How to win customers and influence people

What do other people think of your organisation?

In my experience, if you have a firm idea of how you want to be perceived by your potential customers you will be able to influence their opinions. If they're left to form their own opinions, you run the risk of being unfairly pigeon-holed - your target audience could decide that your products or services are not aimed at them or that they're too expensive, or even too cheap.

Positioning will determine the type of customer who's drawn to your promotional message. A discount carpet warehouse will often promote an "amazing cut price deal" with a basic flyer featuring big bold lettering and simple line drawn illustrations. If the same company designed their leaflet using carefully crafted copy, classy photography and expensive printing techniques, their target audience would take one look and assume their products were luxury items with a hefty price tag. Their target audience will look elsewhere.

Your position within the marketplace is determined by many factors such as the quality, price and perceived value of your products and services. My most successful customers are those that are honest and play to their strengths. Positioning yourself at the luxury end of the market may mean you can demand a premium price but if the perceived value of your product doesn't match your positioning, you'll have difficulty generating sales. There's a lot to be said for 'stacking em high and selling em cheap', making up for lower profit margins through increased sales.

Whatever positioning you decide upon, you need to ensure your target audience instinctively knows they're 'shopping in the right shop'. The design and quality of your promotional literature will need to reflect and enforce your chosen positioning. Collect examples of other leaflets, adverts, brochures and websites from companies with a similar market position and with a similar target audience to your own.

Does your literature portray your company in a similar light? If not, you might want to take a trip back to the drawing board.