It’s January and the green industry marketing machine is beginning to hum. Renewals, mailers, social media campaigns, email blasts, call centers, etc., are either in motion or being prepared. It’s an exciting time, filled with anticipation of a great year ahead of us.
When we think about marketing, we generally think about all the promotional activities I mentioned above, along with advertising, websites, logos and more. All of these things are part of the marketing mix. However, at its core, marketing is all about understanding the true needs of a customer and presenting a solution to meet those needs. This is the heart of marketing.
Too often, businesses make the mistake of jumping into the tactical side of marketing without considering the strategic side of marketing, so they miss the mark. Regardless of the tactics employed, their volume or size of budget, if the message is off, the results will be off.
For example, I receive all sorts of marketing messages from lawn care companies, telling me what a great looking, weed-free lawn I could have if I hired them. This is all fine and dandy, but I really don’t care about a weed-free lawn. The message is wrong because they don’t understand my needs. The solution they are offering is meaningless to me. They’re wasting their money.
I have all sorts of other needs these companies could be addressing in their marketing messages, but most of them will never take the time to figure it out. By the way, my home’s lawn care company was the exception. It understood that I live in a heavily wooded area and presented me a solution to my problem – mosquitoes. Who cares about a dandelion in your backyard if you can’t sit on your deck for more than five minutes?
Know your customers. Walk a mile in their shoes. Feel their pain. Develop and present solutions that matter to them. And then start up the marketing machine. Best wishes for a successful 2017.
Now go forth.
