January 12th, 2012 - Posted in General by Manpreet Jassal
So how do you earn equity in their mind? It all comes down to providing “unique value.” Value is different from price. Everyone markets to lower TCO, backing up 100,000 times faster, but they are not marketing on the unique value of the solution. Price is not all that matters (to some people it always will), but where is the unique value in what you are getting? Advice, training, support, and the joy of working with you all go into this formula.
The language you use in your marketing efforts should be the same language that prospects are thinking in. Once you communicate that unique value to the prospect, that will instantly create brand equity in the prospects mind. You will start being associated as the solution to their pain point. Now this is where the fun begins!
(Are wondering about the picture of the purple elephant? Well, have you ever seen one? Imagine a zoo having a purple elephant that no one else has. Many people would go to see it and it will become famous, now the zoo has a unique value it provides.)
June 3rd, 2011 - Posted in General by Manpreet Jassal
“If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think.” – David Ogilvy
I remember reading that quote in one of my marketing books a long time ago. Ogilvy’s statement still holds true today even though it was said in the 60’s. Our overall goal as marketers is to change a person’s worldview on something. Nobody is spending their valuable resources and time to send something to someone and make them chuckle. We want them to get up and do something, maybe not at that moment, but do something really soon.
The main problem in a lot of today’s marketing is the language. If you’re not talking in the language that I am thinking in, there is no chance at all for your message to get through to me. So how do you do that?
Once you know the demographic you are marketing to, you have to know what they are looking for. And let me tell you they are not looking for the features and benefits of what your product does. Your product might be the best thing since the microwave oven, but if I don’t think it’s anything special, you lost me. So let’s say you are targeting IT decision makers and you are letting them know you can do backup 1,000,000 times faster, but everyone marketing to them is telling them the same thing. So how do you earn equity in their mind? To be continued…
March 9th, 2011 - Posted in General by Manpreet Jassal
“A guy don’t walk on the lot lest he wants to buy..” That line has been stuck in my head ever since I heard Alec Baldwin say it in the movie Glenngary Glen Ross. Then I thought to myself a prospect does not take our surveys and answers positively if they don’t want to buy. All of the questions we ask on our surveys always have an option of “N/A” so they can choose that option 100% of the time but many of them don’t.
The sales data that gets generated should be intelligent enough to let us know where the customer is in the buying cycle. Every sales persons dream is to know if the prospect is thinking about buying. Let’s take this scenario..
MJ: How have your leads been so far?
VAR: They have been mediocre, I mean we know what type of equipment they have but no luck in knowing what they need right now.
MJ: What would you say if I can get you fully verified leads with pain points they are experiencing in their IT environment and what stage of the buying cycle they are in, what would you think of that?
VAR: Where do I sign?!
What I do everyday is produce Glenngary Glen Ross leads! I think I am going to watch that movie again this weekend.
Have you seen the Purple Elephant?
