith an old-school press release and send it to the right media outlets and also stir up tempting social media posts for placement on platforms that your target market follows. Your ideal PR/marketing expert will no doubt get you featured on a podcast (or webinar) or two as well, to let your audience see or hear you in action.

It could be that you’ve never worked with a PR expert, whether Freelance or employed by a promotional marketing firm. You may have had conversations with one or two such individuals and they may have promised you the moon as they enthusiastically made it sound as if you would be featured in a well-known newspaper or magazine (could that be the New York Times business section, above the fold?) and maybe a television spot, too (OMG, maybe The Today Show?).

However, you may have come back to planet Earth and concluded that it’s better to refrain from diving into the deep end of the swimming pool, as you recognize that the best-told story that some PR “experts” tell is the one used to sign gullible prospects. So, when searching for an expert to develop and guide your PR/marketing content and roll-out, choose carefully. It’s imperative that the person or firm you work with understands where your business is now, “gets” the logic of your big picture goals and is able to construct and communicate a narrative that will advance your mission. Here are six qualities to inform your search for PR/marketing talent that can drive your business goals.

1. Displays trustworthy behavior.

Ultimately, you must be able to trust the PR expert, just like you trust your bookkeeper, accountant, or attorney. Whether you prefer to work with a Freelance or agency expert, you must trust that this individual understands how to shape, present and distribute your story in a way that supports your overall business goals. As you interview potential candidates, ask questions that shed light on client retention rate—has your potential PR expert worked with at least a few clients for a number of years? Repeat business is an excellent barometer of performance and trustworthy behavior. A Freelance or agency PR expert who has long-lasting client relationships—partnerships, really—demonstrates the essential qualities you seek.

2. Understands your big picture business goals.

The most highly valued skill in the PR industry is strategic planning, according to a report published in 2023 by the global data and business intelligence platform Statista. In other words, you should be able to regard your PR expert as a strategic partner and more than someone who gets you a guest spot in a webinar. Your PR expert, whether agency employee or Freelancer, should be prepared to serve as a trusted adviser who is able to seamlessly merge PR initiatives with your business goals. Stories must do more than promote products or services or announce your presence at a prestigious event. Effective PR is about engaging audiences and building lasting relationships, along with a noteworthy brand.

3. Recognizes your potential best stories.

Before a PR/marketing professional can create effective campaign content, the story determined to be best suited to achieving publicity goals must be identified. Your PR sherpa must have a feel for asking the client (you) questions that surface stories capable of building a compelling narrative. The most valuable PR experts are story finding geniuses. A content-savvy PR expert will have a time-tested script that s/he follows to tease out the most newsworthy hook that will allow your company’s story to stand out from the rest. Real PR experts have always been storytellers and the most successful stories are those that are authentic. They are the stories that cut through the ongoing roar of the crowded marketplace because they go beyond merely promoting products or services. These stories skillfully engage audiences in ways that build lasting relationships. When interviewing a prospective PR expert, ask for information on performance metrics that reveal not only audience reach and impressions, but also viewer engagement.

4. Knows the right content distribution platforms.

In the 21st century communication environment, it has become obvious that creating desirable content is just the beginning of a successful campaign. Your target audience must also notice your content and drawn to view it—and placing your content where your audience will see it demonstrates the importance of content distribution. In order to reach your target audience, be aware that there is no one-size-fits-all content distribution formula. In your interview with prospective PR Freelancers and agencies, you’ll be wise to ask for verification of strategic choices made for the client’s best distribution platform for each story. The channels utilized should be selected based on your target audience and goal.

One of the challenges—and opportunities—is the multichannel maze. PR and marketing campaigns can no longer rely on one channel or strategy. It is now required to focus on multiple platforms that each play a part in the overall story. For instance, content that works well on LinkedIn may fall flat on TikTok, even when there’s value to be found in posting on both platforms. Effective content distribution demands a deep understanding of audience behavior and content trends; it requires PR professionals to be agile and creative in their approach.

It is also necessary to plan for the impact of the metaverse, the constant recycling of content that typically includes comments made by influencers and those who consider themselves stakeholders (for reasons that perhaps only they themselves understand). Again, your PR expert must learn what content works for your brand and your big picture goals.

5. Uses relevant metrics to drive campaigns.

The best PR Freelancers and agencies understand the importance of campaign performance analytics. Before any project begins, forward-thinking PR experts will focus on the client’s business goals and design content to achieve a brand’s desired results. Your PR expert should be able to seamlessly blend analytical knowledge with your business goals. PR professionals now need to have the strategy and skills to tie their work to bottom-line business results such as increases in sales, web traffic, or sales numbers.

6. Beware the digital PR campaign pitch

Finally, in the rush to embrace advanced technology, digital PR campaigns are increasingly offered as an attractive method to enhance brand visibility, build authority and boost Search Engine Optimization results. Digital campaigns are being sold as the most cutting-edge way to get a company and/or product into the highly coveted search list Top 10. However, clients may not realize that the promised outcomes may be an illusion. When evaluating digital PR, it’s imperative to recognize and fully understand the risks.

Recommendation of press release syndication is a red flag. Press release syndication typically results in low-value media placements that are seldom noticed by your target market; following this strategy most likely will not benefit your SEO or communicate your story. Misrepresenting paid media placements as organic PR is unfortunately another digital PR practice that can cost your business a 4-figure fee but without delivering the value you thought you were paying for. Some PR independents or agencies may claim to provide real digital PR services, but in reality, they just use third-party press release syndication services.

Disappointingly, even properly executed digital PR campaigns frequently do not succeed because the distribution is patently ineffective. A client may spend $5,000 to $15,000 on a campaign, but if relevant media outlets don’t pick it up the hoped-for backlinks, for example, will not materialize. This is especially frustrating for clients, as they have no certainty about what they’re getting for their money. It’s a risky investment, and unfortunately, the outcome can sometimes be nothing but lost money.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © PictureLux/ The Hollywood Archive. Swedish actress Anita Ekburg (September 1931 – January 2015) creates brand-defining content in Rome’s Trevi Fountain on December 31, 1959, while filming La Dolce Vita (1960, directed by Federico Fellini).