Client asks you for marketing advice for an industry you know nothing about. How do you handle it?

I find it's helpful to ask about what they are doing currently. You may be able to tweak some of the tactics he is already using. I would then start to research the industry.

I've never had anybody get upset if I start asking a few questions and then set up a follow up appt where I can present something. This will give you time for research.

Is he a safety engineer by chance?
I'd also get with an HR rep in a unionized company for a bit more education
about the field and their selection processes.

Google is your friend I also second "spying" on the competition


and spy on successful companies in other major cities and see what they are doing


I have become semi-expert in a few fields I knew nothing about and had no interest in, but it can actually be interesting

I would ask;

Is your market local or national?
Do you sell mostly over the phone, in person, by mail, by e-mail?
How many total potential clients are in your market?
What competitive advantage do you have?
Do people shop for your product online?

I'm really just trying to find out if he's a fit for me.

If he isn't, I'll give a few idea, pretty general ones. You have to understand that to people not in marketing...these sound like revelations.

If we find that my service would help him, then I'll do some research. But not much. I'll still speak in general terms, until he buys from me. Then I'll get more specific.

You don't have to know everything about his business to sell. You just need to know enough to know whether it's something you can help him with.

A few minutes in conversation is usually enough for a rough idea.

This is an interesting question.
I have been at this for a long time and over time I learned a very valuable lesson.

Knowing the niche does NOT put you that far ahead and often causes you to make assumptions that are totally incorrect. You can assume because of some past experience that a new client has certain problems and to be honest he may not. I have often had clients in the same niche with very different marketing or business issues that were harming the bottom line.

To market a business effectively you must first find out what the specific issues are for that business with their target market. You cannot possibly offer solutions without first diagnosing and you cannot diagnose without asking questions. Once you have a proper problem definition you have a few options.

Option one is that you can look to what others that appear to have the issues are doing to overcome them. Be warned that even with great spy tools this can be misleading because you are not being granted access to their entire business. It can look from the outside as though something is working but without access to their financials and often hidden advantages you are still guessing, but at least they are educated guesses.

As an example I have a client that sells granite tables for restaurants. His prices are absurdly low. His competitors could examine his marketing and try to guess at his volume and try to duplicate what he is doing. They will lose because of something they don't know. All of his granite is free to him because he owns another business that does huge volume to builders and the pieces being used for the restaurant tables were essentially paid for when the builders purchased the entire slabs and the waste from those slabs is the material being used for the tables.

Option 2 is creating a custom solution that others are NOT doing. I have had great success with this if I can get the information I need and the trust from the client to do something he has not seen done before. These custom solutions are always based on tried and trusted universal marketing tactics but for whatever reason the bulk of that niche is simply missing the boat. It is satisfying to me as a marketer when I implement a different angle and a year later what I created is now the new standard being rolled out in that niche.

Over time you will see that working in a new niche is not an issue. You are a problem solver. Sherlock Holmes did not solve the same case over and over again. Simply try to build yourself a process/framework of gathering what you need to begin to implement a solution and find ways to quickly test solutions until you hit the right formula.

On the point of believing the business owner was not excited I have found that I can get business owners excited without any offer of a solution that comes from the top of my head. My response is that they have the information I need to create a solution hiding in their heads, analytics, crm and books and that with that information I have a solid track record of creating successful solutions. I just need to know if the problem is important enough to them for us to dedicate the time needed to investigate and solve the problem. Business owners get excited when they see you are taking the time to really figure out the issues. I have yet to meet a prospect that did not believe their situation totally unique.

Given the person is in web site development only? - I would tell the truth.

"John I specialise in website development / redevelopment and marketing is not my field and if i tried to tell you how to do it I would be talking out of my backside.

John given that, I do have some connections who are focused on this area and may be able to help. If it's OK with you I can have a chat with them about your site / business and come back to you in a few days."

-

It is OK to tell people you do not have all of the answers, but like the great Henry Ford, it is good to surround yourself with people who do know the answers or know where to get them.

The above reply could even end with this version or multiple spins of it.

" I do have staff who are focused on this area and may be able to help. If it's OK with you I can have a chat with them about your site / business and get back with you in a few days."

A person person appreciates an honest reply that shows that you have their best interests at heart over some hot waffle made up that would probably smell and be off putting to them.

I'm curious about the "injury risk mitigation" client.

Does he strive to prevent injuries, or does he come in after
an injury to asses how it occurred and who is how much responsible?
Companies like to minimize benefits and employees/unions usually
want to maximize benefits.

Is he hired by companies or unions directly?

Does he have to be approved by the company and the union?

Is perceived bias as being pro-union or pro-employer a factor
in his getting hired?

>>>>>>>

Back to "marketing risk mitigation". LOL

My view is that everything that touches the customer is marketing.
So, being a general practitioner like that, if I found - say - that the person
who sells sprockets could sell more, at higher prices, if the sprockets were
of higher quality, I'd likely make that suggestion.

How would you guys approach those kinds of issues, it at all?

Bryony Thomas at Watertight Marketing made an interesting (to me anyway) point
that there is no such thing as a sales funnel. It's more like a sales strainer because
there are always leaks.

Dan

I'd simply say you need more information and time to look it over before you can provide an adequate answer. Sure, give them the basics up front, but state more time and information is necessary to properly answer their inquiry.

Honestly speaking, if your field of expertise is Website Design then it is in your best interest to network with others who are experts in marketing. This way, when someone comes along and says "How should I market my business" you say, sorry I am an expert in Website Design, however my good friend "insert name" is a true expert in marketing, he currently manages clients such as "name drop" I can give him your details if you want?

Then what happens, the client takes the details, you earn his respect for being honest and giving him a true expert - secondly, you get the respect and favour owed from another company "your best buddy the marketing expert" who will also refer people back to you for website design, may use you for banner design, landing pages e.t.c

That's what I'd do...that is what I do but I am a marketing expert, and I have SEO experts refer clients to me for Paid Advertising and vice versa.

I think these questions pretty much sums up what I do when this happens. Talking to clients whether through the phone or email is tough when you aren't entirely sure exactly what their industry is. But these questions sum everything up on what I do:

"Do you sell mostly over the phone, in person, by mail, by e-mail?
How many total potential clients are in your market?
What competitive advantage do you have?
Do people shop for your product online? "

Claude Whitacre gave these examples, and I think they are just right for this problem when dealing with a client who is in an industry you know nothing about.

The best you can do in that situation is to refer to classic principles which transcend specific industries, and apply to all business.


Or throw a question at him like "who precisely is your customer? The first thing we have to do is identify them, and then I can tell you how to do that... What is your ideal customer profile? What segment of your market are you specifically desiring to be in front of? What specifically are you offering them? What is your market looking for?"


I don't think any potential client expects you to specifically know his particular industry, as a web designer. He should know that before you can market to his market that HE needs to fill you in on the details of who they specifically are, and be able to tell you what his industry needs. Unless you are presenting yourself as a pro in injury risk mitigation specifically.


Most prospects know that they have to fill you in on the specifics of their industry. They are more comfortable with a person who asks all the right questions than with a person who acts like they have the answers without even having asked the right questions, and proceeds to speak ignorantly about their industry.


You be the marketing pro, and give them the credit for being the pro at their industry. It is a co creation.


Let's say you sell lead generation... It isn't up to you to know what the client considers a qualified lead, it's up to HIM to tell you what his criteria is for calling a lead qualified. It's YOUR job to figure out how to get a qualified lead based on his desired criteria. You apply the marketing know how...he supplies the specific industry knowledge that you will need to work with, in order to do your magic.


The only other thing you can do is study the industry prior to calling on those kinds of prospects.