If you really want to reach your clients you have to focus on their needs, not what you have to provide. Like any good story, in marketing there are 3 parts: the set up (their needs), the tension (what is preventing them from fulfilling those needs) and the conclusion (the solution).
To successfully market your brand you have to approach it like a good story. First you must let them know that you understand their needs. Let them know that you know that they want a beautiful wedding that represents them without any headaches or drama at a price that they can afford yada yada yada.
Next comes whatever it is that is preventing that from happening and for them this is the most important part. Here is where your listening skills come into play. Until you really hear what they are saying you don’t know what it is that is keeping them awake at night, what is driving them forward, what thoughts color their days and cloud their dreams? If you listen closely, you will discover what dragons they need you to slay.
Now it is up to you to provide the magic sword. You aren’t really just providing a service; you are slaying their dragons, solving their problems. Face it, if they didn’t have any problems, they wouldn’t need you. Your job as a marketer is to discover their problems and then hand them the one true solution for the problem. You have to uncover and slay their dragons.
Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t only pointed at planners. Their dragons will take many forms. Their dragon may be the fear of cheese in a DJ, or it may be that every video they have seen sucked, or they may be a size 22 that pictures themselves in a slinky sheath or their dragon may be that they want navy blue flowers.
There is no better way to market than to tell these stories. Tell them one about the MoB that really was a dragon and how your team managed to run interference for the bride. Or how about the one that was in love with the $3k designer gown she couldn’t afford but you found her one that had the same cut and style at a much better price point. Or how about the bride groom that hated cake so you suggested that they have wedding cheesecake instead. Or the couple that didn’t want a band OR DJ because they were afraid to dance in front of everyone that you hooked up with dance lessons. I know that you have a million of them and everyday you create more because that is really what you do. You solve their problems.
Those are the kind of things that need to be in your marketing. Truth be told, brides today don’t give a rats rear about what you do or have. They only care about one thing, do you recognize their dragons and can you slay it.
In marketing today, content is king. Your story is your content. Spin your tale, highlight your magic sword . Just remember, that without the dragon, your magic sword is useless.
Too often I see marketing getting it backward. They put all their emphasis on what they have to offer, not on their customers’ needs. Think and speak about how you can solve their problems instead. I realize that this may require a rewrite, but believe me it’s worth it.
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