A coating only achieves its true potential, whether this is to enhance a product’s appearance, protect it from environmental influences or provide a functional advantage, if the coating adheres strongly to the substrate.
Likewise, a company will only achieve its full potential if it is attached to the right customer base. You will only attract and retain clients if you prepare your marketing strategy carefully. After all, a coating’s performance is only as good as the surface preparation… it’s the same with your marketing.
Before you start writing your company literature or any kind of marketing campaign you should consider your audience. Your audience is like your substrate.
Ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. Who are they?
Depending on the product they need to coat, their culture and native language, you need to address them and their needs differently. Make sure your marketing material speaks directly to who they are, their business requirements, and their cultural perspective. You do this by researching and understanding your market.
2. What do they want to achieve?
Customers want to know you’ve got them covered – they have a unique problem and you have the perfect solution. Offering them a great product without telling them how it will help them in their specific situation is a bit like applying paint to a dusty surface – an unsatisfactory finish equals no sale. You need to know what drives them and speak to that directly.
3. Are you presenting your product in the best light?
First impressions count. Preparing high-quality written material is essential to build confidence in your products. If you are exporting and you’re not a native speaker of your destination country, hire a professional translator or, at the very least, get a native speaker to proofread your work.
The biggest mistake I see companies make when going after the English-speaking market is assuming that because their staff are fluent in English, that is good enough. You don’t want to risk putting off your potential client with cultural insensitivity or a mistake that makes you look like you don’t pay attention to details.
Proper preparation of your substrate is crucial. Speak directly to your prospective customers in their language, clearly explain how you can solve their problem, and let the quality of your writing reflect the high quality of your products. Doing this will increase sales and attract a loyal customer base.
