Your Customer's Perception Isn't the Same as Reality - Adult B2B Marketing Tip

Your Customer's Perception Isn't Necessarily The Same As Reality

There are really two different sides to your business: There's the "Inside Reality" and then there's the "Outside Perception." The Inside Reality has to do with all the things your business does that makes it valuable to your customers - from a product, operations, and management standpoint. It's what gives you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It's the instantly recognizable things that makes your business great. It's your "Something Good To Say." The reason it's called the Inside Reality is because there's a good chance the reality of what you do, the value you offer, isn't necessarily the same as your customers' perceptions of what you do. You'll find that these two words - Reality and Perception - are very important to the process of winning in marketing and advertising.

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's a reality of how valuable you are to the marketplace based on those things.

If you asked your customers why they buy from you, they could probably 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, and that's why I keep coming back." This is what business trainers like Ken Blanchard, Tom Peters, and Michael Gerber are all about...innovating your company. Tom Peters calls it the "Pursuit of Wow!", and Ken Blanchard calls it creating "Raving Fans."

But here's the problem: Just because you've achieved "WOW!" or can create "Raving Fans" - i.e. you Have Something Good To Say - doesn't mean customers are going to flock to your business. Achieving "WOW" is extremely important, but there's still a job of marketing that has to be done. And that's where Outside Perception comes into play.

More tomorrow.

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