Through Which End of the Telescope Do You Look?

Every telescope has two (or more) lenses, at least one at each end.

The view through each end is very different. One view diminishes the target object; but the view at the other end is totally different, vastly clarified and magnified so that one sees the subject in great detail.

Every marketer views his/her target audience in the same way - through the lenses of personal preferences, attitudes, and choices.

Some marketers choose to offer products and services that they like - that they believe will sell well. Others marketers take the opposite approach - the view from the other end of the telescope - they focus on what their target market (their audience) wants rather than their own desires. They look to clarify and magnify the details (problems, wants, desires) of their market audience.

Here are five superstar marketers confirming this principle:

Zig Ziglar: "You can get anything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want."

Dale Carnegie: "The only way to influence someone is to find out what they want, and show them how to get it."

Gary Bencivenga: "Ignoring this simple insight is the most common cause of marketing failure. Over and over, I've seen otherwise sharp marketers launch a product because they want to sell it, not because anyone wants to buy it."

Gary Halbert: "Find a starving crowd. Find a market first . . . and then concentrate on a product."

Jay Abraham: "The key to all of life is understanding how to add value to others."

They all say it in a slightly different way, but the message about "audience first" is the same.

As the new year begins, it always pays to review how your marketing is going. Are you reaping the rewards you want? Are you happy with your marketing results from last year? If not, maybe you're looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

The very best to all of you,

Steve