{"id":5190,"date":"2011-12-26T06:07:50","date_gmt":"2011-12-26T14:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=5190"},"modified":"2011-12-26T06:07:50","modified_gmt":"2011-12-26T14:07:50","slug":"how-to-get-your-customers-to-do-what-you-want","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/how-to-get-your-customers-to-do-what-you-want\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Your Customers to Do What You Want"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"In a perfect world, everybody will do what we want them to: our kids will brush their teeth the first time we ask them to, do their homework, keep their rooms tidy, and keep their curfews; our parents will listen to our advice; our friends will stop their horrendous habits; our spouses will remember their promises.<\/p>\n

In a perfect business world, our customers will do what we want them to do: they will notice our advertisements, will read our direct mail, and will take the calls of our salespeople. In short, they will buy what we sell them.<\/p>\n

We all know that perfect worlds don\u2019t exist. In this imperfect one, words are often unheard, misconstrued, or forgotten. They are not tangible; they are by their very nature ephemeral. Messages, however interesting or important, get lost all the time.<\/p>\n

So what do you do then to keep your message alive? <\/strong>The problem is that conversations, sales pitches, and sales calls are all words. They disappear as soon as you\u2019ve said them and quickly thereafter, they are forgotten as if they never existed! The solution is to get your words to stay permanently in the minds of your customers. How do you do that? You structure your marketing communication strategy in a way that keeps your message alive in the minds of your customers, employees and everyone else with whom your business interacts. And the way to do that is with a strong but simple mission statement that resonates with your audience, long after their first exposure to it. Successful companies are the ones who have understood this mandate and have created a straightforward message to understand and to build a sales and marketing system around.<\/p>\n

How to develop a strong but simple mission statement:<\/strong><\/p>\n

FedEx gets it there overnight. Brown delivers. Domino\u2019s gets you a pizza in 30 minutes or less. Twitter messages are 140 characters. If I said \u201cjust do it\u201d you would immediately think of Nike. These are all easy messages to remember and easy messages to build a promise around. Your message or conversation has to THAT easy.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t let the simplicity of this directive fool you. It is the hardest thing to achieve. To boil down the essence of your business into a few words, to convert complicated feelings and complex concepts into a few words is very difficult.<\/p>\n

There are essentially three steps to developing a strong mission statement<\/span> that succinctly tells your customers, employees and all others what you are all about.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Brainstorm <\/strong><\/p>\n

Start brainstorming about inner conversations you are having about your business, conversations you are having with your employees, conversations your customers are having with you, in essence, all conversations around the circumstances surrounding your product or service. Harness the power of group brainstorming, they tend to be very productive.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t take shortcuts, this is an important step, and anything and everything might be important. Let it all hang out!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Step 2: Make a collage<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this step, you will move the message from thoughts and words to objects. Take all the words you\u2019ve collected when brainstorming and bring them together on a blank canvas (or white board). Supplement them with quotes relevant to your business. Cut out pictures or sayings that are pertinent. The idea is to get all your thoughts and feelings, and as many as you can get from your team and your customers and to put them physically in the same place (emphasis on physically<\/em>), visually representing all abstract concepts.<\/p>\n

Leave the board alone for a while and come back to it whenever you remember or find something new. This is the stewing process; let it take its time.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Translate the collage into an abridged message<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that you have everything you need visually available to you in the same place, the real work starts. You can start by eliminating duplicates. Next, narrow down your choices by matching questions to answers. Use features that your product or service offers as solutions. Be sure to note any physical objects that pop out \u2013 something that your customer can see, smell, touch, and relate to.<\/p>\n

Be sure to follow the following guidelines:<\/p>\n