Mike McKay
April 22, 2024
Marketing is often considered one of the most challenging skills to elevate a business to greatness. The reality is that 80% of marketing strategies won’t work, and there’s no one-size-fits-all model. The key lies in testing, measuring, and treating marketing as a mathematical equation. As we unravel the complexities of marketing, we’ll discover that identifying prospects involves more than just casting a wide net; it’s about precision, targeting, and, ultimately, turning suspects into prospects.
The First Magic: Identifying Suspects
The process of turning suspects into prospects involves the art of creating a targeted and efficient marketing strategy. Before delving into this, it’s essential to understand that marketing is not about generating “top of mind awareness” – that’s advertising. Instead, marketing is about buying leads, and the key lies in narrowing down your suspect pool.
Defining Suspects
To start, let’s understand who a suspect is. In simple terms, a suspect is anyone who could potentially buy your product. However, lead generation, a crucial part of marketing, can be expensive. The goal is to reduce the number of suspects in your pool to ensure more impactful messaging. Since marketing is essentially buying leads, clarity on your target audience is paramount.
Creating Customer Avatars
To identify your target audience and narrow down your suspect pool, consider creating customer avatars – a detailed description of your ideal customer. Start by listing your top 10 favorite customers and follow up with your 10 least favorite. Analyze common characteristics among the favorites to form a detailed profile. This process allows you to gain insights into the demographics, lifestyle, preferences, and behaviors of your ideal customers.
Niching down and creating customer avatars is a powerful way to target your marketing efforts. This understanding allows you to tailor your marketing messages more effectively. By creating a customer avatar, you gain clarity on who you want to sell to.
Activating AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
Once your avatar is in place, the next step is to move your avatar from suspect to prospect using the AIDA model.
- Attention: Identify where your avatar spends time and gain favorable attention. This could be at professional events, social gatherings, or children’s sporting events.
- Interest: Offer something compelling. Understand what you’re selling and make a strong offer tailored to your avatar’s needs.
- Desire: Highlight the specific benefits Jane gains by choosing your product. Solve a problem or improve an aspect of your avatar’s life.
- Action: Encourage taking action. This could be signing up for a newsletter, attending a webinar, or making a purchase.
Conclusion:
As you embark on your marketing journey, remember that your avatar is not a stereotype but a representation of shared characteristics. Tailor your strategies to gain favorable attention, create compelling offers, and showcase the benefits of your product or service. By turning suspects into prospects through this calculated approach, you set the stage for successful marketing campaigns.