I’ve worked with hundreds and hundreds of entrepreneurs online and offline through Information Marketer’sZone who struggle with one aspect of their business or another…it could be picking a niche, finding products that sell, understanding who their customers are and what they really want, or improving conversions of various marketing elements – web pages, squeeze pages, email marketing, ads, etc…
In nearly every case the “miss” comes from an overly shallow understanding of their core market.
Here are some of the ways that people go about trying to understand what their market wants (in terms of your business, products and marketing message):
- Scour Google Adwords or other search tools for patterns of keywords to see what people are searching for
- Survey or ask their marketplace
- Look for signs of what people are already buying
- “Gut feel” based on their own knowledge or understanding of a market
Can each of these techniques give you additional insight into your market – sure.
Is any one (or even all 4) enough to help you truly dominate your own niche market? NO!
Inner Dialog: Your Ticket To Unlimited Business Success
One of the most valuable concepts and skills I learned several years ago from a master copywriter who wrote Milion dollar sales letters and ads was that to really impact a customer (get them to follow you, persuade them and get them to trust you enough to spend LOTS of money with you and your business) you need to be aware of and part of their inner dialog.
Here’s some homework for you that may just blow your mind!
For the next 24-hours, any time you shop or discuss a purchase with anyone around you, be aware of the conversation that goes on in your mind.
For example, someone wants to buy a new BBQ for their backyard, here’s some of the thoughts that go through his (notice I said HIS) mind.
1. I could hang on to my old BBQ for another year, but it really isn’t safe anymore and looks like crap if I have anyone over – so I better get a replacement soon
2. I could go inexpensive but then functions will stop working within months, I will have to replace it in 3-5 years and so really by spending less I am throwing my money away so I want to look at something better
3. Since I entertain for friends and co-workers, I want my BBQ to be a symbol of where I am in life right now. If I buy a GOOD BBQ with some brand name awareness it will be a smarter investment AND it will look good in front of friends and co-workers
Do you see the inner dialog?
Now, using the “outside-in” techniques for market research listed above, you will see the search terms commonly used to find BBQ’s, you **MAY** pickup on certain the demand for certain luxury brand BBQ’s that tells you there is some demand for high-priced models but you CANNOT fully understand the emotional dialog that is going on inside of your prospect’s head.
This is the exact dialog that provides you with:
- The emotional desire behind their purchase decision (critical to close the deal)
- The urgency with which they will make their decision to buy
- The foundation for empathy (showing your prospect you understand their inner dialog) that will get you the sale
- The exact language and emotional triggers that are most closely aligned with their buying behavior
- The exact steps mapping to their inner dialog that allow you to craft your story in complete alignment with what is going on inside of their head.
We may not realize it, but buying is much simpler for us when we interact with a sales person, sales message or environment that aligns with our inner dialog.
Think of why Starbucks became a PREMIUM coffee shop – because the environment you walk into more closely aligns with your ideal environment for having a coffee and networking. They did a better job of inserting their entire business into your inner dialog and for that increased the profit on a commodity (coffee) and differentiated themselves from everyone else at the same time.
So, the message here is clear…dig deep to understand and then insert your business into the inner dialog of your ideal prospect…the results will be stunning.
