Create a Marketing Foundation that Wins Customers

The number one reason small businesses fail is that they don’t provide a product or service that is needed. What if you could learn how to connect your skill or service with a genuine need in the marketplace? If you can communicate this connection clearly, your business will grow without limit. Learn how Michael makes this connection by creating a solid marketing foundation and how you can do the same.

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After a tumultuous week, Michael was told that his position was no longer needed at the home builder he had worked at for almost ten years.

He knew the housing market would always have its ups and downs, but he never thought he’d be a casualty of one of the downs. He was wrong. After his long drive home, he shared the news with his wife. Michael’s wife, Pam, was consoling but noticeably shaken. After all, Michael was the primary breadwinner, and their savings were not exactly flush with cash.

Pam asked, “What do you plan to do?”

Michael responded, “I don’t know. I suppose I could look for work, but construction is my thing; and I just got laid off one of the best general contractors. I can’t imagine a lot of construction contractors hiring in this terrible economy.”

“You seem so talented, Honey. Why don’t you start your own business?”

Michael reacted, “If there are no homes being built, it’s probably a bad time to start my own general contracting business.”

“Well, we have to do something. Should I try to get a job to help out?”

Michael appreciated Pam’s offer, but he knew that it would be more difficult for Pam to earn a living wage as she had been out of the workforce for eight years. Let’s face it, she was focused full-time on raising their two boys. Michael knew it would be up to him to find work that could pay their bills.

In the following days, Michael gave a resume and cover letter to any builder he knew. The answer was the same everywhere. We’re not hiring! If he were going to make it, he’d have to do it alone. As an experienced construction manager, Michael was resourceful and knew how to build better than most.

He started a business called Builder Mike’s. He lived in a suburb and felt he could get work from some friends to get things going. He thought he could make enough income to keep the bill collectors at bay until the real construction economy returned.

He got odd jobs from friends who wanted to help him out. He did a few kitchen cabinet replacements and several other odd jobs, but they weren’t enough to pay the bills.

It had been three months since Michael was laid off.

As the family sat down for dinner, Pam asked, “How’s your odd-jobs business going?”

Michael smiled, “I know I’m doing odd jobs now, but I hope to get a few clients who want me to build something for them.”

Pam asked, “How many clients have you tried to sell your services to?”

“I’ve told all my friends about my new business. If someone wants something built, I suppose they’ll call me. Right?”

“I’m not a businessperson, but you must get out and sell your company.”

Michael shrugged, “I don’t want to be one of those pesky salespeople. If people need something built, they’ll ask.”

“My friend, Nancy, the chiropractor, hired a business coach. She said that he helped her double her customers.”

“I’m guessing there’s a higher demand for chiropractors right now than for builders.”

“Maybe. Nancy told me she hated to sell, just like you, and her coach helped her create a system where customers could find and hire her easily.”

“Hmm. If I can avoid being an annoying salesperson, maybe this business coach can help me, too. How much does he cost?”

“Nancy told me you can talk to him for free the first time.”

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt to call this business coach.”

Michael learned from Nancy that her business coach’s name was Coach Russ. After getting his contact information, he called him.

As promised, Russ spent an hour on the phone with Michael. Coach Russ informed him that he needed to do effective marketing. This marketing would attract people who needed construction projects and thus give Michael the higher-paying clients he needed. Russ also informed Michael that he needed to establish a Marketing Foundation before he could start marketing.

If Michael were to hire Russ, he’d charge $1,000 per month to work with him weekly to help him establish his Marketing Foundation and execute a viable marketing plan.

After this initial call, Michael was disappointed. All he wanted was customers. He didn’t want to pay some consultant a tone of money and still not have the clients he needed to pay his bills.

Once again, at the dinner table, Pam asked, “How did your call with Coach Russ go?”

Michael shrugged, “I don’t know. I suppose he knows what he’s doing, but I don’t think he can help me get the clients we need right now.”

“What do you want to do?”

There was a long pause, “I don’t know what we CAN do. I can’t find a decent job; and I’m not making much money with these odd jobs. I think you may have to find a job.”

“Okay. Will you be watching our boys while I work? Or should we hire a daycare service?”

The reality of the situation settled in for Michael. If Pam worked, she’d make enough to pay for the daycare service they’d hire to look after their boys. If he stopped working and looked after the boys, they couldn’t pay the bills with Pam’s income alone. If he paid Coach Russ $1,000 per month, at least he’d have a chance of creating a successful construction business.

“If I hire Coach Russ, it’ll cost us $1,000 monthly. Do we have this kind of money?”

Pam responded, “We have some savings. We can go at least 6 months, paying our bills and paying the $1,000 monthly. If you feel like this coach will help, I say ‘go for it’.”

“Okay. I hope this coach knows what he’s doing.”

The next day, Michael called Coach Russ back, and they started their coaching sessions. The first session was relatively intense.

Michael asked, “What can I do to get customers?”

Russ responded, “Hold on. I first want to know what problem you solve for your customers.”

“What? I build stuff. What do you mean by what problem I solve? If someone wants something built, I’m their guy.”

Russ smiled, “For people to buy something, they must have a want or a need. When people want you to build something, there’s some reason they want you to build it. What is it that drives their desire to seek out a builder?”

Michael thought about it and then responded, “I suppose they’re running out of room in their house, or they want a new kitchen or bathroom, or they just need more space. They may even need a new house.”

“Very good. Let’s dig a little deeper. Didn’t you tell me you were laid off because people are not buying new homes?”

Michael was incensed, “Rub it in, why don’t you!”

“I’m not trying to open old wounds. But I am trying to get a sense of your marketplace.”

“Right. People are not buying new homes.”

“So, what will people do who can’t buy a new house; but still need more space in their existing home?”

“I suppose they may try to make an addition, finish their basement, or make due until they can afford to buy a new house.”

“Very good. Which need do you want to speak to in your messaging?”

“I don’t know what you mean. What do you mean by messaging?”

“You just told me that homeowners will either renovate, add on to their existing home, or make do with what they have. Which needs do you want to address with your business?”

“I suppose I would be good at doing basement finish projects.”

“Great! I think we’ve started to build your Marketing Foundation.”

“I’m not sure what you mean. What’s a Marketing Foundation?”

“A Marketing Foundation is the ‘Why your company exists’ and how you will communicate your message to compel new customers to use your company. This foundation includes seven fundamental elements:

After Coach Russ explained all the elements of the Marketing Foundation, Michael was given homework to develop his own Marketing Foundation before their next coaching session.

Coach Russ was impressed with Michael’s resolve to do his homework. It appeared that Michael was invested in making his business work.

Michael changed the name of his small business to Michael’s Basement Finishers. He felt that this new name was more consistent with his newfound niche of finishing basements.

He created a clear elevator speech that went like this:

Why buy a new home when you can double your square footage by finishing your basement? Michael’s Basement Finishers has close relationships with local contractors to create an impressive addition to your home at less than half the price of buying a new home.

Michael stated that his Avatar was a married couple who owned a home ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 finished square feet, with two or more children and another child on the way. His logic was that such a family would want to buy a larger home but couldn’t afford it. This family would be willing to take out a home equity loan to pay for a basement finishing project.

Coach Russ and Michael polished his initial elevator speech and messaging to the point where they both agreed that Michael would gain a lot of traction through direct mail marketing and Facebook ads targeted directly to his niche Avatar.

By Michael’s third coaching session, he had a few interested homeowners.

At first, it was a challenge to convince his new prospects that he could successfully renovate their basements. Michael had never done this work outside of his former employer. However, when he talked about his long-time relationships with local subcontractors, his homeowner prospects were convinced that Michael’s Basement Finishers was the best choice for their basement remodeling project.

One of his new clients wanted a $50,000 renovation; the other was a $100,000 renovation. He acquired both clients through his direct-mail campaign.

It wasn’t long before Michael had lined up $500,000 in basement finishing projects. He now needed to hire help to do all the work, but it was clear that Michael would have no problem paying the bills.

Coach Russ and Michael no longer worked on marketing. Instead, they were developing business growth plans so that Michael’s Basement Finishers could handle $2,000,000 in basement finishing projects the following year.

When Michael lost his $ 85,000-a-year job with the home builder, they thought he’d be lucky to find such a high-paying job again. When Michael flopped at his odd-jobs business, it felt like they were headed for financial ruin.

It took a month of coaching from a professional like Coach Russ to turn their curse into a blessing. With the profits from Michael’s Basement Finishers, Michael and Pam wouldn’t be concerned about a poor economy again.

BUSINESS LESSONS LEARNED

Many small businesses are started from abrupt career events. These could be a move, the loss of a family member, or just being laid off, as with Michael.

Michael had to learn a lot about business in a few short months to keep bill collectors at bay. This is not an ideal situation. Getting new customers is the key ingredient to surviving in your first year of business. Without new customers, you will not generate revenue, and your business will quickly drain your savings.

Unfortunately, for many new business owners… desperation takes over, and their marketing messaging is “desperation.” In our story, this desperation approach worked for a few odd jobs with Michael’s friends and family. They felt sorry for him losing his job and wanted to help him out.

Michael eventually had to create a more hopeful message for his prospective customers to make a real business. This is called creating a Marketing Foundation. It is one of the most challenging yet critical aspects of starting a new business. It is also one of the most difficult tasks to do on your own. Why? Because we have difficulty seeing our business from our prospective customer’s viewpoint.

A Marketing Foundation answers three questions in its simplest form: 1) Who? 2) What? and 3) How?

Who?

In marketing, you pay to expose your advertisement or message to specific people. If you know WHO your message is meant for, you’ll ensure your marketing dollars are spent wisely. Not only that, but your target client will more likely respond to a message directed at them rather than a general message blasted to the universe.

In Michael’s case, he targeted young families with another child on the way. He believed that these families would need more space and would be interested in expanding their current space more affordably than purchasing a new home, especially if the family is budget-minded.

With our current ability to market directly to a niche market, you must narrow your focus and your message to reduce marketing costs and increase marketing effectiveness, especially if you’re just starting out.

What?

What is referring to “what you do.” A common question in any social setting or business networking event is, “What do you do?” The typical answer to such a question is a noun. You may say, “I’m a plumber” or “I’m a salesman” or “I’m a nurse”. If you own a business, this WHAT must be a little more robust.

In our story, Michael changed his “odd jobs” title to “basement refinishers.” The new title changed a prospective customer’s expectation of what Michael does. Michael would have had to sell several odd job projects to pay his bills. He only needed to sell a few basement finishes to launch his new business. Had someone asked Michael to complete a basement finishing project while he was still calling his business odd jobs, he would have been glad to do the project. However, without shifting his marketing foundation and defining what he was, it would be impossible for someone to consider Michael for a basement finishing project.

In Michael’s more robust definition of WHAT, he used language in his elevator pitch to highlight the benefit of adding square footage to your current home for much less than buying a new house. This tied his WHAT to a specific benefit that his prospective customer needed to hear.

How?

In our story, we didn’t cover the answer to this question. Honestly, the HOW is more or less important in different industries. In Michael’s Basement Finisher’s case, he would have shown his clients how he’d renovate their basement. He may have created a vision of how they could expand and improve their living space.

Most modern-day consumers don’t simply want to know that you can do something for them… they wish to understand how your process will get them from their current situation to a better place. With so many competing products, the HOW is often the point of differentiation that will convert your prospect into a customer.

Building a Marketing Foundation

I use tools to help my clients define their marketing foundation’s Who, What, and How: 1) elevator speech, 2) unique selling proposition or USP, and 3) branding.

I won’t spend this entire blog post teaching you marketing. However, the marketing foundation is not the end of your marketing journey. After you have established a sound marketing foundation, you need to create marketing strategies and tactics and execute an affordable marketing plan to attract the customers you need for your business.

This post is part of a Coach Russ story series by Jeff Schuster, a business coach with Mechanics & Mindset Business Coaching. Jeff has published several more blog posts, podcasts, and videos on business mechanics, mindset, and coaching.  Please set up a complimentary coaching session with Jeff if you’d like to share your business situation and gain insight into what may help you grow your business to the next level.