| |
Internet Market Research -- What is Your Customer Saying!
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.intouchmediagroup.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/14280.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/14280.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| Some other articles by Bruce Prokopets | Great Sales Leads: Are They An Endangered Species?
Whenever the subject of leads is brought up these days most lead
buyers will talk about how bad the leads are getting, how hard they are
to find, and ...
Media Relations
Everyone knows that good publicity is the best advertising. A well
placed article, a positive radio show, the right interview on TV, these
are all what good publicists dream about. A public ...
High Tech Public Relations
With the rise of Blogs across the U.S., a new type of information
dissemination has grown to mammoth proportions-consumer
generated media produced by blogs. Pew Internet & American
Life study reports ...
|
|
| |
|
