Most of us have witnessed the differences between outspoken, slightly crazed and markedly reckless Charlie Sheen and his takeover by America’s sweetheart Ashton Kutcher. The media has blasted the story and has equated it to a good old-fashioned battle between good and evil.
Regardless of who you like or dislike or how America views the opposing duo, the two personalities are vastly different. Most of America sees Charlie Sheen as reckless, self-indulgent and someone who may need countless hours on a psychologist’s couch, while Ashton Kutcher is viewed as more wholesome, conscientious and someone who generally has a better head on his shoulders.
How does this relate to marketing?
The fact is that many marketers, in an attempt to convert visitors and followers to sales, often find themselves falling into in one of these two categories or somewhere in between: Reckless vs. Conscientious.
Now you may not be yelling crazy, nonsensical statements to your visitors; however, your internal attitude does more to drive your conversion rates (or lack thereof) than you know.
Let’s take a look at how these two marketing personalities play out in conversions as it relates to your target audience:
Target Audience
Appealing to a Specific Audience vs. Appealing to a Larger Audience
Why are my visitors, fans and followers not buying my products?
I hear this question asked a lot. The main reason is because they may not be interested in what you are selling. If you did not target a specific audience, most likely your traffic will consist of either people who can’t use what you are selling or those who are just surfing the web looking for information.
Conscientious marketers will look at their audience in more detail and will focus more on the QUALITY of their traffic, rather than the QUANTITY. This removes the ego, because the Charlie Sheen reckless marketers would relish in more traffic and fans because they need their egos stroked. They would also be more focused on QUICK sales rather than LONG TERM success.
Here are some questions you want to ask yourself:
1. Who is my target audience?
Reckless marketers would answer this question by saying, “Anyone who wants to buy my product or use my services.” Conscientious marketers will realize that appealing to a smaller, more targeted niche will bring more sales rather than trying to appeal to a larger amount of people.
Get Specific!
Here is an example: If you are selling self-help resources and you are great at working with women in business, your target audience should be women entrepreneurs. You could even break it down into age group and life goals.
If you are thinking more with your ego and acting more recklessly, you will lapse into wondering if you are missing out on other opportunities by not targeting more people.
If I were a women entrepreneur in my 40’s looking for some self-help resources, I will be more attracted to what you are offering rather than a generic website or a Facebook fan page that is targeting the masses. Yes, your audience will consist of fewer people, but your conversions will increase because those fewer people will actually be interested in what you are selling and will gravitate towards your message.
2. What does your visitor expect?
WHY are your visitors arriving on your site? Are they looking to learn something? Buy something? Use your services? Conscientious marketers will take the time to assess whether or not their message is clear across the internet. They will ensure that what they are communicating to a potential customer will match what the customer will receive. Reckless marketers will act with their egos and consider the possibility of the sale first instead of making sure their website and other web properties fulfills their visitors’ expectations.
3. Am I providing my audience solutions to their problems?
Now that you know whom you are targeting, do you know their problems? The conscientious marketer will study their target market in more detail and discover their most pressing problems and pain points. If you are that self-help resource in the example above and you are targeting women entrepreneurs in their 40’s, you would need to study this group of women. Visit forums and research the questions they are asking. Visit competitor’s blogs, Twitter and Facebook profiles and notice the questions being asked. Now come up with solutions to those questions and reveal this information on your Facebook fan page, your blog and your website. Use videos, articles and podcasts or whatever medium with which you feel comfortable.
Note: Though this line of thinking will apply to most marketers, some businesses will fare better appealing to a larger audience (ex: McDonalds). If you are not achieving success, it may be time to take a look at who you are marketing to and how this can be adjusted if need be.
A Quick Buck
The Conscientious Marketer Focuses More on Growth, while the Reckless Marketer Focuses More on Quick Money
The money will come. If you are in the beginning stage of a website or business, it will take some time to build. The profits will happen if you are applying the right principles and acting conscientiously. Focus on the long term.
Here is an example of focusing on quick sales rather than a long term strategy:
I had a client who wanted social media management services, but she was only interested in increasing her Facebook fan count and gaining immediate sales. Though I tried to explain to her the value of a targeted fan and how social media takes time to build relationships, she still wanted to focus on numbers and get them up fast. She was desperate to make a buck since her industry was suffering due to the recession.
Unfortunately, this campaign eventually led to a failure. We ran a Facebook advertising campaign and within 6-8 weeks, she had over one thousand fans; however, she continually tried to contact her fans and ask if they were interested in her services. She posted on the wall incessantly about her own products and her reckless attitude was coming across loud and clear. Long story short, she never converted one of her followers into fans. Here were some of her problems:
1. Excessive selling – Despite instruction, this marketer tried to force her products on her Facebook fans. She did not follow the underlying rule of social media which is more value and less selling which leads to long term success.
2. She never wanted to share valuable content. Her thinking was flawed. She spent her time devising ways to sell and did not realize the power of indirect selling (to offer so much value that a person decides to work with you of their own volition). Instead, she would answer questions as a method to lead a fan to talk about her products.
3. She was unaware of her target audience and her competition.
4. She was selling a high-priced product in a market that no longer called for those prices. Her ego kept her from pricing her products in line with similar products on the market. Yes, the recession has hit people hard, but this reckless marketer would have possibly had a chance if she started thinking more conscientiously.
If she simply lowered her prices to industry standards and allowed her Facebook page to be an avenue of interaction and sharing valuable content, she would have had a better chance of converting her followers into customers.
The moral of the story? First, say no to clients like this! Second, think about BUILDING a following and a customer base that will become loyal to you for the long term. This especially applies to social media where the culture breeds more sharing than advertising. And when you are selling, know your target audience and focus on a more specific segment of the population. Solve their needs with value and they will flock to what you are selling.
Though there are more tricks and tips to website conversions such as website design and techniques, load times, calls to action, etc., the conscientious mindset is very important as it relates to your target audience and your long term goals. If you are not targeting the RIGHT traffic and offering value, a great web design with all of the high-converting bells and whistles will not bring you more profits in the long run.
As far as the dynamic duo? Honestly, I would rather not relate with either Charlie Sheen or Ashton Kutcher, but I couldn’t resist the dichotomy of the two. We are all guilty of a little reckless marketing, but as long as we focus on making our marketing strategies more conscientious going forward we can make some real strides towards increased conversions and more interest in what we sell as marketers.
