I Am Not My Target Market

How Well Do You Understand Your B2B Buyers?

Are Your Messages Aimed at You or your Target Market?

When my clients and I discuss ideas for marketing programs, campaigns and messaging, they often say “I don’t think I would go for that”, or “that doesn’t sound appealing to me”, or “if I were the buyer, this is what I’d want”.

Do you see a problem here?  Is it possible that buyers might want what doesn’t appeal to you or that they don’t love what you love?  Are your decisions based on your personal perceptions rather than the reality of your target audience?  If so, you won’t achieve your goals relative to the product/service that you've designed, the campaign you've launched, the channels you’ve selected, or the price points you've set.

Read The Entire Post

By John Bernardi

Why Companies Buy Products and Services from a Value Brand

Many Who Claim to be Value Buyers Don’t Pass the Test

Not all buyers are value buyers even though they claim to be.  Some buyers acquire prestige and others procure performance while price shoppers are always negotiating.

Value buyers fear losing what they've worked so hard to create but also want to continuously improve image, productivity and financial results while confidently managing the associated business and personal risks.  They make price/performance decisions based on the perceived or measurable worth of the product or service.

Value Buyers associate your higher than median price with the measurable value you offer.

Read the Entire Post

Please stay safe and protect others.

John Bernardi

Unique Value Proposition Converts a Sales Proposal to a Business Proposal

A Profitable Sales Proposal Has an Excellent Executive Summary

After a lead has been nurtured to sales-ready status, the right steps are taken by the sales team to move it through the funnel.  They begin proposal discussions early, but only present their proposal when they are positioned to win politically, technically and financially.  Otherwise, they’ll join a pool of sameness and compete on price instead of leveraging the business advantages to be gained from their solution.

Read The Entire Post

By John Bernardi

Apprentice Level Marketing Competency

Has Your Company Reached the Marketing Apprentice Level?

If you subscribe to the basic keys to success that apply to any marketing competency level and your company has achieved marketing novice competency, you are ready to design a marketing strategy that will support your long-term goals through tactics and objectives that evolve during the next 3 to 5 year time horizon.

Read The Entire Post

By John Bernardi

One Brand UVP for Each Persona

If your goal is to earn a price above your category's median price, you will need a Unique Value Proposition for each of your targeted personas. If you try to get by with one UVP, it will be average at best because you will be trying to shoehorn each persona into the same UVP that's convenient for you. Persona based Brand UVPs will create buyer interest in speaking with you. Each proposal's executive summary will require its own Proposal UVP in order to win profitable sales opportunities.