If you sell products and services to Aquaculture producers, or if you are a producer looking to expand your market, then you’re in need of making connections to find new customers.
Making new connections means introducing your product and company to new people who may not know who you are or what you do. This post was created to help give you some general guidelines to best prepare for that exercise.
Remember – your efforts will be more productive and profitable if you’re ready with resources and information once a potential customer shows interest.
THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DO
As a business owner, you know more about what you offer and are closer to your business day to day than the average prospect and even customer. So when putting your messaging and campaigns together, it’s best not to assume your target customers know what you do or how it will help them solve a problem.
THEY DON’T CARE WHAT YOU DO…
On average your prospective customers may be too consumed with their own schedules, tasks, deadlines, and daily life to notice the details of your business on a regular basis. It’s a good idea to remember that the conversations you have 100 times a week may be a first to the next customer.
UNTIL THEY WANT/NEED WHAT YOU DO
Life is busy and we live in an age of micro-moments and instant gratification. So if someone needs what you offer, ask yourself—will they think of you first? Will they find your business online when they are looking? Evaluate your readiness from a customer’s point of view and see if you are ready to provide answers, resources, and value any time of the day from any device the customer wishes to use.
IF IT’S HARD TO FIND THEY WON’T FIND IT
Remember that your habits, likes, and frustrations as a consumer may be similar to what frustrates your customers. So be sure to cover the basics with your website and materials whenever possible. Things that can be easily overlooked are pricing, phone numbers, and addresses. It can be easy for customers to look for alternatives and competitors for what you offer if the information they are looking for is not visible and accessible.
IF IT’S HARD TO UNDERSTAND THEY WON’T REMEMBER IT
Your company messaging should be as simple as possible. The more the features and benefits you choose to promote are focused on the needs of the specific audience you serve, the better your results will be. It’s always best to try and speak in customer terms and not industry speak.
IF THEY ARE NOT INSPIRED THEY WON’T ACT
Remember consumer attention spans are short and facts are not as powerful as emotions. Consider that the goal of your marketing efforts should be to clearly define the benefit and value you provide as quickly as possible. Think about how you can make the process faster and easier for your customer and connect it to their passions and interests.
WHAT YOU KNOW IS VALUABLE
It’s very common not to fancy yourself a marketer or even think you can ‘do marketing’. However, please know that when it comes to effective marketing, reverse engineering your experience into proactive answers, resources, and materials is an extremely valuable exercise.
YOU GET SECONDS NOT MINUTES
Remember that people are busy and there are many distractions constantly begging for their attention. You’ll do best if your messaging is quick to get to the point and makes it easy for customers to understand what to do next and how they will benefit.
SIMPLICITY IS WORTH MORE THAN CREATIVITY
Being creative and inventive with your marketing efforts can be rewarding. But if the customer has to say “What does that mean” it’s all for naught. To be effective, start with the basics and build from there. Don’t let creative take you away from the basic goal.
THEY STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DO
You can do it all right and still have someone say “I didn’t know you did that”. It happens so keep at it. Be consistent, focused, and repetitive. Be consistent, focused, and repetitive.