marketing

Intuition in Marketing

~ Kay Robinson ~ Leave a comment

dreamstime_5775817Marketing is such an interesting area to an intuitive.  You can approach marketing logically and decide what you want to happen.  This is a hard sell approach and it may bounce off your potential clients.  My perspective is intuitive.  An intuitive approach involves reading your potential clients and what they want versus telling them about you, your business, products and services.  They may or may not be interested.  Telling them about your business does nothing to motivate them to do business with you or use your product.  They don’t care.  They don’t want to be programmed.

As an intuitive I work with business owners to use their intuition to read their potential clients, see where their attention is and how you can grab it.  This is no place for logic.  Be intuitive.

One of my clients is starting a new business selling high-end good quality delicious chocolates.  He has partnered with expert chocolate makers to distribute their products.  I read the quality of the product, the energy of the business itself, the business name, the chocolatiers who designed the chocolate, the manufacturers, his business coach, the office, his communication with the distributors for Whole Foods and other locations.  Finally I read the packaging of their first product.

In the end it was the packaging of the product that was out of sync.  The packaging was very nice, well designed and I saw that it would be entirely invisible in the stores.  For the success of this business I saw they needed to take a risk and design packaging that would stand out and not get lost on the overly stocked shelves of very popular stores.  Now this is not true for all products and services but it is true in this case.

Using intuition in marketing is simple.  It begins by stepping back from all the logic and the energy of everyone working on the product. This means getting out of your analyzer and to stop thinking.  Find a space of quiet and begin to imagine your product and your target customers.  What will bring them together?  Don’t be logical.  Be intuitive.

Being intuitive involves using your mind’s eye to see from the perspective of the buyer and the consumer.  Where is their attention and how do you grab it?   People love it when something grabs their attention.  When you can see that clearly in your mind’s eye you have the answer to your successful marketing plan.

Best wishes on your success!

Kay

If it does not feel right…

~ Kay Robinson ~ Leave a comment

One of my client’s is making a serious effort to double her revenue.  Claire was inspired by how easily she increased her revenue by 30% this year.  (She did use the word easy in hindsight.)  With this new goal in mind Claire developed a marketing strategy that takes advantage of all the new ways of marketing.  Most of this plan is out of her comfort zone so she looked for experts in a variety of areas to carry out her plan.

Claire is clear about her new marketing strategy.  She has done her homework.  Her task is to find the right people.  At first she was drawn to professionals she has used in the past and who are loyal to her and her company.  She thinks they could do some of it including her sister who is a professional writer.  Recently a PR expert at a networking event approached Claire.  She agreed to hear what she had to offer.   Finally she received recommendations from myself and other trusted advisors of professionals she may want to interview.

Before she began the process of finding a team she took the time to meditate on her vision of success, which for this upcoming year meant doubling her revenue.  She felt if she could not see this clearly then how could she navigate a team toward this goal.  Claire meditated until she cleared her thinking and could see clearly doubling her revenue.  She then meditated and imagined a team of experts who would help bring in new clients with specific demographics, a team that would work together, enthusiastically and collaborate to achieve her vision of success.

My task was to watch intuitively to see what was driving Claire’s choices so that loyalty did not trump skill and strong salesmanship did not talk her into something that was not a good fit.

As Claire sorted through her options, she used both a logical and intuitive approach.  She checked credentials, looked at samples of everyone’s work, interviewed writers, social media experts, PR professionals, graphic designers, etc.  Her most difficult decision came when her intuition told her not to use the writer and marketing person she used in the past.   This was not a logical decision.  She just felt intuitively that they were not the right fit for the level of growth she envisioned.   Claire did stay with her graphics team who are young, inspired and push her to think in new ways.  They stayed on the team!

The PR person had a strong presence and was very interested in helping Claire increase the visibility of her business but in the end something just did not feel right.  Claire found herself finding fault with the proposal, their communication, etc. then she realized that she did not need to find fault.   The PR company just did not feel right.  It was not logical. She stopped trying to find fault (logic) and simply decided not pursue this strategy at this time. It was intuitive.

Finally, she needed a social media expert.  This is a new and growing field in which an expert is not well-defined.  She decided in the end to interview three of the five people on her list of possible experts.   Her choice of the three was intuitive and she was correct.  In those interviews she found someone who described an approach that fit for Claire and how she saw her brand.

Coincidentally, immediately after Claire and I met to finalize her marketing plan and the team she would be hiring, her phones were ringing off the hook.  Three new-targeted clients called and scheduled appointments.  Claire felt that was a miracle!   From my perspective is was Claire’s vision of success beginning to manifest.

Best wishes on your success, Kay

Let me know if you would like an review of your marketing strategy from an intuitive perspective.  kay@insightintuitiveconsulting.com

Retailer Display Pushes Customers Away!

~ Kay Robinson ~ Leave a comment

j0315598

I was at a street fair yesterday where business owners setup booths, sold their wares, promoted their business or cause. As an intuitive, I watched with great interest booths that were full and those where no one could or would approach.

My observations from this street fair are going to be helpful to any retail business and perhaps others. Retail is about communication, and this is often ignored. Your customers are intuitive. They may not realize that but first and foremost they react unconsciously and sometimes consciously to your display and your demeanor. They pick up on the energy of your booth and your business. Let me give you examples of what I saw.

The booths that were packed were “open” on an energy level, appealing visually, presented an aura of something customers would want for themselves and the staff in the booth was approachable. Their goal seemed to be communication more than sales.

Mistakes I saw. One booth was beautiful; the jewelry was beautiful, the couple behind the table was beautiful and very much in the energy of their relationship more than showing their jewelry. It looked like a photo shoot for a magazine. They grabbed everyone’s attention as we walked by but no one walked in. My husband, who is a Casting Director, noticed them as well but since he is casting project that requires beautiful people, he gave them his card. They may get a photo shoot from the day, but I’ll bet they sold no jewelry. Your customers have to feel that you and your business are there for them.

Another booth had beautiful ceramics. An older couple sat in the back on high chairs looking bored and invalidated. This is the intuitive impression as people walked by. It made them uncomfortable. The couple’s energy made it uninviting, and we did not want to disturb them, as they seemed so disengaged from their display. No one went into that booth.

A woman was selling the most beautiful shawls was also empty of customers. Her mistake was simple. In order to show off the rich colors of her shawls, she laid them against a black display. Most of the folks at the festival were in a cheerful place on this beautiful sunny day. They did not want to go into the darkness, so they did not go into her black booth.

Customers steered clear of booths with staff that were pushy, loud or intruding as you walked by. Booths where the staff was invisible or disengaged also kept folks out. The busy booths were those where the staff were friendly, said hello without expecting anything other than a hello back. The staff was in the energy of customer service versus I NEED you to buy my product.

In the end retailers who were intuitive about their displays were most successful. What does the customer see, feel and hear? How do you want them to experience you, your products and services? Sometimes we have been doing our business so long that we lose our perspective so step back. Get out of your routine. Change your display completely. Notice if you are getting customers or not. Don’t think. Change the energy until you have all the customers you would like.

If you or your staff are not in the “mood” to sell your wares then you might as well go fishing instead OR change your energy. Decide to enjoy promoting or selling your wares. Passer-bys can read your energy. We are all intuitive. There is no faking it. Your vision of your day goes exactly as you see it. If you have no vision then, nothing happens. As always take the time to visualize your success.

Best wishes on your success, Kay

www.insightintuitiveconsulting.com

Intuition in marketing! A formula for success.

~ Kay Robinson ~ Leave a comment

Marketing is such an interesting area to use your intuition. You can approach marketing logically and decide what you want to happen. This is a hard sell approach, and it may bounce off your potential clients. My perspective is intuitive. An intuitive approach involves reading your potential clients and what they want versus telling them about you or your business, as they are not interested. Telling them about your business does little to motivate them to do business with you or use your products or services

As an intuitive I work with business owners to learn to read their potential clients, to see where their attention is and how you can grab it. There is no place for logic here. It is a place to use your intuition.

In a consultation with Tom, he described his strategy for selling high-end top quality delicious chocolates. He has partnered with expert chocolate makers to develop their chocolates. As part of my consultation I read the quality of the product, the energy of the business itself, the business name, the chocolatiers, the manufacturers, his business coach, the office, his communication with the distributors and so on. Finally, I read the packaging of their first product.

In the end, it was the packaging of the product that was out of sync with the goals of the company. The packaging was very nice, well designed, and I saw that it would be entirely invisible in the stores. For the success of this business, I saw they needed to take a risk and design packaging that would stand out and not get lost on the overly stocked shelves of very popular stores. This is not true for all products and services, but it is true in this case.

Using intuition in marketing is simple. It begins by stepping back from all the logic and the perspectives of everyone working on the product. It means getting out of your analyzer and thinking. Find a space of quiet and begin to imagine your product and your customers. What will bring them together? Don’t be logical. Be intuitive.

Being intuitive involves looking, using your mind’s eye, at the perspective of the buyer and the consumer. Where is their attention and how do you grab it? People love it when something grabs their attention. When you can see that clearly in your mind’s eye, you have an answer to a successful marketing plan.

Back to my client. He was not sure he could convince the chocolate maker to alter a design she has used for a long time. Oh well. We will see how it goes!

Try an intuitive approach to your next marketing plan.
Best wishes on your success,
Kay