Callum Roche is the CEO & Founder of the OutsourcedCMO.com, a marketing consultancy in Offaly, Ireland.
Creating a marketing strategy is a creative and unique process by nature. Every business—whether B2B, B2C, service or product based—has their own unique offerings, value propositions and target markets.
From afar, the business landscape seems complex, and this premise that every business is unique has led many business owners to assume that navigating the marketing landscape is no easy task either. We have naievely accepted that unless you run a company on the Fortune list and have access to the best marketing minds, crafting an effective strategy seems almost like a guessing game for your typical SMB.
However, what if this old assumption has been leading business owners further astray?
Addressing this problem through a scientific lens, using principle-style thinking, allows us to break the scenario down to its roots and rebuild new, process-driven solutions from scratch.
If we look at marketing in its most basic form, it is simply the act of one party communicating a message to another with the aim of producing a specific behavioral response—that response typically being a purchasing decision.
If we then recognize that the act of buying is a universal process—that everyone follows the same predictable psychological pattern before making any purchasing decision, we could then analyze this process, compartmentalize and ultimately refine it so it becomes as predictable as science.
Having worked with over 200 companies, plus having a passion for physics, human psychology and business, has led me to pursue exactly that and conduct my own research on this thesis—to see if we could find predictability in how people buy.
The same way a scientist runs randomized controlled trials to find causation and truth, I’ve used my experience as a consultant in the same way to run my own “randomized controlled trials.”
I named this process the Core Four System, specifically including the word “system” as I believe this process functions in a systematic format and does not work effectively if one of the components is neglected. It is designed to take a person from a point of zero interest in a product or service, then lead them on a journey that creates such extreme internal desire for an offering that they inevitably buy from that company, all while checking the “know, like and trust” boxes along the way. Here is a brief overview:
1. Purpose
The first step of the process is for a company to establish a strong purpose. This is the company’s reason for existing in the first place. Purpose must never be overlooked as I’ve found it has the biggest impact on a consumer’s purchasing decision, long before they even see your offer. Why?
Having a purpose allows your business to tap in and fulfill one of the most basic human needs of all, one that is likely being neglected: the need to belong to something.
This is an essential factor for those looking to create preliminary buy-in and true commitment from customers, employees and investors. It is your answer when people ask, “Why should we go with you?” You state your purpose.
All great companies are built to serve a purpose.
2. Positioning
The mind of today’s consumer isn’t always as accepting to traditional marketing techniques, due to the constant bombardment of communication from thousands of angles every day.
The brain has limited storage capacity, and in order to prevent information overload, it has developed mechanisms that help it decide what information is worth giving space to and what information should be rejected.
Finding what gaps are available in the mind is no easy task, and investments into communication should be reconsidered until businesses are clear on how you can position your product or service to fill the available slot.
To find available gaps, look at the market through a jobs-to-be-done lens. People buy products and services for a reason—to solve a specific problem, to do a specific job. Your task is to define the job they’re trying to get done, identify the current problems they experience and then craft an offer that is tailored towards those unmet needs.
3. Promotion
Forget about the old “yell and sell” approach you think of when you hear the word “promotion.” That’s what many people think marketing is, and they couldn’t be further from the truth. This style of marketing relies on hope, and it typically results in low value, inconsistent sales.
In fact, most of the marketing work that actually moves the needle should already be done by this stage. A great company will have found the available gaps and crafted an offer to occupy such position.
So what is the new goal of promotion? The sole objective is to subliminally increase the markets’ level of trust, interest and desire in your offer before they enter your sales process. That’s it.
Your top-of-funnel messaging should be problem oriented, help address unmet needs and add value to create initial interest.
Mid-funnel content should focus on proving you have helped others get that same job done, which in turn builds more trust and desire.
By the time they get to the bottom of the funnel, prospects will be softened and more receptive to your offer, meaning your conversion process will be smoother—and you won’t break the psychological bond you’ve built.
4. Process
By this stage, the prospects should know, like, trust and want what you’re selling, eliminating any friction leading into the sale. Now, your last job is to ensure that you send that interest into a strong sales process.
The last thing you want to do is invest in taking the prospect on this beautiful journey, only to break down on the last mile. You see, a great offer—even if it is positioned perfectly in the mind—will never convert if there is a leaky sales process.
Don’t just focus on sending someone into a strong sales process either. You can use this opportunity to enhance how the prospect experiences their purchase. Aim to build more affinity toward your brand so they enjoy the process.
I believe this methodology, which has been battle-tested among my own clients as well as cross-referenced with successful companies, can be beneficial to those in business who are seeking to find a repeatable method of winning customers.
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