How to find your true believers

Confused by the glut of shiny new marketing tactics for connecting you with potential customers?

I hear you.

There’s an entire cottage industry built around each of them: eBooks, articles, videos and courses about Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Content, Marketing Automation, Data Analytics, mobile apps, and so on.

But don’t let them become false idols. Remember, as ingenious as each one is, they’re only tactics. And their sheen can blind us to the real mission: finding high-value customers and earning their loyalty.

Do you have customers? Then you already know how to get more customers.

You just need to deconstruct how you got them in the first place, and create a method to repeat the process.

Here’s a strategy: Figure out who your ideal customers are, and why they chose you. Then create a system to keep them happy, and attract more of them.

I like to call these high-value customers your true believers. Start by defining who your true believers are.

Here are some possible criteria:

•  Have a big need for what you do
•  Easy to work with
•  Appreciative of what you do for them
•  Most profitable
•  Give you their repeat business
•  Tell their friends about you
•  Are loyal to you

This obviously doesn’t describe your average customer. It describes the small cadre who create most of your profits, satifaction and referrals. They make getting up in the morning worthwhile, and inspire you to sweat the details on their behalf.

Can you imagine what your life would be like if all your customers made you feel this way?

The key to getting more customers is to attract more true believers

In an article titled Three Poisonous Metaphors in B2B Content Marketing, Doug Kessler of Velocity Partners writes that the metaphor of the sales funnel is a broken idea.

I agree with him—the sales process is more akin to an upside-down funnel. Rather than being drawn downward, customers need to be enticed upward in an act that defies the gravitational forces pulling them away from you. At the top of the inverted funnel are your true believers.

They’re magnets who attract like-minded customers

Make your brand a haven for your true believers. Because when you attract more of them, your business grows faster with less effort. They're your most loyal repeat customers who refer you to their friends and colleagues.

What’s interesting is, you can have your cake and eat it too. Your ideal customers not only hold the key to your growth, they make your work more enjoyable and meaningful. 

How does this work?

When you grasp what makes your customers true believers, you have the key to attracting more of them. And you have a well-defined mission to direct you and your employees every day.

How would you define that?

Here’s an example from a client, Perry & Young Dental Lab: Every service we perform, and every product we make is designed create a business advantage for you. Our job is not just to make higher quality dental implants, it’s to help you run a successful dental practice.

See the difference between that statement and one that says ‘We manufacture high-quality dental implants’?

I have a unique process to help your company get to that level of clarity, and I’m happy to explain it to you in detail. Use it to attract valued customers and grow your company.

I can also offer you help building a marketing system that makes it operational—providing guidance on developing products and services that support your true believers.

The hidden, but significant benefit

We all need a sense of purpose to keep ourselves and our businesses going. Otherwise, how can we give our best to the people we serve? Your true believers are a mirror that reflects the value of your best work back to you, and makes it satisfying.

When you create true believers, it begets a winning feeling, which begets more profits and growth.

Do you need to inject some inspiration into your team? Let’s talk.