By Katrina Olson
This article originally appeared on tedmag.com on April 22, 2016.
At last year’s NAED AdVenture marketing conference, a whopping 60 percent of attendees were female, and approximately 43 percent were under age 36.
Contrast that with the demographics of electrical contractors.
The average age of the electrical contractor is 56.2, according to Electrical Contractor magazine’s 2014 Profile of the Electrical Contractor. And you probably won’t be surprised to learn that women hold only one percent of all electrician jobs, according to 2009 Census data.
“How do I market to people who are very different from me?”
A good marketer gets to know their customers, inside and out—who they are, what keeps them up at night, and how they make decisions. By understanding customers’ concerns, buying habits, attitudes, preferences and behaviors, you’ll get a feel for what kinds of media and messages they’ll respond to. Along the way, you’ll also learn about trends in their businesses and industry.
“How do I learn more about my customers?”
Following are seven ways you can find out what makes your customers tick. Some are pretty easy; others are more involved. But all should yield valuable insights..
1. Read your customers’ trade publications.
Most industries have trade association and publications. Health Facilities Management, Facilities Manger, Facility Management Decisions, Electrical Contractor, and Buildings and Electrical Contractor are just a few.
2. Join online groups.
Is there a LinkedIn group or social media platform where your customers and prospects hang out? Observe without participating or commenting to learn what’s important to them.
3. Ask your salespeople.
If you can’t talk directly to customers, talk to those who do. Counter staff, inside sales, outside sales, and customer service representatives can give you insight into what your customers care about.
4. Attend company events.
Get out from behind your desk or computer and attend counter days, workshops, training sessions, and other opportunities to get to know your customers. Try to uncover your customers’ hot buttons and pain points.
5. Contact customers directly.
Call or email some of your key customers and ask specific questions—like how they want to learn about new products and services. Or take them out to lunch. Explain that you want to better understand their business so you can better serve them.
6. Conduct a short survey.
Curious about what media your customers are consuming? Want to know what social media platforms they’re using? Wondering how much they use their smartphones? Ask them!
7. Host a focus group or customer advisory council.
To get honest feedback about what your customers think, conduct a focus group or establish a customer advisory council that meets every year. Rotate members out every few years to get fresh perspectives. (To make sure you get candid comments, hire an outside facilitator and leave the room.)
How can I apply this knowledge to be a better marketer?
Here’s an example. The electrical contractor’s role is evolving as they become more heavily involved in design and specification. Also, building systems are becoming more integrated and interdependent, using data hubs that communicate with each other. All systems are tied together; so all the products must be compatible with each other.
As a result, electrical contractors may look to you for comprehensive solutions, not just individual products. Electrical contractors will also rely more heavily on the electrical distributor’s expertise to help them choose the right products for both new and existing systems.
This knowledge should change the way you position and brand your company, and the way your salespeople are trained, too. Instead of just selling and marketing products, you’re marketing your staff’s expertise and product knowledge.
The trick is putting yourself in your customer’s and prospect’s shoes. That means not just understanding their wants and needs—but speaking their language. That takes a little more practice. But the more research you do, the easier it gets.
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Olson is a marketing and public relations consultant, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. She can be reached at Katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com
It’s not enough to just be “on” social media. These days, almost every business is “on.” (And if you’re not, why not?) The challenge is to fully use the power of the medium to reinforce your brand, build loyalty, showcase your expertise, strengthen your presence in the marketplace, generate leads…this list goes on.
But too often, we have little or no strategy for our social media content. Or we approach it like our personal social media, posting funny memes and holiday greetings. While that’s nice and perhaps even entertaining, how does it help you achieve your business goals?
Following are seven common social media mistakes businesses make:
1. Using the wrong medium for the message.
I’ve seen large, multiple-location, established business-to-business companies posting happy holidays messages on LinkedIn. People go to LinkedIn for valuable content to help them better perform their jobs, advance their careers, or grow their businesses. Save the touchy-feely stuff for Facebook, if you post it at all.
2. Being too self-promotional.
If more than 20% of your posts are self-promotional, you risk offending your readers and losing followers. Instead, can you offer a template, guide, white paper or technical support.
3. Not considering your reader’s point of view.
Facebook followers, LinkedIn contacts, YouTube subscribers…they all want to be rewarded for reading and watching your content. What topics are you qualified to write about or comment on? What can you share about trends and issues? Can you serve as an outlet for industry news? Also, it’s okay to talk about your services, as long as you’re offering ways to help your audience save time, money or labor, for example.
4. Not fully utilizing the features of the medium.
LinkedIn makes it so easy to share updates, publish posts and find contacts. What would happen if you spent just 15 minutes a day making new connections? Or one or two hours a week publishing a post offering advice related to your area of expertise?
Back in December 2014, Facebook added pre-made call-to-action buttons including “Sign Up,” “Shop Now,” “Contact Us,” “Book Now,” “Use App,” “Watch Video,” and “Play Game.” You can even customize the button with a destination URL you choose. You can also customize your Facebook Page with apps that display as tabs under the cover photo. Use these apps to promote your blog, register attendees for an event, or share case studies and testimonials.
5. Not including visuals.
Even when I’m just posting on my personal Facebook page, I almost always include visuals. Although numerous studies show that people prefer visual content, and that it’s as much as four times more memorable than text, almost two thirds of professional service companies’ Twitter posts do not have visuals. Did you know you can even share video on Twitter? In fact, there are three ways: you can record, import or upload. Here’s how: https://support.twitter.com/articles/20172128?lang=en
6. Not encouraging engagement.
A study conducted by Bianchi Public Relations, Social Media Use by Professional Services (SMUPS), analyzed social media usage by 25 of the top metro Detroit professional service organizations on four social platforms: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
The study revealed that only a little over six percent of the firms’ social media are interactive-type posts that encourage engagement—even though most firms cited engagement as an immediate goal of their social media strategy.
Try generating content that prompts discussion, asks questions, or solicits feedback.
7. Not asking for shares, likes or whatever action you want your reader to take.
I’ll admit; I’m guilty of this one. I love sharing information, teaching and encouraging my friends, associates and clients through social media. But I rarely ask that they share, like or refer. So this is something I’m committing to improve on this year.
What can you commit to improve on this year? What social media mistakes have you seen? If you know someone who could use help with their social media strategy and content, send them a link to this article!
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Katrina Olson is a marketing and public relations consultant, freelance writer, training/coach, former college professor, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She can be reached at katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com.