…the trouble with research is that it tells you what people were thinking yesterday, not tomorrow. It’s like driving a car using a rear view mirror
attributed to both Bernard Loomis, an American toy developer and marketer who introduced to some of the world’s most notable brands including “Barbie” as well as Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop.
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought
Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (Hungarian Biochemist, 1937 Nobel Prize for Medicine)
Image via Wikipedia
Is there anything more important than understanding the customer?
The ability of the entrepreneur to put themselves into the shoes of their customers or prospects and to see the world from their perspective is probably the single most important characteristics of successful business people.
Some marketers call it “marketing by walking around” and many sales professional often refer to the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus quote “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
Being a keen student of human behavior, observing, listening, and asking questions is the key.
Here are some of the most important questions you should be asking:
The next entry will provide you with just about every conceivable reason of why people actually buy!
It is then no surprise that CPA Australia estimates that one in three new small businesses in Australia fail in their first year of operation, two out of four by the end of the second year, and three out of four by the fifth year. Just approximately 8% of small businesses succeed beyond five years. These statistics are similar across many of the western economies.
Marketing communications are an ongoing process, similar to designing and building a house.
It is then important to maintain and build the value of your marketing properties and prevent this value being depreciated through neglect of infrastructure or promotional activity by competitors.
Firstly the structure must be designed correctly, beginning with the foundations that will support any future building.
Unfortunately, many businesses do the equivalent of trying to put a roof on a house with no foundations or walls by asking marketers to jump straight into execution and promotion. And many marketing suppliers oblige them!
By demanding that marketing people produce a Website, Advertisement, Brochure, etc. before the business has answers to strategic questions and clear plans for long term communication, inevitably always ends up wasting time and money.
To get the best return on the marketing investment, time needs to be dedicated to answer the questions that assist in building a solid foundation for the marketing of the business. By starting at the bottom and working up, the business building process will be shorter, less painful and more profitable.
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