When are you marketing? — Kelford Labs Daily

When you’re creating marketing messages, you’ve got to know when they’re going to be seen.

Not only—and not necessarily—the time of day, or the day of the week, but the moment in the prospect’s life when they realized they had a problem to solve.

And so they went looking for a business like yours.

Bob Moesta in Demand-Side Sales 101 calls this the “struggling moment.” So, what is that moment for your ideal customers? 

What happens in their work, their day, their home, or their tasks that triggers the desire to find a better solution?

You remember those classic TV infomercials for weird kitchen gadgets? This is the black and white portion where the actor is fumbling through the cupboards and counters throwing flour everywhere because they didn’t have this one incredible tool.

Except, you know, real.

So, how do you find out what it is? The first step is to simply ask.

The next time you’re in a sales conversation, ask the customer how they knew they needed support from a business like yours. Try to get specific about what happened, or what they were doing, when they realized it.

Obviously there’s a limit to how much you can dig in without being weird, so you probably won’t get the full picture from any one individual client.

Over time, though, you’ll develop a sense for the types of triggers your ideal customers run into, which you can then use to improve your marketing messages.

You can get specific about when and where you’re placing them, and what you’re saying in them.

As an example, I know that “wanting to end the year on a high note” is a common desire for entrpreneurs and marketers. So yesterday’s newsletter was focused on a simple tool for making Q4 marketing messages.

And I’ve already heard from readers that they’ve done the exercise and found it helpful—and at just the right time.

Because marketing is about demonstrating value, which requires delivering value.

And the best way to do that consistently is understanding when it will be experienced, so we can make it as valuable as possible.

Kelford Inc. shows you the way to always knowing what to say. Marketing positions and messages for hands-on entrepreneurs.