A Meaningful Tip to Transform Your Business’ Marketing

No matter your industry, you can always learn from techniques used in other businesses, particularly if those techniques lead you to ideas that help you connect with your audience. This article will discuss an easy change that will transform your business's marketing and how people see your business. It's something you can do today regardless of your target market. It will work for everyone because it's all about connection.

The industries that are a pro of this technique are residential real estate and colleges/higher education. What do they have in common? You might ask. Both understand the importance of being part of their target audience’s dreams.

And that's what you need to do to improve revenue in your business.

The Residential Real Estate Way

If you've ever worked with a real estate agent to sell your home, they may have told you to remove all personal effects, including family pictures. The logic behind this is two-fold. Number one, images distract people, and they may spend more time looking at your vacation shots than at home. Secondly, when there are pictures of you and your family in the house it is hard for someone to imagine their family in your home. When you remove all your pictures, it is easier for a potential buyer to envision themselves in their new home, not yours.

You want the same in your business' marketing. You want to encourage your potential customers to envision what it would be like with your services or products. This dream/fantasy process must be a smooth one. Through content, you want to create a way for people to feel like they're home/in the right place. You want your products or services to be a part of their dreaming.

Finding Your Spot in College

Open a college or university view book, and you will see an unimaginable world of fun on glossy pages—many pictures of people in groups smiling and enjoying the educational environment. Generally, the images in view books are diverse and show lots of different activities and people of different cultures and ethnicities. That guarantees that anyone looking at the view book will find something (or someone) they can identify with. Just like in real estate, colleges sell a vision.

Apply the Teachings of Real Estate and University Marketing to Your Business

What marketing people in both industries do well is help create a dream. They don't use scare tactics or worst-case scenarios to drive purchases or get people enrolled. Instead, they insert their products or services into a desired lifestyle.

You may think your business or industry does not have a dream to sell. Maybe you're a plumber or run a business that is anything but sexy. There is always a way to connect what you do with an ideal. Brainstorm what many people value—home, safety, love, beauty, etc. Then, consider how your business may tie into those ideals. For instance, if you are a plumber, you are critical to the foundation of a functioning home. It doesn't matter how beautiful the house is, if the plumbing isn't working, it doesn't fit anyone's dream. The home is where we shelter our family, entertain our friends, and seek a safe harbor from the outside world. Good plumbing is essential to that dream. Think of how you can tie that messaging in through evocative images and content. Don’t explain that directly. Show it.

Review your current website content, advertising, and marketing. What dream are you helping people achieve? How are you making their lives better? Most marketers use a problem/solution approach, and that's not wrong. But if you want to change how you're currently marketing, consider how your business feeds into the dreams of your audience. When you help them see a better time, life, and position, you can become an integral part of their future.