Every exchange in the marketplace involves at least one promise. “In exchange for the price of this product or service I shall do this …” The promise is the product or service shall deliver the stated benefits. The potential customer needs to know not only what the promise is but also that the vendor can meet the promise.
This second is a significant challenge. How do you prove you capacity to meet your promise?
As usual, I shall use my business to show how to answer the questions in the circuit questionnaire.
How does my promise uniquely solve the customer’s problem?
Organisations with marketing problems are all different. The organisation may not be aware of their problem and so choose the wrong solution. They need to know what the problem is and so it is worth spending time identifying and clarifying it. I take a systemic view of website design because online problems are often a symptom of deeper organisational problems.
People aware their website is a liability can find their problem is one or more of their capacity, vision, management structures or who-knows-what. They need to address these problems and not prematurely opt for the first solution that comes along. There’s no point in approaching a website designer if the problem is in your organisation. Website developers often find their clients difficult because the client does not understand the problems their organisation faces.
It’s better to think strategically from the beginning but wherever you’ve got to, it’s never too late to start over and get the website working for your organisation.
Some people may say, isn’t this an example of the tail wagging the dog? Do we really have to change so much because we have a website? This is the wrong question. You need to look at why you need a website and make the organisational changes you need to meet that benefit. Get that right and the website will slot into its rightful place.
The Promised Outcome
I take a systemic approach, working with clients to look at their organisation’s objectives and what it needs to change to meet them. The website is one tool among many that can support overall objectives.
Nobody wants a website. They are a lot of work. Many organisations need a website because it is an essential part of their marketing strategy. So it is important to understand their marketing strategy and where their website fits in.
For local markets, a website can be immensely helpful in support of in-person marketing. This is what makes local marketing so exciting, it is essentially getting out there and meeting people. So, your website needs to be fully integrated into your real life marketing strategy. If your website is a liability either you don’t need one or its role has not been thought through.
So, my promised outcome is to help an organisation understand their marketing strategy and then plan an integrated online and in-person approach. This includes strategy implementation, including building online presence if required.
Why the Customer will get the Promised Outcome
Whilst the Internet opens up new opportunities for organisations with something to promote, its power often uncovers their underlying weaknesses. Holistic web design helps you design your organisation so that it takes advantage of marketing opportunities on and offline.
Your Internet presence can increase your organisation’s capacity. This means with a similar but better targeted contribution of time and resources, your organisation will do more. I use a non-directive consultancy approach, which means
- Clients know their organisation better than I do and so with support can make it work
- I help them think clearly about their work and to make decisions about the steps they need to take.
- I suggest online and in-person possibilities they may not have considered.
The right solutions can take time to emerge. Part of my role is to support the client during the usual period of being stuck (and help them get stuck in the first place – organisations are brilliant at finding reasons not to stare into the abyss!)
The goal is to help the client understand their organisation and what might work. I challenge the hidden assumptions people make that limit their capacity to respond to their market.
Automate, Simplify and Scale
With an online presence, organisations can find support for their marketing strategy in three ways:
- Automate – their website is a machine and you must tell machines what to do. Organisations need help to pick the right machine and instruct it. This implies clarity about purpose.
- Simplify – fear of complexity can lead to unnecessarily complicated systems. An early simplification, found to be a liability, results in complicated workarounds.
- Scale – simple routines that save time and scale the work are essential. Many organisations do not work to their full potential because they are unable to find customers. An online presence might increase customers to meet the organisation’s capacity.
The Name of the Offer
It helps if names associated with the offer state its promise. I find naming things difficult. Community Web Consultant implies local reach and online work and so goes part-way to expressing what I do. Someone suggested it would be better as Community Reach Consultant. Whilst formally this may be more accurate I’m not sure “Reach” would be understood as readily as “Web”.
Each of my packages has a title:
- Path to Attract Your Audience is my three-month strategy, designed to help someone who is either able to build their strategy themselves or is going to bring in expert consultancy support. It sets their feet on the right path and for many organisations, this is what they need.
- Build Your Complete Marketing Strategy includes support whilst implementing their strategy. In this package I accompany the client as they set out. This might mean building a website together, testing ideas as we go.
I’m not sure either title fully conveys the promise but perhaps this shows how difficult it is to express complex ideas. The pages on my website aim to support my in-person marketing approach. They help me explain the difference between the two approaches and show how they might benefit the client’s organisation or business.
Maybe I will come up with better titles as my work progresses. However, this is not essential because I have other opportunities to promote my offers before a potential client sees the title.
Do you know of other ways to prove capacity to fulfil your promise through online and in-person marketing?