“Your customers don’t buy your products to do your company a favor. They’re doing it because your products make their lives better.”
Here, Nadia Eghbal identifies the point at which all of our marketing techniques should begin: value. And if we’re not starting there, we’ve got a big problem.
If you are a small business owner, you believe strongly in your products. And when you’re first starting out, you probably think to yourself, “Once they try this, I KNOW they’ll love it.”
The trick is, how do you get customers to try your products? How do you get them to believe that the purchase will be worth it?
The answer is: Show them your value.
5 Amazing Marketing Techniques that Show Value
When you think about showing the value of your products, think about it as a multi-layered process. To really show value, you need to go beyond one simple step. You need to dig deep, and implement strategies that speak to the heart of your target audience. Then, keep refining. Your target audience is not a static creature — so your marketing strategies shouldn’t be static either.
Try these five amazing marketing technique that will show value… and convert customers.
👩🏽💻 Focus on Benefits, Not Features
People are naturally skeptical customers. They don’t want to be sold to. It’s impersonal, stressful, and somewhat threatening. And it almost never feels like there’s anything in it for the customer.
Focusing on your products’ features won’t connect you to your customers. In fact, do that too much, and it could turn them away.
Let’s look at why that is…
Features are facts. For example, pretend you sell handmade notebooks. Your notebooks’ features include the type of paper you use, the lined pages, the type of binding, or the placeholder ribbon in the middle. If you focus on marketing these features, your customers might think, “Oh, neat. But, I don’t really need a notebook.”
But, marketing the benefits is a different story.
Benefits are the ways your products make a person’s life better. If you market your notebooks’ benefits, you might talk about how the process of journaling in your notebook will reduce stress. Or you could talk about how the physical act of putting pen to paper will strengthen mental clarity.
As a result, potential customers might think, “Oh yeah! I have been looking for something to help me organize my thoughts. This sounds like a great way to do it!” And then they’ll head to the cart.
One way to help you hone in on your products’ benefits is to ask yourself not what your products have, but what they give.
What will your customers gain by using your products?
How will your products serve them?
Finally, how can you help them justify buying your products?
Remember: Your job isn’t to sell to your customers. Your job is to connect with them.
🙋 Answer the Question, “So What?”
One way to help customers justify their purchase is by answering the question, “So what?”
In other words, what’s the point of buying your products? What valuable change will your products make in your customers’ lives?
Let’s go back to the notebooks. One feature that you love is the inspirational quote printed at the top of every page. So what?
You think they help begin the day on a positive note and guide reflective writing. So what?
When you begin your day by actively reflecting on positive thoughts, you will experience a less stressful day, and a more optimistic mindset.
All from this notebook? Let’s get TWO!
Ultimately, to show value to your audience, you need to show them the bottom line… and that’s not how much they’ll pay, it’s how much they’ll change – for the better.
✨ Woo Your Audience
Wait…. What?
You read that right, but hear us out…
When we talk about “wooing” your audience, we don’t mean romancing them. But, in the same way one person might romance another, think about how YOU can pique your audience’s emotional interests.
Because you’re not just selling an object. You’re not just selling “things.”
You’re selling something that will take them down a journey of a better, brighter life.
Recall the notebooks. Those wonderful, handmade notebooks with lined paper, a handy divider, and inspirational quotes.
If you were to “woo” your audience, you’d start by trying to relate to them on an emotional level. Maybe you’d tell them a story about an experience in which you felt depressed and confused. But, when you took up your pen, and began writing your thoughts, suddenly the tangles in your mind relaxed, and your outlook improved. You felt clearer, happier, surer.
This effective marketing technique is known as storytelling. It’s a great way to tap into your audience’s emotions. It moves them (or, “woos” them) toward their decision to purchase by showing them the immense value of your products.
📝 Show Proof with Customer Reviews
Offering social proof is a highly effective technique that taps into the human tendency to trust the opinions and experiences of others.
When you showcase reviews, testimonials, or endorsements from satisfied customers, you illustrate your valuable offering through proof of your products’ benefits. More importantly, this builds trust and credibility with your target audience.
This proof is a powerful tool. Remember how people naturally are naturally skeptical about making purchases? Testimonials help eliminate that skepticism, reducing the sense of risk they might feel about making a purchase. When potential customers see that others have experienced the benefits of your product or service, they are more likely to believe that they, too, will enjoy similar benefits.
Let’s go back to the example of selling notebooks.
When satisfied customers share stories about how your notebooks enable them to increase productivity, boost mental clarity, and organize their thoughts, they’re actually giving you a powerful selling point. You can share these stories to show potential customers that your notebooks provide value.
🖥 Back It Up with Data
We can’t deny that some customers want cold, hard facts. These data junkies want nothing more than the statistics that measure the impact of your products. For them, great statistics equal great value.
Why is that?
Numbers and statistics provide the measurable evidence that your product or service delivers on its promises. Think of this as a way to show potential customers that your product is not just a nice idea but a proven solution to consumers’ needs.
Recalling those wonderful handmade notebooks, how could we present data that measures the notebooks value?
A customer survey could nicely capture this data.
You could ask verified customers to indicate on a sliding scale how well the notebooks helped them:
- Increase productivity
- Organize thoughts
- Reduce stress
- Keep track of tasks
- Generate new ideas
- Boost creativity
- and more!
Presenting statistics like, “95% of customers increased productivity,” help prove to potential buyers that your notebooks would be a valuable product to purchase.
📣 From Marketing Techniques to Skyrocketing Growth
Implementing these five amazing marketing techniques will help you make your fledgling business the go-to resource in your industry – simply by focusing on the value your products provide to your customers.
Need other tricks to help you get started? Head over to our social media channels, where we publish free marketing advice for small businesses every day! Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn today!
