Listening Carefully To Your Audience

Every week this column is emailed to 650 people I’m determined should see it. An introductory cover note links to my blog and allows readers to unsubscribe.

My friend Moshe noticed I never encourage people to share the column with their friends. OOPS!

Several years ago I spoke about social media at a Rotary conference. An audience member suggested I should incorporate “Rotarian” into my LinkedIn title.

Another OOPS. Following this recommendation, I saw an instant improvement in quantity and quality of those reviewing my profile.

I missed these obvious promotional opportunities because I’m WAY too close to my own marketing. It took two outsiders to school me on how I could improve my own efforts.

This is a lesson every business owner can learn from, regardless of what you sell. Because if you’re looking at your communications efforts (website, brochure, social media, etc.) and believe it’s flawless as is and can’t possibly be improved, you’re probably mistaken.

Sure, you’ve got some clever ideas. The graphics and layout are probably perfectly attuned to your customer profile and the copy just works.

And yet there’s almost certainly something you’re inadvertently overlooking. Maybe there’s a service you’re not adequately touting, or your Ph.D. isn’t sitting well with a blue-collar audience.

Or perhaps it’s as simple as not encouraging readers to share your materials with others.

Here’s the thing: to be successful, CEOs must be completely immersed in every aspect of their organization. They must know operations, finance, HR, sales, and marketing inside and out.

The problem, of course, is recognizing your own limits. We all believe if we can design a great widget we can also sell it. The fact that there are radically different skill sets needed for each area of the company rarely enters our minds.

And because successful bosses comprehensively understand their operations, they oftentimes neglect having extra eyes watching their back. Something almost always slips through the cracks.

If someone suggests how to improve your messaging, take their ideas to heart. These are your customers, prospects, and influencers talking, and they’re providing you a valuable service and trying to help you fix holes in your net.

Be gracious, say “Thank you,” and do what they suggest. They’ve obviously spotted something you missed.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

---------------
Did I miss something? Tell me at www.marketbuilding.com.