Too many marketers are telling the customers what they want. By developing marketing campaigns that speak to the customer in terms that the marketer speaks. Not all customers understand what “more horsepower” or “better frequency response speakers” means.

To overcome these marketing mishaps, here are two things you should do before reaching out to your customer.

Develop a customer persona
This is straight from Adele Revella, the expert of Buyer Personas. You should understand who you’re speaking to and what they want. Developing a customer (buyer) persona is key in this respect.

Show benefits, not features
See my example above. A car has more horsepower, that sounds nice but what does it really mean? You should be selling to the customer how it relates to them. The car has faster pick up for those situations where you need to pass the slow moving tractor. Sounds better right? The customer can relate to or visualize it.

Understanding who they are, what their problems are and what their wants are will help you better market your offering to them.