Online Client Acquisition Pt1 – Getting to Know Your Target Audience

Online client acquisition should be easy in the 21st Century, yet… Not so much!

First, we’re not talking about simply putting up an uber-cool website and waiting for the clients to storm your virtual doors. That just doesn’t happen anymore (if it ever did). And, while a great website can make a huge difference in building your online reputation, you need content to fill it and products or services to offer.

And there’s the rub. What do people want/need that can’t already be found online these days – and that you have to offer?

While we would never presume to tell you how to run your business, we do have some experience with helping designers and furnishing dealers market themselves online. One of the things we’ve discovered is that, while you can certainly try to “walk a mile in their shoes” in an effort to understand what others are going through, your own experiences color your perceptions. This makes it almost impossible to truly grasp the pain points of the people you most want to help.

But hey, don’t take it personally. It’s just human nature to perceive the world from your own perspective. But, you can overcome that naturally built-in bias with tools that are readily available and easy to access in the virtual world.

Develop New Services Using Audience Feedback

We’re not the only ones with some expertise in this area. The digital forms creation service Wufoo and the email marketing platform MailChimp have put together some pointers to help you develop new products. The most important of these are surveys of your audience. (Needless to say, they both offer their services to help you get it done, too.)

Why surveys? Well, think of it like this. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you began your business intending to help others in mind. You perceived a need and sought to fill it. Unfortunately, for most, that vision goes unrealized, and they struggle to survive in a highly competitive marketplace. Either your audience doesn’t see the same need you do, or you’ve somehow missed the mark with targeting and/or marketing your ideas.

In this case, what you need is more information. You need a deeper understanding of what your ideal client is looking for and broader knowledge of how to present it to them in a more compelling way.

The best way to get that information is to ask them for it. That is what a target audience survey does. It gathers information that is critical to the success of your business in a structured way that enables you to process it coherently and effectively. Then, you can take that valuable data and massage your offerings to meet their needs in ways they will find hard to resist.

The result? Cha Ching!

The concepts we’ve shared today are an important start in getting to know your target audience. in our next post, we’ll get into the actual steps you can take to improve your online client acquisition efforts. Stay tuned for our next post or, feel free to check with us… Contact TD Fall today.

Making the Sale in Shifting Markets

Perhaps the ultimate challenge for making the sale in 2023 will be successfully responding to volatile markets. What do we mean by this? Well, for many individuals and families, our world has changed dramatically; it’s less stable and more unpredictable than we might have imagined.

Over the past couple of years, consumers have responded to this lack of stability by also becoming less predictable. At once they can be impulsive and deliberate; prudent and reckless; extravagant and cheap; nostalgic and pragmatic; cynical and trusting; logical and emotional.

Such inconsistencies in attitudes and perceptions have made the buying process, whether for products or services, very different from what it was just a few years ago. These conflicting mindsets have turned the design and furnishing markets into virtual quicksand and made the selling process more confusing and complicated.

Taking as a given that emotional appeals are often the key to making the sale (as most marketing experts agree), we can’t help but ask: How is that possible when today’s consumer of luxury furnishings seems to be riding an emotional roller coaster?

Successful Selling Requires Creativity

Solving problems for your clients has always been the foundation of successful selling. Yet, hitting a moving target (as in your target audience) requires creative problem-solving, with ingenious strategies for resolving your client’s and prospect’s pain points. But those keep changing too!

Ultimately, you must be the rational influence in your client’s lives, divining their needs and offering the types of creative solutions for which you’ve been trained. Doing this will require almost infinite patience and a very personal experience that will make their lives better on both a practical and emotional level.

It has never been more true that there is no one-size-fits-all (or even most) approach to making the sale in today’s shifting markets. “If you want to stand out in the market, you must personalize customer and prospect interactions … According to research by Instapage, more than 60% of consumers are annoyed by generic advertising messages, and 80% prefer doing business with companies that provide a personalized experience.” (Business.com)

In short, your sales pitch must be solution-focused, value-driven, and creatively tailored to the needs of each client.

If that isn’t enough to make you view the new year with a jaundiced eye, stay tuned to this blog for more from the experts that will ensure making the sale will be even more challenging in 2023. Fear not, however, for our guide and mentor, Ted Fall, remains available for business consulting to the trade. Feel free to… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Know Your Target Audience – What to do, what to do? (Pt 3)

In today’s post, we continue, and bring to an end, our series on how important it is to know your target audience, with Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Based on the past few years’ experience, it's clear that consumer attitudes and preferences are shifting and realigning quickly.

As you work to develop and market your brand online in the new year, it may be time to pivot toward alternative tools and marketing channels. Here, rather than using the article we linked to before, we are offering data points and expected marketing tactics taken directly from HubSpot Blog's 2023 Marketing Strategy & Trends Report.

What Changed in Marketing During 2022

• More marketers have made pivots part of their plan.

• Data-informed marketing strategies have become vital.

• More brands aim to create content that reflects their values.

• Marketers increasingly use CRMs to track and organize data.

• Focusing on customer experiences bridges the gap between service and marketing.

• Social media DM strategies are growing in popularity.

• Building online communities around your brand is becoming critical to engagement.

It’s clear that there have been significant changes in marketing strategies by major marketing influencers as a response to the shifts in attitudes and preferences by consumers.

The Top Marketing Trends of 2023

The top trends marketers are currently leveraging are short-form video, mobile-friendly web design, creating content that reflects their brand’s values and using social media DMs for customer service. Not far behind are SEO, mobile messaging, influencer marketing, and selling products directly in social apps.

From the report:

• Short-form video will see the most growth in 2023.

• Influencer marketing will continue to grow its high ROI.

• Branded social media DM tactics are growing.

• Website SEO continues to shine.

• Marketers will continue to humanize their brands.

• Marketers will benefit from data in 2023.

• These data points illustrate the tactical shifts we can expect to see from marketers in 2023.

The Top 3 Marketing Channels of 2023

Finally, the report shares the most important marketing channels we will see being used this year, with social media marketing clearly dominating all marketing trends.

Marketers leverage an average of four different marketing channels in their role. Social media is used by over 42% of marketers, making it the #1 channel marketers are currently leveraging. It also has the highest ROI of any channel and will grow significantly in 2023. Additionally, one in four marketers say they use social media shopping tools.

The Top Social Media Marketing Channels for 2023

1. Instagram

2. YouTube

3. Twitter

4. TikTok

5. LinkedIn

Further, one in three marketers will be leveraging their own blog or website, as well as SEO, to land on SERPs. Meanwhile, 32% use email marketing.

Blogs, social media shopping tools, and influencer marketing are neck and neck for the highest ROI of any marketing channel.

Getting to know your target audience remains just half the battle. Reaching where they live, surf (and troll?) is paramount to building your brand and converting them.

If you suspect you need help with these strategies and tactics for 2023, Ted remains available for business consulting to the trade. Feel free to… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Know Your Target Audience – The Challenges We All Face (Pt 2)

Today we continue our series on how well you know your target audience, using data and metrics from the HubSpot Marketing Survey for 2022.

In Part 1 of this series, we shared some depressing data about trends among marketers who lack solid information on the make-up and lives of their potential clients. This is data that is necessary for creating an ideal client profile of your perfect prospect, which would be used to direct all of your content creation.

As the article articulates, “The biggest challenges marketers face in understanding their target boil down to two main issues:

• New Data Privacy Measures: Data privacy regulations are reducing marketers’ access to the consumer data they need. At the same time, consumers are less trusting in sharing their personal data.

This results in marketers missing out on critical data on their target audience, from their shopping and media consumption habits to their basic demographic information.

• Evolving Audience Targets: Consumers’ lives have changed drastically over the past few years, and with a looming recession, their habits, attitudes, and preferences are likely to continue shifting quickly.

The two challenges above are difficult to overcome because they're actively developing as data privacy regulations tighten and unprecedented events that change consumer behavior continue.”

Overcoming These New Marketing Challenges

All is not lost, however. The HubSpot author, Maxwell Iskiev, provides us with a few steps we can take to moderate the negative influences of these outside sources.

Here are the answers to his question: “How Can Marketers Improve Their Data Strategy?

• Gather First-Party Data: A great solution to increased data privacy regulations like Google’s planned phase-out of third-party cookies is gathering your own first-party data.

Since first-party data comes directly from your customers, it offers high-quality insights about your audience and allows you to create a personalized experience for them.

• Use a Single Source of Truth for Marketing Data: Only 27% of marketers say their marketing data is fully integrated with their systems and tools, and as we saw earlier, data not integrating well is a top challenge for marketers trying to understand their target audience.

Disconnected marketing data is problematic because you don’t have the full context needed to make data-driven decisions. On the other hand, a single source of truth offers a holistic view of your target audience by connecting all the data points you have.

A single source of truth also improves efficiency by making marketing data more easily accessible for marketers and their collaborators.

• Keep Your Data Fresh: We talked about how consumers’ lives are changing rapidly, and marketers need up-to-date data to keep up.

The interests, habits, and attitudes of your target audience probably changed several times over the course of the pandemic. And with a recession looming, your audience will likely change again – so whatever data tracking method you use, make sure your data is regularly updated to keep a pulse on your customers in real-time.

Plus, you need up-to-date information on your target audience so you can pivot your marketing strategy and message in response to the changes your customers are experiencing.”

Stay tuned for our next post in this series, in which we will share tips from the article on how to adapt and enhance your marketing strategy in response to these challenges.

Statistical analyses of data are fine as far as it goes. However, if you continue struggling with ways to get to know your target audience, Ted is available for business and marketing consultation. With more than 25 years of experience in the trade and an exceptionally empathetic approach, he is sure to find ways to help.

Just click here to… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Know Your Target Audience – Where Too Many Marketers Fail (Pt 1)

Are you among the few online marketers who know your target audience well? We ask this question only after reading a recent article from the SEO and Marketing Mavens at HubSpot that claims you probably don’t!

It should go without saying, yet must be repeated often, that developing an ideal client profile of the types of people you most want to work with is critical to your success when marketing your business online. Yet, a staggering percentage of businesses lack even the most basic information on their target audience. Without this and other important data, developing such a profile for targeting your online content becomes difficult, if not impossible.

To quote the opening of the article, “In our annual survey of over 1,200 marketers, we found that just 42% know the basic demographic information of their target audience, like their name, gender, and location.”

What Does the HubSpot Marketing Study Tell Us?

Unfortunately, the numbers from this year’s HubSpot study are not in your favor. Although all is not lost if you heed their warning and respond positively.

For example:

• “A whopping 82% of marketers say having high-quality data on their target audience is important to succeeding in their role – but more than half of them say they're missing key information.

• Fewer] than half of the marketers surveyed know their audience’s interests and hobbies, shopping habits, the products they are interested in buying, their purchase history, and where they consume content.

• Only 31% know the online communities their target audience is a part of and even [fewer] know the challenges they are facing.

• Just one-fourth of marketers know the social causes their target audience cares about - a huge, missed opportunity when it comes to expressing your brand’s values, especially when marketing to Gen Z and Millennials.”

As you can see from the image below, in addition to lacking basic data, just 29% of the marketers surveyed claim to know their potential client’s pain points! Further, just 41%, know where to reach them online!

Data Can Inform but Rarely Offers Solutions

These are dismal numbers. In fact, they are so bad, we can’t help but wonder how it is that any of these marketers reach their target audience at all.

So, now that we’ve depressed you with these data, and made you wonder if your marketing efforts coincide with them, we’ll end this post here. That is not to say we’re finished with the subject, however. It’s just that we believe there is too much data to unpack in a single blog post.

Take the time to digest this information, then return for our next post in this series where we will dig deeper into the metrics and, eventually, offer ideas on improving your marketing strategy. We’re talking about things that actually work!

Statistical analyses of data are fine as far as it goes. However, if you continue struggling with ways to get to know your target audience, Ted is available for business and marketing consultation. With more than 25 years of experience in the trade and an exceptionally empathetic approach, he is sure to find ways to help.

Just click here to… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Email Marketing Tips - Success in 7 Easy Steps

Many of us have grown tired of the daily hassle of deleting unwanted email pitches from unknown marketing sites every day, sometimes many times a day. Yet, email marketing remains an effective tool for promoting your products or services – if used correctly – and not abused.

The seven steps that are critical to success in an email marketing campaign are:

1. Define the target audience for your email campaign

2. Set your email marketing goals

3. Create fresh, engaging content

4. Settle on the frequency of your email campaign

5. Establish a timeline and editorial calendar for your email campaign

6. Choose an email marketing service

7. Track your results and modify your plan accordingly

If you're new to the concept of email marketing, you may have no idea what the listed steps mean. So, let’s define our terms a bit and help you better grasp what each of these 7 Easy Steps for Email Marketing Success means.

• Define the target audience for your email campaign

It goes without saying that regular visitors to your website or blog appreciate the information you have to offer. The key to growth is to increase the size of your audience, and email marketing is a great tool for doing this. Determine exactly who it is that is visiting your site on a regular basis, and work to tailor your message for them.

• Set your email marketing goals

Every email you send to your list should include a call-to-action: whether you are trying to build a larger audience; generate more shares in the social network; have recipients get in touch with you for more information; or make a sale. Whatever you would like your recipients to do, you must ask them to do it.

• Create fresh, engaging content

Stale content in an email; that is, content that has been previously featured on your blog or website, will generally not inspire your audience to take the action you are asking them to take. Timely, compelling content is always preferred when you ask your audience to take action.

• Settle on the frequency of your email campaign

Daily emails are annoying. Even weekly promotional emails can upset your audience. Based on the nature and value of the information you have to offer, as well as how time-critical it may be, once or twice a month is usually more than sufficient for an email marketing campaign.

• Establish a timeline and editorial calendar for your email campaign

Once you’ve determined the frequency of your outgoing emails, you must create a calendar for creating your content and a timeline for sending out your emails. Doing this will help you to remain consistent, which is something your readers will appreciate.

• Choose an email marketing service

Email marketing services such as icontact, Mailchimp, and constant contact have a proven track record of successful support for effective email marketing campaigns, regardless of the niche involved. The services are not free, nor are they cheap, but their value simply cannot be argued.

• Track your results and modify your plan accordingly

The services mentioned above all can provide you with critical information on the success of your email campaign; including who is reading your emails, who is sharing your emails, who is clicking through for more information, and who is buying, among other things. Another critical feature of these services is to help you ensure that your list contains only those who've agreed to receive your emails.

Of course, if you still have questions about this email marketing tip, Ted has more than 25 years of experience helping designers and furnishing dealers market their businesses successfully. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Being an Expert Can Interfere with Your Messaging

While it’s not especially flattering to admit, we all tend to seek approval from others. Being an expert in a particular niche, that sort of confirmation will most commonly come from others in your field. Yeah, so?

So, it should come as no surprise that those with similar interests find comfort and support by associating with each other. Educators tend to associate with educators; online coaches tend to hang together; website designers and marketers are often most comfortable with others of a like mind and profession. Whole industries can become exclusive and the subjects of discussion among experts can frequently climb to higher and higher levels.

In fact, this is the very reason industry-related associations exist.

The danger with such insular relationships is two-fold: first, that our view of the world can become dangerously narrow, and second, that we may forget who butters our bread – those with less knowledge.

Why Messaging is So Critical to Online Marketing Success

We’ve written about this before, but it seems important enough to mention it again. The reason for this redundancy in our messaging should be obvious by now. It is that not everyone “gets it” the first time around (or maybe even the second). That is precisely why well-crafted messaging is so critical to your online marketing success.

Receiving support from other experts is rewarding, but what happens when you're thrown together with a group of laypeople; or just one, a potential client?

Both clients and prospects will commonly voice a desire but, because they lack the base of knowledge to make it happen, they search for an expert. In the “information age”, they’ll jump online to search for solutions but will surely need more.

That is where you come in. And that is where your experience, your respect for them, and their efforts to learn, will enable you to deliver a message that will resonate with them – and help you close more clients.

While you obviously can’t “know too much” about your area of expertise, you must always be mindful that most of your clients and prospects will know far less than you. It’s your job to help them learn what they need to make an informed buying decision.

When you're able to use being an expert to help them, the fact that you're the one who did so should take care of the rest. (That is, closing the sale.)

Need Help with Your Expert Messaging?

If you still have questions, we can help with that too. Well, Ted can. With more than 25 years of experience in the trade, he offers business consulting that includes messaging for designers and dealers. For more… Contact TD Fall today.

Building Trust Online – The Ultimate Challenge

Apparently, it’s not at all uncommon for contemporary Americans to have trust issues these days. (Pew Research) Whether we distrust each other, our government, or corporations, trust is on the decline. This makes building trust online difficult at best, and always challenging.

And, as with any relationship, once trust is lost – it’s likely gone forever. So, be careful. Not only is building trust with prospects difficult in the world of internet marketing, but keeping their trust is just as challenging.

The internet is an impersonal environment for shopping (or most anything else). It cares not for your needs and wants, or for those of potential clients. It simply sits there, always waiting and seeming omnipotent when, without our active participation, it’s impotent.

What does this mean for the typical online marketer? It means that you must actively seek the trust of visitors to your business website. You must create valuable content for them and build your reputation as an expert. You must be active on social media. You must show empathy and understanding of their pain points. You must actively listen and communicate, responding to comments and questions in a timely fashion.

You know, just like a face-to-face relationship!

Now, with some help from an article titled 16 Effective Ways Business Can Build Trust Online at Forbes (a very trustworthy place), we’d like to share a few of the ideas for building trust online – and keeping it.

Building and Keeping Trust Online

“Human beings already have a hard time trusting people they can't see. An online space can therefore be the worst possible place for a professional to try to build consumers' trust.”

• Show You Really Understand Your Audience – Demonstrate that you really do understand your audience, their challenges, hopes, fears and what they put up with. And then be direct and honest about why that matters to you, why they matter to you, and what makes you and your team stay in the game every day to make a difference for your audience, to help them achieve their dreams. That clarity, truth and focus will build trust.

• Speak Your Voice – Allow your voice of truth to shine; don't hide behind an avatar of what you think people would like of you. Be you. Customers want to know that they are speaking to a human being with real emotions and a real voice. Our unique voice draws people who are like us. Think about why we go back to a particular shop — it's because in that place we were conversed with in a way that we enjoy.

• Be Consistent and Follow Through – Be consistent, take responsibility, and follow through! If you want to build trust online, you must “show up” consistently. Have a clear point of view and/or position and don't appear scattered. When you receive negative feedback, take responsibility and acknowledge issues or shortcomings. Vow to do better, then follow through and improve.

• Be Transparent and Available – Things that build trust offline will work online, too. Be yourself; most people can sense phony. Be transparent. Ironically, if you are hiding something, it will show. Be honest and avoid claims you cannot back up. Be available in other ways than just online, be accessible and approachable. Be a raving fan of your customers. They are much more likely to trust you if YOU cheer for THEM!

• Create A Sense of Intimacy – It's all about your relevance. Use the time to create a sense of intimacy, showcasing your credibility and insight into their issues. Your value and ability to deliver will invite at least a follow-up conversation.

• Live Out Your Brand Promises – Be trustworthy. From top leadership to the front line, be whom you claim to be. Live out your brand promises, day in, day out, even when it's challenging. Do the right things. Online and offline, your customers will be sure to share when you deserve trust, and when you fail to deserve their confidence.

• Interact on Social Media – Interact more with customers online. We often forget the social part of social media. Trust is built in small actions over time, and each online interaction is an opportunity to build (or destroy) trust.

The challenge for building trust online is obvious: not only establishing your reputation but living up to it. It’s just that simple, and just that difficult.

With more than 25 years of experience in the trade, Ted can offer you valuable reputation management and trust-building tips as your business consultant. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Creating Effective Sales Copy & the Know-Like-Trust Factor

Does the thought of writing sales copy for your business intimidate you? Do you lose sleep at night wondering how you can use the written word to entice prospects into becoming clients? Have you finally decided creating effective sales copy is just not part of your skill set?

You're not alone!

There are innumerable entrepreneurs and business owners out there right now who are feeling overworked, overwhelmed, over-stressed, and exhausted. When you feel like that, the thought of sitting down to write a compelling message about the products or services you offer can be just too much. There’s just too much other stuff that needs your attention, your energy, and your focus.

How can you write anything, let alone an effective marketing message, when there is too much that is demanding your attention?

And yet…

Compelling Content Improves Your Marketing

And yet, somewhere in that wonderfully creative entrepreneurial brain of yours is the understanding that creating compelling sales copy will improve your marketing and could even save your business.

Effective copywriting enables you to truly connect and engage with your target audience. It lets your prospects know you have something valuable to offer; a product or service that will help them in a specific way. It also sets you apart from your competition, enhances your reputation, and builds trust.

In other words… they will get to know, like, and trust you – instilling a type of faith that you have exactly what they need at this moment!

That’s a Big Job and, if you are unable to create that copy, and you don’t have anyone on your team who can do it either, that’s OK. There are other solutions, and we have some tips to help you get started.

6 Principles of Effective Copywriting

First, we’d like to share the six principles of effective copywriting. This should make it easier for you to kick start your efforts at creating the sales copy you need.

Effective copywriting and content creation follows six principles of persuasion: 1) reciprocity, 2) consistency, 3) consensus, 4) scarcity, 5) liking, and 6) authority. These principles have been scientifically proven to increase persuasion ethically.

• Reciprocity is feeling an obligation to give something in return when you receive a gift.

• Consistency is expected and appreciated in what we do and the things we say.

• Consensus (or Social Proof) is when people look to the actions, words, and behaviors of others to guide their own choices.

• Scarcity is the desire of wanting more of the things we either don’t or can’t have. (If you need an example, just think back to the spring of 2020 and the crazy run on toilet paper!)

• Liking we are more likely to say “yes” to people or brands that we like. Strong relationships are essential to building your successful business.

• Authority people instinctively trust and follow credible experts.

In the contemporary – and incredibly competitive – world of online marketing, every business can benefit from quality copywriting and content creation. In fact, 74% of companies said that copywriting and content creation increased both the quantity and quality of leads they receive.

We realize that not every business owner has the time or inclination needed to learn how to write good sales copy. We sure don’t. That’s why we use a professional copywriter when we need to share a compelling message about our products and services. If you’d like to know more, or simply want a little additional guidance, we can hook you up, and Ted is available for business consulting to the trade. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Client Attraction Tips - Do You Know Who Your Ideal Client Is? (Or Should Be?)

What is the key to client attraction?

Regardless of past success, client attraction remains an important element of your business, leading to increased referrals and long-term growth – as well as a steady revenue stream.

Attracting new clients requires two basic steps: creating or enhancing your brand; identifying and appealing to your target audience. Being recognized as an expert in your niche, one who can offer solutions is critical to your success. However, it’s just as critical to understanding the needs, wants, and desires of potential clients. In other words, HOW you present yourself is as important as WHAT you have to offer while knowing WHO to target is as important as knowing WHY they will benefit from your services.

First, let’s focus on creating an ideal client profile, shall we?

Identify Your Ideal Client

To become a client attraction magnet for your business, you have to be able to step into your ideal client's head. If you can create a clear profile of who they are and what they need or want, you’ll be able to speak to them in a way that will make them WANT to work with you!

You can repeat this process over and over again when creating new products or services. The result is marketing materials you can use in multiple ways.

To accomplish this, there are several questions you’ll need to answer:

• Who is your Ideal Client?

• What are their Pain Points?

• What are your Solutions?

• What do they need to Know/Learn/Do to find a Resolution?

• What is their Ultimate Why for Seeking your Help?

• What is their Ultimate Outcome?

• What will Success Look Like?

Ultimately, your goal is to answer the most basic question of all for them, “What’s in it for me?” If they can’t identify a benefit from working with you or from buying your product, they won’t.

When you’ve completed your Ideal Client Profile, develop one simple sentence to put it all together, what’s often called an “elevator statement”. When you’ve finished, you’ll discover a stunning type of clarity around who you want to work with and what you can do for them! Your elevator statement can then be used in multiple ways: in conversation with a potential client, in networking situations, as material for your home page – and as inspiration for blog posts, articles, newsletters, and list-building materials.

If you have more than one ideal client, work your way through this process again to create a new profile. It’s just that easy, and that hard.

Once you’ve created your unique, identifiable brand and developed your ideal client profile, you can begin to generate content that enhances your identity and speaks directly to your target audience, enabling you to enhance client attraction to a new level.

With more than 25 years of experience in the trade, Ted can offer you valuable client attraction tips as your business consultant. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.