The Crux of All Marketing Problems—Including Yours

Great marketing employs a systematic approach that allows for businesses to stand above their competition and become the obvious choice with whom to do business. When the outside perception of  your business is an accurate reflection of an amazing inside reality, systematized marketing is the secret sauce that aligns both sides of your business: the inside reality and the outside perception.

Most companies’ outside perception is not an accurate reflection of their inside reality. The inside reality has to do with all the things your business does that make you valuable to your customers. The “inside reality” is about what you do and what you are. It’s what gives you a competitive advantage. The inside reality encompasses all your skills, your people, your expertise, your products and service to the  customer - before, during, and after the sale—your systems, practices, commitment to excellence, passion, and the way you conduct your business… It’s your USP.

How is the inside reality in your business?

If you ask your customers why they buy from you, they could point to specific advantages of doing business with you and say, “That’s why I do business here; that’s why I refer my friends; that’s why I’m a loyal customer; that’s why I don’t mind paying more here; that’s why I keep coming back.”

The reality of what you do and the customers’ perceptions of what you do may not match. You might think you are better than you are, or you might not give yourself enough credit for the things you do well.

The outside perception is how customers and prospects perceive your company based on their interactions with your company. Customers draw on their buying experiences to form their perceptions. But even if your customer service is great and your customers love you, none of that means anything to a prospective customer if

1) They don’t know you exist as an option,

2) They can’t distinguish your value, or

3) They are not seeing any positive reviews or, even worse, they are seeing negative reviews online

Ineffective marketing creates a chasm between your inside reality and your outside perception. Regardless of how good you are or how good your “inside reality” is, your prospects can’t figure it out if your marketing is ineffective. You appear to be just another company. The prospect will be apathetic at best, resistant or hostile at worst.

Most businesses are good at knowing what their customers want, but they can’t communicate their “inside reality” to the outside world.

They can’t lead prospects to the conclusion: “I can’t find a better value anywhere else at any price” How to do that is what effective marketing is all about.

You’ve got to work on both sides of your business—the inside reality and the outside perception. If you concentrate all your efforts on the “inside reality” but you don’t know how to market properly, you set yourself up for frustration and failure.

Most businesses could improve in both areas, but they struggle most with the outside perception. They build good companies and offer good value, but they have problems differentiating themselves. A good marketing agency manages messages and campaigns through a multitude of automated tools and platforms and channels to communicate the inside reality in such a manner that it effectively separates your business from your competitors in the minds of your prospects. A good agency will improve the “outside perception” of your business. Will discover what is good or great about the inside reality and then say it well and say it often so people instantly recognize your business as their best choice.

You have to consider both the inside reality and the outside perception. You could spend much time and effort with remarkable innovations for your industry. But not working on the outside perception leaves you with a wonderful company that nobody knows about.

What your current customers think about your business is important, but what your prospects think about your business is even more so. Can they tell why and how you’re unique, different, or better by looking at your current marketing and Web site?

Do you show them how to judge your offer, what factors they need to consider, and how you provide value? Do you ensure that your outside perception is an accurate reflection of your inside reality?

Are You the Obvious Choice to Do Business With?

Are you marketing your company in such as way that it is evident that you are the obvious choice to do business with? If not, you need to learn how to make those advantages so obvious to your prospects and customers that they quickly draw this one conclusion: “I can’t find a better value anywhere else at any price”

People always want to make the best buying decision possible. Marketing’s job—your job— is to facilitate the prospect’s decision-making and allow them to feel they are in control of the decision, based on having quantity and quality of information.

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