If You're So Good, Then Why Don't Your Prospects Know It?

By Rich Harshaw

Ever felt frustrated because your business is so good at doing what you do... but you still seem to be getting beat up on price all the time? Ever felt like "the best kept secret?" Do you notice that you don't have much trouble closing the deal once you meet with the prospect, but fall short when trying to find those prospects to sell to? If so, don't feel alone! This is a common situation in business--and I can explain to you exactly why it happens.

See, there are really two different sides to your business... First, there's what I simply call the "inside reality" and second, there's the "outside perception." The inside reality has to do with all the things your business does that makes you valuable to your customers.... From a product, operations, and management standpoint. It's what gives you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. The reason we call it the inside reality is because there's a good chance that the reality of what you do, and the customers' perceptions of what you do, aren't necessarily the same. You'll find that these two words--reality and perception--are very important to this process of winning in business.

The inside reality encompasses everything you do and everything you are that makes you good. It's all your skills, your people, your expertise, your service to the customer--before, during, and after the sale--your systems, your operational procedures, your commitment to excellence, your passion, and the way you conduct your business. Now you might think you're actually better than you are, or you might not be giving yourself enough credit for the things you do well. But regardless, there is a reality of how valuable you are to the marketplace based on those things I just listed. That's what we call the inside reality.

Think about your business... How's your inside reality? You probably already know. If you asked your customers why they bought from you, they could tell you something quantifiable, specific, and instantly obvious. They could point to specific advantages of doing business with you and say  "That's why I do business here, that's why I refer my friends to come here, that's why I'm a loyal customer of this place, that's why I don't mind paying more here, that's why I keep coming back." That's your inside reality.

This is what trainers like Stephen Covey, Tom Peters, and Michael Gerber are all about--innovating your business so it's valuable to the marketplace. Tom Peters calls it the "Pursuit of Wow!" -Making your business good enough that your customers say "WOW!" Ken Blanchard in his book called it developing "Raving Fans." And it's imperative that you begin to innovate your company so that there's a reason for people to buy from you. These guys do a great job of teaching you how to do those things... how to build the "better mouse trap," so to speak, but here's the problem: Just because you've achieved "WOW!" as Peters says, or Raving Fans for that matter, that doesn't mean that customers are going to flock to your business. There's still a job of marketing that has to be done. And that's where the "outside perception" comes into play.

If the "inside reality" is about what you do and what you are that allows your business perform better, then the outside perception has to do with how customers and prospects PERCEIVE your company. The outside perception is developed by any and all interaction somebody has with your company. For your customers, they will draw on their past buying experiences to form their outside perception of your company. But here's the problem. If your customer service is great and your customers love you, none of that means squat to a prospective customer if 1) they don't know you even exist as an option, 2) they see your marketing and advertising and because of your lack of ability to market properly they perceive that your no different or no better or no worse than anybody else. Because of the marketing ineptitude of just about every company, the result is that almost invariably, your inside reality and your outside perception are different.

Look at the two ads here from the yellow pages for fencing contractors. I think you'd agree these look like fairly typical ads for fencing contractors. Let me ask you this--can you tell which of the companies listed in these two pages actually does the best job of building fences? Can you tell which one offers the best fence for the money? Can you figure out which one is most likely to do a good job for you, and which ones are potentially going to rip you off?

See, you can't. It would be convenient if every business had complete honesty in their advertising. Wouldn't it be great if there were headlines like, "We'll be out of business by this time next year." Or "Give us a check and you'll never see us again!" or "Our fences were voted most likely to fall over and crush your children!" Unfortunately that's not the way it works. We have literally NO IDEA what the inside reality of any of these companies is. We can only guess based on how we "feel" about their ads. Folks, you can do better than this. See, regardless of how good you are, or how good your "inside reality" is, your prospect isn't going to be able to figure it out based on your marketing. You're going to appear, on the surface level--which by the way is the level the prospect is looking at, you're going to appear to be just another company that sells whatever it is you sell. The prospect will more than likely be apathetic at best. Ask yourself this question--How many competitors, either direct or indirect, do you have in your business? Whatever that number is, that's how many choices your prospects have, and how many businesses they have to sift through to try to make a buying decision. And that's assuming they want to buy what you're selling! Because of the large number of competitors, marketing has to 1) interrupt the prospect, 2) facilitate the decision making process, and 3) lower the risk of taking the next step in the buying process. Remember this definition! (Next Issue: You've Got To Make The Product Interesting, Not Just Make The Ad Different) © 2005 Rich Harshaw ∙ May Not Be Used Without Permission