Targeted marketing – truly targeted marketing – is about people: the buyer, the customer, the end user. Profits come second — not because we’re looking to go bankrupt, but because the best marketers, like the best dart players, know that the bull’s eye is all that matters and that everything else on the board is just a distraction.
People are the profits. The reward of a happy customer converts to currency in repeat sales and positive word-of-mouth advertising. To communicate effectively we must listen first and talk second. We often feel we know better because we know more, but the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
You may be a church member. You may be a parent, a loyal spouse, a great friend, a super boss, a nurturing volunteer, and a respectful neighbor, but at the end of the day – if you’re in marketing – you’re here to turn a profit. That is the nature of business and there’s nothing wrong with it. In fact, if you’re any of the above things, let alone all of them, a profit in your hands will soon find its way into your family, your home, your community, your government, your neighborhood, and your church.
But no matter where it ends up, if you’re in the game for profit, then be in it to win. And you win by targeting the people first, the profit second. Consumers are more likely to spend money with companies, products, and brands they know better than the competition. Ray Kroc, he of McDonald’s fame, said it best when he explained, “If you work just for money, you’ll never make it. But if you love what you are doing, and always put the customer first, success will be yours.”