People might expect that, as a marketer, you’re just overflowing with creativity, ready to spit out six slogans at a moment’s notice. I can say that it doesn’t work like that for me. My creativity depends on the amount of sleep I had the night before, whether I’ve had breakfast or not, and how much caffeine I have in my system.Many of my “great ideas” are a regurgitation of something I’ve seen or read before with my own special twist and hopefully a dash of new information that will help my customers. I believe that, in order to be a great marketer, I need to hone my listening skills regularly.
Here’s what I listen to, as well as what I need improvement in:
Listen to My Customers
Ultimately, in order for any marketing to be successful, it must sell. Otherwise, shutter your doors, and put up a “Closed” shingle. A business can’t exist without customers, and marketing is essential to attract, close, and maintain customers.
Understanding customers is vital to the success of marketing strategy and execution. I try to go to trade shows and other events where my customers might be. I tag along with my sales team members to be a “fly on the wall” or even an active participant in their sales meetings or customer touch points. I respond to customers on social media when they have questions about products or services.
I am looking to understand the following about my customers:
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What their pain points are
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What problems my company can solve for them
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How they talk and write, so that when I’m writing for them, I speak their language and use terms they would typically use
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What they don’t like about my products or services so that I can share this with the rest of my team. I also want to know what I need to be cautious about in my marketing collateral. Something I might perceive as a feature of my product might actually be an annoyance or disadvantage to a customer.
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What their objections are to purchasing my products or service, so that I can learn how I can overcome these objections in my marketing materials.
This list could go on indefinitely, but in a nutshell, I want to know my customer the way I would a close friend—in a non-creepy, non-stalker way, of course.
Listen to My Competitors
I certainly don’t want to copy what my competitors are doing. But I would like to think that my counterpart marketers at competing businesses are doing much of the same research and planning that I’m doing to make effective marketing campaigns–at least my successful competitors, anyway. Sometimes a search on my competitors’ marketing might show me that I’m actually doing a kickass job at my own marketing and that I should keep up the good work. OK, that’s no always the case, but it is important to see what my competitors are doing in order to reach the audience that I’m competing for.
If you can’t find a whole lot online that would show you what your competitors are doing from a marketing perspective, don’t assume that they suck at marketing or that they aren’t doing any marketing. It’s possible that they’re employing other tactics offline, such as events and trade shows or print marketing. It’s also possible that your competitors realize that your target customers are actually more reachable offline. You could, in fact, be making a gross assumption that all you need is your online efforts to reach your customers.
I typically will do a deep dive on competitors when building a marketing strategy and also when working on a specific piece of content to see how they have approached it before. In the event that I want to employ a strategy they’ve used, I have to prepare to do it better than my competitors. Or I must be confident that my product is superior to theirs, and therefore, I make sure to convey that in the messaging I use.
Listen to Other Marketers and Advertisers
Be aware of ads and marketing messages everywhere–even if they are for products or services that are different from yours. This isn’t a difficult task given that advertisers everywhere are competing for your attention and your dollars. Be mindful of:
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Graphic design trends. For example, right now I’m seeing a lot of color gradients and highlighted/underscored text. While some of these trends may clash with your brand standards, it’s important to note whether certain design elements appeal to your target audience because they seem hip with the times.
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Copy and visuals that do capture your attention. Why did one billboard make you read it? What was different about the copy or imagery used that made you pause and consume a piece of content? For me, I am a sucker for good copy, so when something is catchy or clever, I take note. Now granted that I am a marketer, so I am going to care more about how something is marketed more so than the average consumer. However, inspiration can strike anywhere — on a grocery shelf or a highway.
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When you travel, see whether a product or service you use at home is marketed differently in your new location. It’s interesting to see that, where a company might have strong brand recognition in one geographic area yet have to add more supporting copy and material in other geographic locations to explain what it is that they do or offer since they can’t rely on their brand alone.
An area I want to go grow in is consuming music and fiction. Well, more the fiction part. Why? I think that the brain needs to be stimulated in ways that are different from the constant news and information we’re inundated with day in and day out. When you consume fiction, you have to go with the author where they want to go—it’s a different form of trust. And you also get to insert details into the story that the author left out—a character’s appearance and emotions, what they’re feeling inside. I can imagine that I’d enjoy reading fiction even more than watching another Netflix show or movie. Again, this is not an area I’m strong in but know that it could come in handy for me both professionally and personally.
As far as consuming music is concerned, music sets the mood for me throughout the day. I even have different playlists for different tasks—writing, getting myself pumped for the work day, having dinner with my family, and going to bed. Podcasts are great, but the biggest challenge I have is information retention. That’s where I’d prefer to read the information instead. But music—music brings feeling, and that feeling can bring healing for when I’m stressed, in a bad mood, or feeling uninspired.
So I challenge all marketers out there to open their ears, hearts, and minds to the world, to their competitors, to art, and most importantly, to their customers. And don’t just consume content—be prepared to give it back in the form of helpful information to add value to a customer’s day without the expectation of an immediate purchase.
What about you? What do you like to listen to, and how does it impact your marketing efforts? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.