Marketing Tricks, Tips, and Traps

1. Marketing Steps

Classifying Your Customers' Needs
Targeting Your Customer(s)
Examining Your "Niche"
Identifying Your Competitors
Assessing and Managing Your Available Resources
- Financial
- Human
- Material
- Production

2. Marketing Positioning

Follower versus Leader
Quality versus Price
Innovator versus Adaptor
Customer versus Product
International versus Domestic
Private Sector versus Government

3. Sales Strategy
Use a Customer-Oriented Selling Approach

Construct Agreement

Phase One: Establish Rapport with Customer
-- by agreeing to discuss what the customer wants to achieve

Phase Two: Determine Customer Objective and Situational Factors
-- by agreeing on what the customer wants to achieve and those factors in the environment that will influence these results

Phase Three: Recommend a Customer Action Plan
-- by agreeing that using your product/ service will indeed achieve what customer wants

Phase Four: Obtaining Customer Commitment
-- By agreeing that the customer will acquire your product/service
Emphasize Customer Advantage

Must be Read
-- When a competitive advantage cannot be demonstrated, it will not translate into a benefit

Must be Important to the Customer
-- When the perception of competitive advantage varies between supplier and customer, the customer wins.

Must be Specific
-- When a competitive advantage lacks specificity, it translates into mere puffery and is ignored.

Must be Promotable
-- When a competitive advantage is proven, it is essential that your customer know it, lest it not exist at all.

4. Benefits vs. Features

The six "O's" of organizing Customer Buying Behavior

Origins of purchase
-- Who buys it?

Objectives of purchase
-- What do they need/buy?

Occasions of purchase
-- When do they buy it?

Outlets of purchase
-- Where do they buy it?

Objectives of purchase
-- Why do they buy it?

Operations of purchase
-- How do they buy it?
Convert features to benefits using the "...Which Means..." transition

Features that can be related to Benefits via "which means":
- Performance "which means" Time Saved
- Reputation "which means" Reduced Cost
- Components "which means" Prestige
- Colors "which means" Bigger Savings
- Sizes "which means" Greater Profits
- Exclusive "which means" Greater Convenience
- Uses "which means" Uniform Production
- Applications "which means" Uniform Accuracy
- Ruggedness "which means" Continuous Output
- Delivery "which means" Leadership
- Service "which means" Increased Sales
- Price "which means" Economy of Use
- Design "which means" Ease of Use
- Availability "which means" Reduced Inventory
- Installation "which means" Low Operating Cost
- Promotion "which means" Simplicity
- Lab Tests "which means" Reduced Upkeep
- Terms "which means" Reduced Waste
- Workmanship "which means" Long Life
Transition
Sales Maxim
-- "Unless the proposition appeals to their Interest, unless it satisfies their Desires, and unless it shows them a Gain -- then they will not buy!"
Quality Customer Leads:
- Level of need
- Ability to pay
- Authority to pay
- Accessibility
- Sympathetic attitude
- Business history
- One-source buyer
- Reputation (price or quality buyer)

5. Buying Motives

Rational	Emotional
Economy of Purchase	Pride of Appearance
Economy of Use	Pride of Ownership
Efficient Profits	Desire of Prestige
Increased Profits	Desire for Recognition
Durability	Desire to Imitate
Accurate Performance	Desire for Variety
Labor-Saving	Safety
Time-Saving	Fear
Simple Construction	Desire to Create
Simple Operation	Desire for Security
Ease of Repair	Convenience
Ease of Installation	Desire to Be Unique
Space-Saving	Curiosity
Increased Production	Availability
Complete Servicing	Good Workmanship
Low Maintenance
Thorough Research

Information courtesy of the Small Business Administration.