Bright Marketing Manifesto - the mind of the customer Part two

After the brief blog entry Bright Marketing Manifesto - the mind of the customer several people (including Karin H ) have asked me to expand on the "marketing is a battle for the mind of the customer" line of thought.


In a nutshell, people buy what they THINK is the best product or service - often they don't know or have the objective information to know what is the best product/service for them - so they buy the product that they THINK is the best... So you will sell more if people think your product is the best!

Quoting from an earlier book chapter...

The Law Of Perception states that

Marketing is a battle of perceptions and not simply a battle of products.

Most people seem to assume that, in the battle for customers, it is the best product that wins. This is clearly not the case. The winner is the product that customers believe to be the best as proven by whether they buy or not.

While the product's quality or features may play an important part in the buying decision, there are many forms of persuasion which will have influenced their thinking - brand image, company reputation, or competitor comparisons to name but a few, and all of these are perceived. The job in hand is to win over the customer's mind.

RELEVANT LINKS
Bright Marketing Manifesto - the mind of the customer original blog entry
Bright Marketing - the book
Bright Marketing workshops – free workshops with Barclays

Let's Talk... Promo Material

I have just been asked where to look for general promo material for the "Barclays Let's Talk..." events.


The best place(s) to look will be:
90 second video piece - Robert to camera

or

5 minute video piece - delegates and a bit of Robert live

or
Our website link - web links to the different programmes.

We'd love to see you at the latest tour which starts next week (19 venues across the UK). Some of these free events have already 'sold out'!!

Bright Marketing Manifesto - the mind of the customer

Marketing is not a battle of the product; marketing is a battle for the mind of the customer...
– How will you win this battle?

RELEVANT LINKS
Bright Marketing - the book
Bright Marketing workshops - with Barclays

Bright Marketing Manifesto - WHY?

Why should people bother to buy from you when they can buy from the competition?
- What makes you different from the rest?

If you can't answer this question then do not pass 'Go' and do not collect your £200!

RELEVANT LINKS
Bright Marketing - the book
Bright Marketing workshops with Barclays

Little Gordon Ramsay... (with revised Part 3)

Gordon Ramsay fans will love these little virals for catering.com - they will become classics: very funny, very inexpensive to make, loads of people will talk about and share them. Very clever. Mind the language!

Gordon Part 1
Gordon Part 2
Gordon Part 3

A Lovely Product Design...

It is not often that I see a design idea and go "oh yes, very cute... very, very neat" but I saw one at last week's Green Business Leaders event put on by Barclays...

It was one of those products that once you had seen it you wondered why someone hadn't seen the idea years ago...

The whole event was fascinating as we saw some stunning 'green' businesses showcased. And the one that got me excited was from Moixa Energy in London.


On their website the state:
"Our vision is to invent technologies that provide consumers with better solutions for their mobile or home power requirements that are more usable, economic and environmental..."

What does that mean in reality?
Their USBcell is stunningly simple and obvious - a re-usable/re-chargeable battery that charges via your USB port. Every has one (a USB port) and everyone wants to use rechargeable batteries but can't stand the faff of finding their rechargers all the time... And now you can recharge almost anywhere... Watch this company!!! Quite rightly they won an award


RELEVANT LINKS
USBcell - the stunningly cute product
Green Business Leaders - Barclays awards ceremony
Moixa Energy
Let's Talk Green Business - Kiki's workshops with Barclays

Putting up prices

Paul Clegg's blog quotes the More Profit workshops...

"Did you know that a 10% price reduction needs to generate 50% more business to remain as profitable as you were before you dropped your price.

That is why, when faced with a volatile economy, most businesses will work harder and longer and end up ‘standing still’ at best. Robert Craven from the Directors' Centre shared that gem with me."

He goes on, "A master communicator and a highly practical ‘hands on’ marketing man, Robert conducted research amongst 2000 business owners to discover the 3 most effective ways to develop more sales. Master these, let your competitors reduce their prices and you will grow your profits and your customer base.

A clue: most business people waste their money on marketing that simply does not work. Do you want to do what most people do or find out what really works and why?

RELEVANT LINKS
Paul Clegg's blog
Directors' Centre
Barclays ‘Let’s Talk…’ Programme – webpages and online booking for the Let’s Talk… workshops
Robert Craven

Otaku

Otaku - a japanese word... roughly translated, it is all about enthusiastic people who enthuse (about your product?). It could be a nerd?

Wikipedia: "Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests"...

These people care...
These people are obsessed
These people talk...
These people listen...

These people are not all nerds/anoraks!

So, what can you do to make your business attractive to these "sneezers"?

PS what is a sneezer...? Back to Wikipedia on Seth Godin's IdeaVirus book:

"Interrupting people is an inefficient approach to marketing, and one doomed to failure. Instead marketers should strive to spread ideas. An Ideavirus is an idea that moves and grows and infects everyone it touches. An Ideavirus is based on customers marketing to each other.

"The book refers to hives and sneezers. Hives are the groups of people to whom the idea has some specific relevance, sneezers are the people likely to spread your idea. A successful Ideavirus requires the sneezers infecting the hive."

RELEVANT LINKS
Wikipedia - on otaku
Wikipedia on IdeaVirus
Seth Godin - his blog
Otaku research