Author Archives: carolyn_knight

Success starts with knowing your competitors and their operating strategies. It’s time for taking action, if you are not actively pursuing this. At the very least you should be aware of their keywords and Adwords.

How long has it been since you found out what is being said about your company online? Your customers’ opinions matter. They are the source of your profits.

Using this information to your best advantage will ensure that you are able to make smarter business decisions. Being aware of your competition and the benefits they use to sell their similar products, reveal a multitude of indispensable information. Using benefits not being promoted by competitors gives you a USP. Monitoring on an ongoing basis and anticipating future behavior is a wise move. Google Alerts is one option but there are others too. Social media can fill in some data gaps. Go for a combination and cover off all angles.

Try tracking ‘mentions’ and find out who is talking about you. Increasing the conversations about your brand and understanding the positive vs negative comments will distinguish you from your competitors. This is a key way to measure brand awareness.

Start today and keep yourself up to date. Expand your knowledge about your industry sector and how you could influence it.

4 easy steps to improve your profitability and it’s FREE!

1. Undertake online searches to research your competitors. Google Alerts and social media sites are a must! Then stay one step ahead!
2. Sign up for competitors newsletters
3. Ask  your customers what they like about you
4. Ask your suppliers (but they may not tell you)!

And that is just part of the story. There’s more!  How would you like to improve your marketing impact? Discover the amazing potential of’ brand monitoring’. You can follow conversations about your brand, enabling you to respond when necessary. It can also help you generate leads and new customers. In turn, retaining them and keeping them loyal to you. Now reap the benefits!

Leverage these opportunities and your brand will positively speak for itself!

Being unique makes us who we are and we are all very different.  But we all have needs. These needs can determine the types of products we buy and our motivations behind them.

Written words convey messages to your target audiences, so that each reader feels that the words are unique to them. Demonstrate how good your product is and that you would buy it; and that they should need to buy it too!

Let’s look at what motivates people to buy. Creating attention of your product through ads, press releases, direct mail and other forms of media is a starting point. Well written copy generates interest in your product. Arouse their curiosity. Sharing feelings and drawing on emotional and personal experiences provide a clear testament of the worth of your product. This in turn will create a desire. A strong call to action, will lead to a sale.

Needs are slightly different from motivations. Firstly, your ‘physiological’ needs. These often encompass health and well-being. People are motivated by useful products promising to ‘improve their health’. Peoples’ self-interest in these benefits is strong.

‘Security’ is a need and also a powerful motivator – for example financial, personal, home and social. Knowing that your money, home and possessions are safe will mean that people will buy products, giving them security of mind.

People like to feel that they ‘belong’ and will often buy products to make them look and feel better. Incentives to join groups, clubs and social events will meet the needs of those wishing to belong.

Craving ‘recognition’ of others is a need! For many people, their primary interest is themselves. Products and services attuned to this can be a winner, sold in the right way.

When you are looking to sell your products, use these needs in your campaigns. See the world from the perspective of others. Promise benefits that will meet their needs. Expressing empathy in a way that reaches into their hearts can have even the most hesitant buyer trying out your product.  Use this information and let the dopamine flow. How have you addressed needs and motivations of your customers?