Seattle Marketing Strategy: The first three questions

These are the first three questions you need to answer before you spend any marketing money.

Written May 06, 2008, read 2780 times since then.

These are the first three questions you need to answer before you spend any marketing money. I ask these three questions whenever I start a new project. In fact, I find it impossible to build a solid plan without these answers.

1. What is your key consumer insight? I had a recent consultation with a relationship therapist looking to establish a client base. She asked me, “How can I attract new clients in a cost effective way?”

I asked her a series of questions about her prospects. Her answers forced her to identify her strengths as a therapist and what type of client she wants.

* How does your prospect feel about therapy? Has she ever said, “I don’t need a therapist; I can figure this out myself”?

* Has your prospect ever been to talk therapy? Is your prospect in talk therapy now? If you attract this prospect, would he see you instead of his present therapist?

* Has your prospect ever taken prescribed mood-enhancing medications? Does she still? If you attract this prospect, will she have to go to his present doctor for refills and see you?

* Do you take insurance? If not, will your ideal prospect be able to afford you?

You can see where this is going. There are lots of perceptions about therapy, ranging from “I’m not crazy, I’m not going to a therapist,” to “I’ve been in therapy all my life.” Understanding your target’s need state is the first question to answer.

** Before we continue ** As a businessperson, it’s tempting to say, “I would take any of those clients.” It’s important to make the distinction between customers you’d accept versus customers you target. If someone walks through your door that you weren’t targeting but that you can (and want to) help, great! You just got a new customer.

For your marketing strategy, however, I recommend you focus your acquisition efforts around a few market segments. The logic is obvious. If the therapist in our example is looking to counsel recent divorcees, she’d spend her time and money differently than if she were targeting teenagers with low self esteem.

2. What is your source of volume? There are two basic choices here. Increasing the category and stealing share. (There are others: increasing pack rate and accelerating the replacement cycle, for example. joe@joehageonline.com?subject=The%20first%20three%20questions&body=Joe%2C%20I%20am%20writing%20about%20your%22first%20three%20questions%22%20article.">Email me if you’d like me to write about them.)

** Increasing the category ** At Cardiac Science, we sell AEDs (automated external defibrillators), potentially life-saving devices for the approximately 365,000 sudden cardiac deaths in North America each year. According to OSHA, the Occupational Safety + Health Administration, 13 percent of all workplace fatalities are sudden cardiac arrests. Yet, the penetration of AEDs is frightfully low.

When we advertise AEDs, we are looking to “increase the category.” We are looking to put AEDs where there were none before. We are building the overall size of the AED market.

** Stealing share ** My former employer, Safeco Insurance, provides a classic example for stealing share. Car insurance is mandatory in America. If you drive a car, you have car insurance (or you could be in really big trouble!).

So when Safeco solicits you for business, they ask you to switch from your present insurer to them. They are looking to steal market share. This is usually a zero-sum game.

Will your concept increase the category or steal share? The appropriate marketing strategy hinges on your answer.

3. What is your positioning statement? The first two questions help prepare you for this third one. I suggest that this is the most important of the three.

Fill in these five blanks.
To (whom),
(who/what) is the (what is your frame of reference?)
that (what is the benefit that the “whom” will realize?)
because (what are your supporting claims?)

This is an exciting (if not scary) formula because it forces you to squarely identify what you’re about. See the differences among three of my positioning statements.

To Zachary and Lucas, Joe Hage is the loving parent that gives you all the love and support you can handle because everything he does, he does for the two of you.

To a Biznik indie professional, Joe Hage is the marketing strategy expert that can help you focus on the right strategies to build your business because Joe helped other Biznik professionals successfully.

To Cardiac Science Corporation, Joe Hage is the marketing strategy expert that can raise the overall brand awareness of the company among our prospects because Joe has a 16-year history of marketing accomplishments, including those we accomplished in our six months together.

Each of these descriptions are so different, but it’s the same Joe Hage each time. For each, I’m positioning myself as the right person for the job.

What job do you want? And for whom? Once you commit to your positioning, you're ready to start thinking about a plan.

Click here for Part II of this article.

P.S. Special thanks to Marc Gibeley. He taught me this — and more — back at Kraft Foods.

Not a Biznik yet? Join us. It's free!

Learn more about the author, Joe Hage.

Comment on this article

Posted by Andrew Delany, Seattle, WA, Washington | May 07, 2008

Great article, Joe! Keep on with the creative, insightful flow!

Andrew
Posted by Elge Premeau, Portland, Oregon | May 07, 2008

Hey Joe,

It's always interesting to read your perspective on things. Makes me stretch my brain a bit to wrap it around some new concepts.

Question for you: How is 'key consumer insight' different than 'define your target market'?

Elge

p.S. When's your book coming out? ;-}
Posted by Joe Hage, Seattle, Washington | May 08, 2008

Elge, thanks for that feedback and thoughtful question.

Target market is easier. Let's use the example of the relationship therapist above.

The target could be "divorcees." That's a pretty large group. You could refine the target to divorcees who: separate from a alcoholic and abusive relationship. separate when a partner re-evaluates his/her sexuality. * separate on the most amicable terms.

There may be decidedly different insights (or "need states") among these potential clients.

The insight [my suppositions purely hypothetical] could be: if separated from abusive, then less likely to trust future partners. if separated due to sexual re-evaluation, then perhaps feelings of shame. * if amicably separated, then more likely to wonder how to "stay friends" while meeting and dating new people.

The insight could even be, "You know, I haven't found any relationship therapists who specialize in the needs of this type of divorcee. I'm going to specialize in that because I have an interest in it and I'd be good at it."

In sum, the key insight is about the target (and perhaps about you, your skills, and interests) and helps set a course of how best to position your offering to that target. The key insight also raises other questions about how to attract the right clients and fully satisfy the need.

Thanks for the question, and let me know if my explanation works for you.
Posted by Elge Premeau, Portland, Oregon | May 08, 2008

Okay. Typically the next task after "Define your target market" has been to "Describe your target market as clearly as you can." That's when topics like the repercussions of getting divorced come up.

What I think is different is the 'insight' about the target market. I've seen this concept recently in relation to writing compelling case studies but haven't seen it in relation to target markets.

In this case the insight might be the second sentence in the following statement. “Divorce might make you not trust the opposite sex. In my work I’ve found that when you come to understand that you can survive the loss of the relationship you become a better partner.”

So if my assumption is correct (and let me know if it’s not), the insight demonstrates your understanding of your target market as well as subtly saying “I can lead you to the solution to your problem.”
Posted by Joe Hage, Seattle, Washington | May 08, 2008

Elge, I agree with most of what you summarized.

Yes: the insight IS your understanding of the target market.

No: the insight doesn't include "In my work" or "I can lead you."

"I can lead you" might be the benefit your target will realize.

"In my work" might be among the supporting claims (reasons to believe) that you are qualified to deliver the benefit you say you will.

I hope that makes the point clearer.
Posted by Tshombe Brown, Portland, Oregon | May 15, 2008

This is EXCITING! I cannot wait to put this all to use in strengthening my own specificity with regard to my target market, and then clearly delineating that key insight you speak of.

Thank you, Joe!

Sales Success Tele-Interview Series 2009
Posted by John Powers, Seattle, Washington | May 23, 2008

Great Article! I really enjoy learning about marketing. Sounds like you have had great experience and success in marketing.

John Powers Selling Restaurants
Posted by David Berkey, Edmonds, Washington | Jun 02, 2008

Great article. Demonstrates the why features and benefits must be shown to the target audience by sales, as defined by the marketing team, the two being very different functions.

All Access offers services that can cost-effectively satisfy various target audiences, ranging from retail and B2B clients to trade work for printers not having digital or mailing services. However, each account exec must search for the "who" needing the feature (frame of reference) and benefit to be derived. That answers the "who" and "what". The "how" could be the "supporting claims". eg. To Cardiac Science Corporation, All Access Printing & Mailing is competitively priced printing and mailing company that can help keep your marketing budget down because our services are in-house, from concept to completion, allowing us more control over costs, saving clients as much as 20% on their printing.

Your "fill in the blanks" is a great format for organizing and applying a features and benefits statement. It's a rule I had not followed and needed to, as you might remember. Thank you.
Posted by Joe Hage, Seattle, Washington | Jun 06, 2008

David, that's a perfectly written positioning statement.

To Cardiac Science Corporation (whom),

All Access Printing and Mailing (what)

is the competitively priced printing and mailing company (frame of reference)

that can help keep your marketing budget down (benefit)

because our services are in-house, from concept to completion, allowing us more control over costs, saving clients as much as 20% on their printing. (claim supporting by a metric and a reason to believe).

Well done!
Posted by Ben L, Bozeman, Montana | Jun 15, 2008

Helpful article, thanks.
Posted by Joe Hage, Seattle, Washington | Jun 19, 2008

A few Bizniks are taking a crack at their own positioning statements in BizTalk.

Take a look and, if you like, add your own!

Joe
Posted by Elizabeth Rightor MA MEd, Seattle, Washington | Sep 04, 2008

Joe,

I just read your article. I am repeatedly amazed at your marketing knowledge. Thank you for sharing your experience and your heart here on BizNik.

Elizabeth