Here’s a practical way to nail down the "experience" or "feeling" that you are selling your customers. It’s one of the exercises from our new ResultTrack coach services.
First, make a list of all of the words that come to your mind when you think about your business. What words do you want people to use to describe your business? What do you aspire to be? Write down the list. Try to make it a long list. Use the thesaurus or brainstorm with your marketing coach. Think about your customer service, your products, your store layout, your personality, your employees’ personality, etc. Make a ridiculously long list of adjectives.
Next, form a customer feedback group of five to ten of your best customers – and make them representative of your preferred or target customer group. For their first assignment, ask them basically the same questions you asked yourself adding that they only use descriptive words that contribute to their POSITIVE feeling about your business (ie. describe what attracts them to your business). Do not lead their answers.
Now, cross reference their answers with yours. Make a new list of the words, phrases or ideas that are repeatedly mentioned by your customer group or are similar on both your list and theirs.
Review that new list for ideas that you can turn into concrete experiences. Certain ideas are easier to turn into an experience than others. Choose one theme for your business and go over the top looking for ways to show that "experience" or provide that "feeling" to your customers in multiple concrete ways.
Such experiences will make your customers talk to others (buzz/customer evangelism) and make your existing customers more loyal because you are providing something they want (per the customer feedback group). Knowing what business you are in is the key to business growth and profitability.
