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  Category: Articles » Business » Marketing & Promotion » Article
 

Internet Based Market Research -- Listen First!




By Bruce Prokopets

This report is all about a proven system which is being used by In
Touch Media Group (www.intouchmediagroup.com
), which uses customer
interaction in a way never seen before to help companies increase
sales and get "real" results. It is important that you carefully consider
the content of this report. It could have a considerable impact on
the sales results of your company.

Have you ever launched a new product, service or offer and
KNEW it would succeed and then it failed? Have you started one
or more companies that offered a better product, no - a "GREAT
PRODUCT" at a cheaper price and the "weaker" competitor still
beat you? Are you a great sales person, yet are being somehow
outwitted by far inferior sales techniques constantly? It is definitely a
frustrating experience - no question about it.

Would you like to know exactly what the problem really is? What
the not so obvious solution is? Would it surprise you to know that
the Internet IS DESIGNED to resolve this barrier to unstoppable
success?

By this time you may be asking what my qualifications are to write
this report. My name is Bob and my partner is Laura. I have been
involved in building several cutting-edge companies in the
publishing, telecommunications and high tech industries; and my
partner, Laura, has a finance background and was one of the
pioneers in the on-line music arena.

Within months of starting our new company, In Touch Media
Group (known then as Data Resource Consulting), we had one of
the largest permission-based, email databases in the world. We
have been featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal,
CNN Financial News, Tech TV, National Public Radio and many
other media outlets. We have been invited by the Federal Trade
Commission to attend the first email marketing conference that was
trying to establish guidelines for the email industry. With that said,
we have a good understanding about how to help companies of
EVERY POSSIBLE type because we HAVE ALREADY DONE
SO MANY TIMES.

Your first lesson is this:

OPEN YOUR MIND TO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS!

If you are ready to explore new ground, continue on.

WHO SHOULD BE TALKING?

One of the weaknesses of nearly every one I know is that they
would rather talk than listen. Have you ever been in a conversation
or sales pitch where the other person or persons were talking and
instead of HEARING what they were saying, you were
THINKING of what you were going to say? In sales, in marketing,
in developing an offer, nearly everyone does the same thing:

THEY PUSH THEIR IDEA OR CONCEPT
REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE CUSTOMER THINKS.

Now that is a pretty simple error, isn't it? Ultimately, the OTHER
PERSON has the LAST WORD on any commercial transaction.
Despite this very obvious fact, the emphasis in most sales pitches or
marketing offers is on the presentation, not on what the customer
thinks.

Would you like to understand the correct cycle of action? Customer
first - offer second. The more time you take learning about what
your customer thinks and feels, the more likely you are to know
what to say or what to offer.

WHY LEARN WHAT THEY THINK?

Have you ever listened to a great public speaker? Remember when
a sales person really caught your attention? How about a politician
who really hits the mark in a stump speech? These guys just get
you. The common thread that runs through all of these presentations
is this - they seemed to really understand what you are feeling and
thinking. Most public or motivational speakers appear dozens, if not
hundreds of times a year in front of crowds of people. Because of
experience alone, after giving the same talk many times, they
KNOW what turns the audience on.

Same goes with a great sales person. The really good ones ask their
customers questions and really listen to the answers, all the time.
They are constantly adjusting and improving their pitch.

Now you already know politicians run polls constantly about
virtually every position they take. Some people quarrel with this
point, but the fact is that by constantly asking their constituents what
they think, an effective politician can build a great stump speech.

Now let's learn more about how they apply what they learn from
customers.

THE ART OF LISTENING

People like to be listened to and respond to presentations, sales
pitches and product offers that speak to what their needs are. You
can't find out what someone needs unless you ask. People
inherently know when someone HAS LISTENED TO THEM
AND IS RESPONDING TO THEIR NEEDS. If you learn one
thing from this report, it is that fact.

Here is how you can listen in terms of a business environment:

Step One: Before you ask a question, clear your thoughts of any
preconceived notions you may have about the subject you are
addressing. Preconceived notions and prejudices are the blinders
that stop "real" hearing, learning and understanding.
Step Two: When the response to your question is coming back,
make sure you fully understand what is being said.

Step Three: Do not rationalize, bend or otherwise alter the answer
to your question. Take the answers at face value. This is where
preconceived notions can, once again, creep in and "corrupt" the
answer.

Step Four: Let the person know you understood what they said by
fully acknowledging them. In an advertising piece, you do this by
including the answer to your customer's question in the offer, the
copywriting and in the product or service pricing.

Do the above with enough customers and you will know what to
say to them. The question at this point is - how does one apply this
"listening technology" to many, many people.

INTERNET BASED MARKET RESEARCH

The art of listening, on a large scale, can be accomplished through
the use of internet based market research system. Some companies,
such as In Touch Media Group, have built large databases of
people who they can swiftly survey. This is somewhat similar to the
way Nielsen surveys television viewers. They get information from a
very large group of people. If a company owns a substantial ¡°survey
takers¡± database, one can quickly question a large portion of
people about what they want and expect from a service or offer. By
doing this you are in effect listening. When a company is truly
listening they can succeed.

Bruce Prokopets
Executive Editor
Press Direct International
www.pressdirectinternational.org

 
 
About the Author
http://www.drcinc.us

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