Nobody cares about your products and services (except you)

Let's be honest, OK?

Nobody cares about your products and services except you and the others in your organization.

What your buyers do care about are themselves. And they care a great deal about solving their problems (and are always on the lookout for a company that can help them do so). The good news for smart marketers is that this knowledge has the potential to make you many times more successful. It may quite literally transform your business (that’s not just my opinion; many people write me to tell me so).

Buy truly understanding the market problems that your products and services solve for your buyer personas, you transform your marketing from mere product-specific, ego-centric gobbledygook that only you understand and care about into valuable information people are eager to consume and that they use to make the choice to do business with your organization.

A buyer persona is a distinct group of potential customers, an archetypal person whom you want your marketing to reach. Basing your marketing on buyer personas prevents you from sitting on your butt in your comfortable office just making s#$@ (stuff) up, which is the cause of most ineffective marketing.

Incidentally, my use of the word "buyer" applies to any organization's target customers. A politician’s buyer personas include voters, supporters, and contributors; universities' buyer personas include prospective students (and their parents); a swimming club's buyer personas include potential members; and nonprofit buyer personas include corporate and individual donors. Go ahead and substitute however you refer to your potential customers in the phrase "buyer persona," but do keep your focus on this concept because. It is critical for marketing success.

Instead of creating jargon-filled, hype-based advertising, you can create the kind of online content that your buyers naturally gravitate to—if you take the time to listen to them discuss the problems that you can solve for them. Then you'll be able to use their words, not your own. You'll speak in the language of your buyer, not the language of your founder, CEO, product manager, or the PR agency staffer. You’ll help your marketing get real.

Also posted on www.webinknow.com