Are You Attractive?

“Are You…?” Blog Series: Part 2

Remember that guy in Hitch who couldn’t get a date if he tried? Not necessarily the most handsome man, but he got the girl. Somehow, he became attractive to her.

Maybe it’s cliché, but we can draw some interesting parallels about acquiring and retaining customers with the dating world.

Let’s build upon what we’ve discussed in my last post: We need to increase awareness for your business; but merely increasing awareness with the general public isn’t going to cut it (i.e. a fine wine commercial during a Nascar race).

To build brand awareness you must first:

1. Find out who needs to be aware of you (a.k.a. your target), and
2. Create points of contact with your target at locations where they are heavily concentrated

So, we’ve decided to increase our awareness because, well… we feel it’s important. What could be more important for increasing sales than letting your potential customers know you exist? Their intent to buy from you, that’s what.

Increasing intent-to-buy will always trump increasing brand awareness. More sales are always more important. It’s the name of the game. If your brand awareness increases by 10 points on a market index but your BDI remains static, what’s the point? Remember–you can’t run a business on celebrity. You run a business on cash flow.

Creating intent-to-buy is the next step:

1. Use your points of contact to call your target to action
2. Communicate your value proposition in a way that nudges your potential customers towards purchasing

Whether your ad is pushing one product, a brand or an entire company, communicating value at every point of reference is paramount to the efficacy of your marketing efforts. Consistent influence breeds reciprocation. Is your call to action strong enough to leave an impression on them? We must realize the effort we exude in communicating to potential purchasers is worth zilch unless the words we use are understood, interpreted correctly and responded to by our target.

Let’s revisit the dating-business paradigm.

It was never enough to be noticed at a party by a beautiful girl across the room. You wanted to land that first date.

What’s the difference with courting customers? Is it enough for people to know your name, or do you want them to actually purchase your services?

The solution:

Don’t just be visible; be attractive. Strive to communicate what you have to offer fulfills their needs and is worth the money they will pay.

However, mastering intent-to-buy isn’t an end-all solution. Stay tuned to The Spark for the third and final installment of the series “Are You…?” to find out what outplays intent-to-buy.

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This article is a sequel to “Are You Visible?” and prequel to “Are You Worth It?”

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