Part-1-Most don’t know the 5 Types of Customers and How to Sell to Each of Them?

Most don’t know the 5 Types of Customers and How to Sell to Each of Them??

Author: Mayur Bardolia

---

 

Why you can not sell to everyone in the same way?
Your product will fail miserably if you market your product without finding out how much your customers know.

By the end of this podcast, you will find out your customer’s level of AWARENESS or understanding around the product you’re selling…. And you will effectively speak to your target audience. This will help you to increase your sales without wasting money. Find out how.

Right click here to save this episode

If I ask “What is Astrology”, you and many people will understand what I am talking about.
But if I ask you “what is Numerology?”, most people and probably you too don’t know much about Numerology. Hundreds of millions of people around the world are familiar with what Astrology is. Do a quick keyword search on the term “Astrology” and you’ll get results that shoot through the roof – I mean everyone knows their Zodiac Sign, right?!

But what I’m getting at here is that Astrology has a very high level of market awareness.
So, marketing for an Astrology offer doesn’t require a lot of education to explain to the audience what it is and how it will benefit them. It does, on the other hand, require a more innovative and distinct Unique Selling Proposition.

Now let’s look at Numerology.
Many may have heard of the term but do they really know what it is? Do you know your Life Path Number? Despite having been around almost as long as Astrology, it is nowhere near as popular. It gets one-quarter of the searches that astrology gets every single month. So, because Numerology has a lower market awareness when speaking to the target audience, there needs to be a greater level of education around the concept, features and benefits of the offer. 

Two similar topics, with two very different levels of market awareness.
Knowing your level of market awareness also helps you gauge the market size, market share and precise market needs! By that, I mean how many people currently purchase related products, how many competitors you have, and what opportunities are available for you to stand out! You need to ask yourself “How much does our target know?”

Why is this question important to ask?
A few reasons. People respond to different marketing messages depending on how much they know. The answer to this question “How much does our target know?” is also very easy to find. Because just like the stages of market sophistication, there are only five levels where your target’s awareness level can reside. These are called the Five Levels of Target Awareness. 

What are the levels of awareness?
A rough idea of how much your target knows about his or her problem and the solutions available in the marketplace. Once you figure this out, you’ll be able to craft the right offer and the right marketing to spark the interest of your target which you can find in the book Offer Craft. To effectively speak to your target audience you need to know their level of AWARENESS or understanding around the subject or product you’re selling….

The 5 levels of awareness popularized by Eugene Schwartz that every *SMART* marketer rips off.
When reading through these stages all you have to do is *THINK* about where your target’s level of awareness is at): (Note: I’ve included Eugene Schwartz’ comments alongside my own.) There are 5 levels of market sophistication but in this first part of the series, we are going to talk about 3 levels of market sophistication. We will talk the rest two levels of market sophistication or levels of awareness in the second part of this two-part series.

Level 1 – Clueless Target
Level 2 – Problem-Aware
Level 3: Solution Aware

 

If you think of electric cars, most probably Tesla cars come in your mind.
The tesla company is the pioneer of electric cars but there was a company who introduced electric cars to the world. Yes, it was General motors. General Motors created the first mass-produced electric car from a major global automaker back in 1996. Now in 1996, the concept of an electric car was out of imagination.

Yet, they built and sold electric cars.
The problem that nobody knew about the existence of such cars. People didn’t know about it so they didn’t try it. and it never got sold. Another problem was that that car was available in California and Arizona only because cold climates were harmful to battery life and performance. Even if the customers wanted to buy but they couldn’t buy and instead they had to lease it for $500 a month. The General motors company could sell only 1,117 over the course of 4 years before completely scrapping the model.

That was a sad ending of a revolutionary product.
When you introduce something totally unknown product to the world, it’s too hard to sell. If you are selling what people are completely unaware of, you are among the first to bring a product or service like yours to the market. There is nothing but a blue ocean in front of you. You are a trail-blazer. That means your audience doesn’t have many opportunities to compare your offer to others.

These targets don’t know they have a problem.
They don’t know a solution exists. And they most definitely don’t know about you and what you have to offer. People may take a look from your shop, website, referral or perhaps they accidentally looked at your product. In a retail shop, this is the equivalent to someone strolling along the street and sliding into your shop based on something that sparked their attention from the window.

 Someone in the completely unaware phase has not yet identified their pain.
There is a specific group of buyers who may potentially be a great fit for your product eventually. But they are currently not in the ready-to-buy phase. These are among the coldest of prospects. They don’t know who you are, what you sell or even that they have a problem that needs solving. 

So, what can you do about it?
Here’s the structure the marketing and selling would take: You should come up with the Big Idea that not only brings their attention but also get them interested. You should read the book ‘Offer Craft’ to know how to come up with Big Idea.

You need to know why it’s a problem and what this problem is costing them. Then introduce the solution.
If you have a unique selling point, then present it. This is the time and place to talk about your customer, to your customer.  In other words, you need to educate them. Now let’s move onto the next awareness level 

When I create articles, podcast or any kind of content, I used to type and create.
It’s good but I was struggling to create the chain of thoughts. Even after creating a chain of thoughts, I was struggling to arrange my ideas. I had someone I would talk to and she used to type as I said. However, it wasn’t always practical. The ideas were coming up when I was doing something other than work at any time and any place.

I wish I could transcribe my speech.
I also hired a few people to type my speech but it was very costly.But in the year 2018, I came across a service called otter.ai. It’s a magical tool where you speak or upload any audio file, and Artificial intelligence would just type almost instantly. I have this application otter.ai installed in my phone and whenever any idea comes up, I just speak and it’s stored as text. Later, I can recollect and create such articles. 

I tried different tools but otter.ai is a clear winner.
I wasn’t convinced first but after using for free one month trial, I could not stop subscribing to the service from otter.ai. Eugene Schwartz says: “The prospect has not a desire, but a need. He recognizes the need immediately. But he doesn’t yet realize the connection between the fulfilment of that need and your product.”

These targets are aware of their problem.
It’s there. They can feel it. They can even start to understand it. But they don’t yet see the connection between their *problem* and the *solutions* available on the marketplace. They haven’t yet been convinced to buy from you and to begin a relationship with you. They might have arrived via a search engine or through a social media channel.

The key point is they don’t yet know or trust you.
But they are looking for something that will help them solve their problem or at least educate them about a potential solution. So, find out if your target customer is in this category of ‘Problem Awareness’. It means, are they having a problem that your product can solve but don’t know that your product is the right solution. If yes, then educate them. That takes us to the third level of awareness. Level 3 – Solution Aware Target.

‘Kayo’ is a boutique body care brand.
They sell luxurious skincare and cosmetic products. There are hundreds of other brands who are selling similar beauty and care products. How are they going to beat their competitors? They have to position themselves differently. They can promote themselves as just another brands. Their price point is higher than the other average brands.

But they did something different.
Their customers know their problem and they know the solution to their problems too. How did they do it? The Kayo took a different way to promote their body oils and lotions by positioning their products as anti-ageing skincare. Their USP is “face grade skincare for your body,” because why should you let the skin on your body age faster than your face? Brilliant.

In level 3 of the awareness, Your prospect knows the result he wants, but not that your product provides it.
As Eugene Schwartz says “The prospect either knows or recognizes immediately, that he wants what the product does; but he doesn’t yet know that there is a product—your product—that will do it for him.” These targets know they have a problem. And a solution exists. But they haven’t yet found it.

By this point, your market has gotten a bit jaded by all the competition and saturated messaging in your niche.
They know you’re all offering the same promise and tackling the same old problems. At this point, they need to be persuaded more on your methods and shown proven results. This is the stage where most products that need to be restored, repeated or replenished live – such as weight loss foods, skincare, toiletries, and household products. 

At this stage, you need to innovate hard.
You’ll need to show your audience how you do things differently by providing a unique mechanism or approach that makes you the unicorn of the market. You need to build empathy and make the prospect feel understood by saying things like “You’ve probably already tried xyz product to do xyz but nothing worked, right”.

Then discuss the limitations of solutions on the market.
Explain how the reason these solutions don’t work is that they all are missing x USP (this is the same USP your product has). Explain the significance of this USP & how it’s the missing ingredient they need as a solution they are looking for.

You need to showcase the proof that your product works and highlight success stories.
Explain what it is/how it works. You also need to handle their objections in advance via answering their frequently asked questions. That’s the end of the third level of awareness.

That takes us to the end of part 1 of the two-part series of this topic podcast. In the second part, we will talk about the other two levels of awareness. So, stay tuned for the second part of this series.

 

Next: Crafting a good sales pitch is not easy, but it’s one of the most important parts of the business. What if you have to give a sales pitch in the shortest notice even if you don’t know how to create a sales pitch?

Find out, How can you create a good pitch in just 3 steps and in the shortest amount of time?