The statement, “For all your [insert term here] needs” is overused, ignored, and irrelevant yet multitudes of businesses continue to use it. To prove a point, out of curiosity I ran a Google search for the term, “For all your needs.” 1.15 BILLION results! So by using the term, you essentially are saying you are just like 1.15 BILLION other businesses out there… no big deal.

Think your business is unique enough to get away with it? Think again. You can search for pretty much ANYTHING with the, “For all your needs” statement and find millions of results and other businesses just like yours using it to generalize their services… and scoring no points with customers along the way.

How about, For all your fertilizer needs (10.4 million results). Or, For all your filtration needs (7.8 million). Or Logistics (19.8 million), or Catering (10.5 million), or Zoology (7.5 million), or Votive candles (What are votive candles anyway? Seriously, 1.3 million results for all your votive candle needs!).

I once worked with an esteemed copywriter who would bristle whenever he saw or heard the term, “For all your needs.” He would flat out refuse to include it in anything he wrote. He would say, “How do they know what I need? It’s impossible for them to have everything I need!” He had a book where he kept examples of ads that used the term and as you would turn page-after-page the statement would become more and more irrelevant. A wasted opportunity to share a meaningful message with a customer.

Every business is built on some point of differentiation, be it price or quality, service or product line, convenience or style. Every brand stands for something, so let your communications be about your differentiation. In most cases you have likely invested significant time and money to cultivate a point of differentiation for your business, so let it show. Communicate it clearly in everything you do. In your service, your marketing, your direct communications and your advertising.

Make your message meaningful and memorable. Your customers will appreciate knowing what makes you unique.

Colin is a senior strategist for The Flint Group. Follow him on Twitter @colinnclarke or on Facebook at Facebook.com/cnclarke.

The prediction is that healthcare will become more consumer-driven over the next several years. As with many industries in today’s age, the key to brand loyalty is developing a customer-centric organization that is relationship-based. When communicating with healthcare consumers you need to keep in mind the “what’s in it for me” mantra. Communication is more effective when it is patient-centered — responsive to their needs, values and preferences.

One-to-one conversation

Today’s consumers can see through slick marketing campaigns; they reward brands that fit into their lives and are authentic and helpful. As a healthcare marketer you need to constantly be asking “what is your need” so you can get to the one-to-one conversation with a patient and prospective patient and explain to them “we can meet your need and help you.”

To successfully engage your consumers, your communications should be:

• Personalized – tailoring leads to better engagement and increases the likelihood for behavior change while generic communications are impersonal and sometimes perceived as irrelevant.
• Proactive – anticipate your consumer’s questions and provide context, direction and relevant messaging proactively rather than wait for the consumer to seek out information. Multi-channel delivery ensures better response; delivering the right message at the right time in the right manner.
• Clear and Useful – use clear language (think seventh grade literacy level); clarify the purpose of your communications and explain complex concepts; use purposeful graphics to reinforce understanding; include summaries to provide quick and easy access to the most important information; provide resources and tools that help consumers better manage their own health and make informed decisions. Consider conducting a communications audit on your current communications materials to see if they are clear, useful and map back to your brand positioning.
• Supportive – remind consumers of the tools and resources you have available for them; establish like-minded communities that allow individuals to share ideas and encourage their peers; make connections that are mutually beneficial to everyone.
• Measurable – quantifiable results ensure better ROI so you should analyze performance at every stage and compare to your baseline and desired outcomes; regularly monitor all areas in terms of structure, process, strategies, tactics, and outcome measurements to ensure you are continually building a better relationship with your consumers.

I know this sounds easier said than done, but with a committed team, clearly understood communication objectives, a solid plan, and the right technology and tools, you can lead the way in the new patient-centered healthcare system.

How do you plan to be patient-centered

Know what you want to accomplish
Once you have acquired a new customer you need to have a plan in place to deepen that relationship. After all, they’ve made an investment in you or your product and they should get your attention.

Consider the following:

• How do you plan to welcome/thank them?
• How can you add value to their purchase?
• What related products/services can you inform them about?
• Are there any added benefits to the product/service they bought that they might not know about?
• What can you learn from their experiences with your product/service?
• Do you plan to connect them with other customers?

The Holy Grail of marketing
Ultimately you need to figure out a plan to get them from a one-purchase customer to a loyal customer. If you can figure out that process, you will soon create a network of customers that will market your company for you.

What companies do you know that do this well? What can you learn from them?

Image by icathing

• I talked to a few people around the office and some didn’t like it.
• I had my spouse look at it and s/he didn’t like this part of it.
• I showed my Dad/Mom/Grandparent and they don’t understand it.
• “I” just don’t like it.

The issue with placing credence in the above objections is often times your “audience of one” is not a true representative sample of the target audience the communications is seeking to reach. Many factors are considered in plan, campaign and tactic development including demographics, interests, product use patterns and more. In order to get the best possible evaluation on your marketing communications concepts and ideas you’ll want feedback from a solid segment of your target audience.

Focus on your audience first. Here are some points to help guide you:

• Don’t assume that your target audience uses communications tools the same way you do. For example, you may not use RSS feeds and feel the need to crush a concept using RSS, but your audience may find great value in it.
• Sit on the other side of the table when evaluating. Try not to think of the concepts and ideas from a company standpoint. Think of the concepts from your audience member standpoint. Remember, in most cases you are not the target audience.
• Stay away from people’s opinions other than your target audience. Unless your co-worker, parent, spouse or friend is solidly a part of your target audience, don’t seek their opinion as you will simply get a subjective, reactive response.
• Find means to engage your audience in the approval process. Focus groups, panels, test markets and other means are available to find out the true response of your audience to certain concepts. And new digital tools are making this easier and faster than ever before.

Bottom-line: You may be close to the work and close to the market, but don’t assume that you will react the same way as your target audience. They are often more astute, connected and discriminatory than you might give them credit for. Make the most of your marketing communications by reaching out to your customers for involvement and approval early. The impact at launch time will be well worth the effort.

Have you ever been surprised by a customer unexpectedly liking something you didn’t? If so, please share. It’s always great to learn from others.


Colin is a senior strategist for The Flint Group. Follow him on Twitter @colinnclarke or on Facebook at Facebook.com/cnclarke.