If late night infomercials are any indication, there are more than a handful of marketers who think people are all really lazy.
Call it the 10-second solution or the one-week transformation, but it seems that marketing messages these days concentrate on quick results with minimal effort.
So, do you have a lazy market?
In case you have no clue what a lazy market is, (and it’s understandable if you’re confused), here is an all-too-familiar scenario:
In the television’s blue light, you see an Adonis. Someone had to sculpt this person out of marble. You’re looking at the perfect body, and you want to look like that. But guess what? It takes months of gym time to become a Greek statue.
The marketer presents you with the lazy solution: take this magic pill, drink $800 worth of protein shakes, and you’ll burn fat faster than an eye’s rapid blink.
Can you believe how easy it is?
The lazy marketplace isn’t only for weight loss. Heck, you might even offer quick-fixes in your own business.
The bottom line: many customers want instant gratification.
If you’re not sure if you have “lazy” customers, it’s important to know that our culture of consumption isn’t helping things.
Just look at any number of instant-streaming platforms that provide binge entertainment with a few mouse clicks. Waiting periods have become null and void (except for the line at the DMV).
It’s all about fast now. But as an entrepreneur, how do you balance fast and easy with thorough and efficient?
To do that, you’ve got to whittle down your target market into a customer avatar. Know her likes and dislikes. Know her hopes and dreams. Understand where she’s coming from at all times.
Know your customer base as well as you do your best friend.
In this way, you bypass the lazy marketplace trouble.
Yes, imagine that you can avoid common entrepreneurial troubles…it’s really possible! You have to get proactive and understand the personality traits of your customers.
- Do you know where they shop? Find out.
- Do you know their hobbies? Get on that.
- Do you understand their day-to-day life? You’d better.
- Do you offer real solutions to their pain? Damn straight.
- Do you know their favorite color? OK, that one’s a bit of a stretch.
When you can answer these kinds of questions in rapid-fire succession, then you’ll have yourself a nice little customer avatar.
And guess what? When you reach that level of engagement, you won’t even need lazy marketing practices at all. You’re above the fray.
Come out to play at our next Chicago event…