Customer Integration Includes Individual Attention Discounters Won’t Offer.

Marketing should show you offer powerful values customers need for prized results. Advertising should show you understand niche members’ goals & offer ideal achievement methods. Empower customers by identifying products & methods to sustain powerful results.

Customer integration will help you form relationships & differentiate your business. Reaching people with ads can start like greeting social acquaintances. Even if you want conversations, people (who recognize you) have other social options & priorities.

Since people tend to listen to & talk about high priorities, which urgent benefits should your ads feature? Since ads can be like nuisance phone calls, which needs & desires would prompt consumers to accept your offers & put other things on hold? What kind of value would stimulate that priority?

Do you inspire more hope & offer more functionality than competitors? Functionality is effectiveness & efficiency in creating benefits &/or avoiding benefit losses.

Make offers special enough for people to clear their schedules to learn about & buy your offers. Projects might exceed people's abilities to create &/or maintain high priority benefits. Project offers should include consultations & tutorials to relieve strain with increased abilities. Explain why results are necessary & how you expedite projects plus reduce disruptions. If projects seem to be major life detours, people might stay on course unless you show how to: 1) make big improvements &/or 2) end plus avoid problems.

Emotions Sink Unless Hope Floats.

Functional hope includes methodology & dispels hesitation about setting goals. Functional hope inspires people to find products & apply methods because positive effects are possible.

Optimally directed functionality creates inspiring results, so people believe more aspirations are achievable. Your offers can encourage people to bring aspirations to you.

Aspirations can be fantasies, someday wishes or specific goals. Design total offers based on customers' goals & explain project effectiveness & efficiency. Projects should be designed with integrated products & methods so people don't rely on luck.

Creating good luck is more than motivational philosophy. Be people’s good luck source by lining up elements & creating optimal momentum, so even a few bumps won’t stop projects.

Incompatibilities & inconsistencies can arise if people use tutorials for miscellaneous unintegrated (some assembly required) products. Full functionality requires connecting (possibly assembling) products into conditions.

Help customers get full benefits without interfering with other benefits.

Example: People might buy bikes for transportation & exercise. When workers start shifts, they might be tired with aching backs & legs from commuting on bikes. Exercise might be fulfilled, but would it be efficient transportation? People can reduce air resistance by bending low, but strain their backs. Consultations about bike models & rider positions can maximize top priority benefits by matching product specifications with customers’ needs & desires.

When, where & how will products be used? What about conditions should be modified before & during product use? How much can planned methods & products create those modifications? Which criteria indicate whether modifications are complete or should be continued? What would indicate adjustments are necessary?

Special People Deserve Special Results.

There are many retailers who aren’t concerned about customers’ results & treat people like money sources. You can easily differentiate from those retailers by serving people who don’t want to be commonplace & don't want common results.

When complexities are discouraging, people settle for easy, ordinary results. Integrative Complexity can be analogized as optical illusion drawings that seem to be one thing or another, but are really both.

If people perceive results as only good or bad, projects might seem to fail. Is partial success a total failure or opportunity for improvement?

Though projects create slight improvements, people might feel their expectations or trust are violated.

Consultation Example: ‘It’s easy to think we agree, but we might misunderstand each other because we have different interpretations. Let’s be sure we understand what to expect. We might perceive pictures & descriptions differently, so though challenges seem low now, complexity can become real quickly after you start. This full project could take XX hours even for highly skilled people; so instructions are highly detailed for novices. If a few details are missed, results might seem adequate but fail later. (Review the benefits list.) If your finished project creates (benefit 1) but not (benefit 2), would your satisfaction rate as high as 10, low as 1 or another level? Based on that, let’s be sure (result) definitely happens by thoroughly defining (method).’

Fight, Flee or Freeze

Since there are limits on how long people can fight, they need closure.

When people don't know which beliefs are accurate, conclusions (closure) aren't possible & Integrative Complexity brings dissonance.

It can be hard to start over or reassign resources to different projects until people are sure they did all possible for positive results. After people did everything they know but got negative results, they might believe particular positive results aren't possible. Did somebody deceive them? If nothing confirms suspicions, is there anybody to blame (fight)? Should they give up (flee)? Do they hesitate (freeze) & potentially lose improvement opportunities? Would fleeing mean abandoning any partial good result instead of using or salvaging it?

People could waste resources if they ignore negatives & try improvements without removing insecure underpinnings. People should learn & acknowledge whatever could undermine current & future efforts & materials.

When people don’t admit misconceptions about what’s possible, it can be hard for you to counter misconceptions but necessary. Compare results of people who used knowledge, products & methods for satisfactory results. Case studies can show potentials without directly confronting misconceptions.

Individual Attention

It’s important to be mindful in present moments despite distractions of personal needs, business requirements & multiple customers. You might need reminders to put aside other concerns as you listen to people’s confusing expressions. Example: Customer: I have foot odor. What would you do if you were in my shoes? Pharmacist: Bury them!

It’s more than a joke because it can be hard to determine what people literally mean. If you’re distracted, you might not notice primary words & respond to secondary words.

Since people exaggerate all the time, it’s hard to know how to deal with a ton of bugs. What some claim to be true is literally unbelievably incredible.

Urge customers to focus on specifics to help you precisely diagnose problems & develop specific solutions.

Consultation Example: ‘I understand you’re frustrated. Let’s identify the problem size so you’ll have the right solution for the right price. If you use too much (materials), you could have (problem).’

Though people claim they’ve done everything about problems, they have finite awareness. Customers’ results prove success is possible & offer insights about products, methods & timing many people haven’t learned.

People might reject conflicting insights because apparent truth can become false. Scientists willingly admit inaccuracies & overcome mounting uncertainty with research & acknowledge misperceptions & perceived exaggerations might have limited validity.

Though imprecision erodes value & causes misunderstandings, people (including advertisers) commonly exaggerate. You could think somebody misunderstood you, but s/he might suspect fraud, especially if there are multiple misunderstandings.

Though reviewing statements takes more time, that investment can reduce wasted resources.

Consultation Example: ‘Let’s be sure I understand, so I offer accurate solutions. Please indicate if I’ve misunderstood some facts. Apparently you noticed (symptoms) in (location). Those symptoms might’ve existed __ months. You tried (products & methods) & have (preliminary results). You still need (final result). You have (products) & need to learn about (products). You have internet access. This video shows methods for using similar products, but those conditions are different than what you described. You can adjust by installing __ & using (tool) like this article shows.’

Perceptions Influence Experiences Which Influence Other Perceptions.

Motivations are shaped by how things did or didn’t work. Since discouraged people might give up instead of search for solutions, you should explain how your offers improve results.

Typical advertising (product names & prices) doesn’t differentiate benefits or motivate people to try another project. Since you probably need to coax people away from discounters, provide reasons to change shopping behaviors.

Big store one stop shopping isn’t as convenient as ability to finish effective, efficient projects then focus on other priorities. If people excessively need to recheck results because of low product quality, projects aren’t perceived as complete or reliable. Solutions should provide as much relief as practical because a lack of fulfillment doesn’t fully relieve stress.

Make offers to lighten people’s loads instead of just focusing on products.

No matter how important results are, people quit if failures seem to indicate projects aren’t worthwhile. In consultations, you can learn what people expect so you can help customers define success & failure. Compare definitions of expectations & practical requirements to determine what successful projects should create.

It’s vital for you to inspire hope, so you need to be precise with promises & explanations. Even if your social circle members understand what you mean & won’t doubt you if they misunderstand, customers don’t have that history with you.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Don’t Let Customers Suffer Problems & Lost Opportunities.

Customer integration blazes trails through complexities so customers optimize experiences instead of just wishing for something better. If people lack resources & are frustrated by obstacles, they might dismiss your offers as unworkable.

Skeptics think ‘That’d be good, but if you knew my conditions, you’d know it won’t happen.’ Explain how your product & local knowledge make your offers work for specific benefits. Convince people they can achieve results with specialized knowledge & products.

Analogy: Frustrated people believe ‘optimal experiences – our conditions = aggravation’. After you help people clearly define optimal experiences, their conditions & your offers, you can show their conditions + your offers = optimal experiences. Everything you add to the equation changes the total.

What can you add to conditions to reduce gaps between current conditions & desired, optimal experiences? You need to convince specific people your offers can create special transformations by adding your insights to their information.

Aggravation dampens desires & can lead to negative mental chains: overwhelmed; self-doubt; hesitation about specific solutions; uncertainty about anything working; general hopelessness; etc. Provide hope with knowledge of effective methods for using new products.

Emphasize results are based on the strength of multiple factors, so benefits don’t seem tenuous because projects don’t rely on one product or method.

Since you won’t differentiate based on prices or volume, you need to know your market niche's most significant life differences. Why do niche members have certain needs compared to people’s general needs? How would your offers specifically fulfill certain needs more effectively & efficiently? How should customers define effectiveness & efficiency of solutions they need?

If you don’t offer all essential products & knowledge, you can be a hub for other stores, so value revolves around you.

If desires & problems are predictable, preempt people’s frustrations with explanations of dealing with current & impending obstacles. With consultations, you can understand obstacles & customers’ goals, so remedies fit approaching trouble plus current & desired conditions.

Product & Price List Offers Aren’t Enough.

Think about your main concerns & what would indicate somebody has ideal preventions or solutions?

Back pain & headaches are common, so you might dread those when you wake up any morning. As you prepare for another day, consider the appeal of these offers: ‘Aspirin $4’ OR

‘Back pain is commonly caused by injuries & physical positions aggravating injuries. As you get distracted each day, you probably forget about your posture. StimApp will ping your phone at intervals you set & remind you to check your position. StimPad is a handheld unit with pads to put on your most tense spots. Pads are like medical patches to keep on sensitive spots for hours. When you take breaks, reconnect the pads to the unit & start massages exactly where you need them. When you interrupt back muscle tension, you’ll keep that tension from transferring up through your neck to your head. Your $XY investment in StimKit will disrupt tension that would otherwise disrupt another day of your life.’

Notice the empathetic information showing an advertiser understands customers’ problems. If StimKit would exist, it would be integrated into people’s lives because the advertiser knows how to reduce customers’ problems. It’s like saying ‘I know causes & effects of these problems. Even if we can’t eliminate these causes, let’s work together to reduce these effects.’

Show how to convert hopes into functional desires & avoid frustrations. In sales, friction is defined differently. Let’s think of friction as marketing & life hassles that wear people out. Identify frictions of preventing & solving high priority problems.

When marketing friction comes from a lack of facts, fill those gaps. Do people understand how project kits improve conditions? Are products &/or tasks unfamiliar? If inconvenience is the friction, develop easier processes. Do people need exact products & learn complex methods or could basic products & easy-to-learn methods fulfill goals?

Division of Labor

People, who acknowledge specialized knowledge & skills are important, delegate work based on abilities. Customer integration makes delegation part of retailing. It includes cognitive labor since specialized thinking can improve results.

Ads should explain how offers reduce or end problems plus make solution implementations easier than competitors’ options.

Even if you’re comfortable with products & methods, customers might experience unfamiliar projects as minor friction or risky trail blazing. Offers should include making projects feel less threatening than problems, so people realize real risks of problems & reevaluate perceived risks.

If you can't make products more powerful, make solution implementations easier & more effective. Reduce risks of mistakes & threats.

Even if you accurately describe problems as big threats, people might disagree. Combine emotions of dealing with logical effects.

Basic Offer: ‘If you (want experience/anticipate problem), it’s easy to wonder what you’ll do if you can’t escape from (daily stress/problem). Have you wondered how similar people can afford to enjoy (activities)/solve (problems), while you struggle? People enjoy (activities)/solve (problems) regularly because they have (product) & can (method). (Kit) provides (products) with instructions specifically for (creating experience/solving problem) & during (Store) consultations, we’ll customize methods according to your goal.’

Too many retailers follow leaders (big retailers), but since leaders get to consumers first, leaders get top prizes. Also-rans get whatever might be left over. It isn’t a matter of being risk-taking pioneers; it’s the importance of the most relevant offers for people’s current needs & desires. Emphasize high quality products & optimal methods for reducing short- & long-term risks.

Explain how cheap products & suboptimal techniques can increase risks because benefits might be late &/or inadequate.

Example: 'Don't struggle through choosing products & hoping for adequate quality. Don’t be stressed with planning techniques & projects. (Store) consultations identify risks & define benefits while planning projects.'

Are People Wandering Because They Wonder How To Create Opportunities?

Sometimes people say they’d feel lost without __. What would customers feel lost without? What does lost mean in their context? Maybe it’s only a perceived/potential loss because they haven’t clearly defined it. If you help them find words to describe it, you can determine what to protect or regain.

Does lost mean people are disoriented (not sure how to proceed)? Are people unsure if their knowledge would apply to upgraded products? Which established benefits are they losing? Which partially established benefits are at risk? Which opportunities might people miss? Which abilities/skills do they lack? Do they quantify losses as totals or percentages?

If it’s totally or almost lost, do they want exact replacements or upgrades? Is it too late to learn to avoid losses? Do they need to learn about upgrades?

If people are ready to live differently or try different directions, should replacements be similar to originals or different?

Failures or Opportunities to Restart

Optimists think failures & losses are opportunities to restart with new information & experiences. Are there opportunities in customers’ losses?

Realists think salvageable resources should be used to optimize relaunches & avoid waste. Are goals still achievable & are results still the highest & best use options with those resources?

Review previous efforts & conditions to determine what can fulfill new or future goals. Efforts & goals can be adjusted based on what worked before & what’s reliable now plus in the future. Which current/salvaged resources are still available?

What could augment or restore resources to make them fully applicable? Would augmentation &/or restoration require too many new resources? Would new results be easier to maintain?

Even if physical property is available or applicable, what was/can be learned? Are experiments possible using what might deteriorate?

Pessimists think (CENSORED). You can’t turn everything around or inspire everybody to accept improvements.

Are positive or negative causes & effects overestimated? Do different interpretations fit those perceptions? What’s been misinterpreted? What can be changed to augment &/or preserve positives? What can be changed to eliminate or decrease negatives? If negatives can’t be eliminated or decreased, what can be changed to halt problems & prevent more deterioration? What are the risks? What causes those risks? What could eliminate or decrease risks?

Retaining & regaining control can depend on multiple factors, so which factors can customers currently manage? Which factors can be turned around? Which factors are too deteriorated to save? Could customers retain or regain control if they recognize current resources & learn to salvage & use those?

Though customers might know how to use resources for other issues, condition changes might make different methods necessary to optimally fix current factors.

After confronting problems, people might have comfortable, but less than optimal approaches. Criteria can help people accurately recognize problems & determine if approaches & solutions are compatible & complete.

Problems can seem familiar until people learn about unfamiliar symptoms & change diagnoses. When they learn about unfamiliar, unrecognized symptoms, it’s easier to accept unsuccessful results without hurt pride.

Offer Example: ‘When you know what’s wrong, you can learn which products & methods you need. (Store) is dedicated to more than product sales, so you get complete kits & results.’

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Your Advantages Should Include Reexamining Customers’ Conditions

Reexaminations can bring & protect benefits by uncovering what novices might not realize. It isn’t only obvious things that interfere with benefits.

You can differentiate yourself from competitors by finding opportunities & eliminating obstacles. If people don’t identify obstacles, resources might be wasted by compensating later for what should’ve been removed before finishing projects.

Discounters push popular products without helping people understand how to create benefits. Your customer value perspective & knowledge can create benefits with products & methods for customers beyond saving a few dollars.

Fine-tune Project Kits

What could connect current circumstances to a beneficial future & make goals easier to achieve? Which other resources are necessary? How should new resources be connected to each other plus established results? How can people benefit more from what they own? Example: Customers might have patios with retractable awnings but not enough lawn space for regular gardens. People can grow compact plants in pots & planters which can be repositioned to clear space for barbecues. Spices & herbs could be grown & harvested as desired while barbecuing.

Optimize Cognitive Labor with Questions & Answers

Before customers finalize plans & purchases, reexamining conditions can ensure clarity & reduce mistakes. Compare plans while reexamining problems & resources to expand knowledge of what’s wrong plus optimize abilities to make things right.

Customers should choose options based on criteria developed from full knowledge. Though the internet & libraries hold information, you can connect product purchases with local knowledge & other facts relating to customers’ needs & goals.

Since knowledge is NOT power without implementation, people need insights to use information to optimize products & methods. You can offer adjustments when you know about people’s usual products & methods.

Offer Example: ‘Though it’s common to settle for (basic result), you don’t have to miss out on (benefit category). (Store) consultations can guide you to increase opportunities. You’ll enjoy (specific benefits) by adding (products & methods). You’ll be advised in choosing product versions & using customized methods to develop life-specific benefits instead of less interesting generic results. Do you want whatever discount stores push? Or do you want special advantages you deserve from (Store).’

That’s a Benefit for You Because

People want to know WIIFM ‘What’s in it for me?’ It’s a valid question, but not a rich question. The rich version is: ‘I have (problem), so why should I buy this from YOU?’

You should offer integrated advantages because many products are easy to find & some retailers only recommend general product benefits. Customer integrators explain advantages of integrating products & methods to optimize benefits. If you don’t offer those advantages, why do you expect people to buy from you?

People need guidance to find & sort through relevant facts plus understand how to apply facts in choosing products & methods to create results.

It’s important to be careful about advice based on other people’s comparable needs, conditions & results. People could have short-term satisfaction by imitating similar people’s methods using similar products to remedy similar problems. Slight neglected differences could combine into long-term project failures. Any differences, especially multiple differences, can cause problems instead of bring solutions.

Help customers learn which information is relevant & enough, so they don't delay projects & increase costs by creating unnecessary results or pursuing unattainable benefits.

People might conclude something doesn’t work because they tried the best plan without adequate knowledge, skills & products. People can feel betrayed if they thoroughly fulfill product instructions to achieve short-term results & projects fail later. Ask if customers expect temporary patches or full solutions, so expenses & efforts are worthwhile.

People might check with you but buy from discounters. It’s a reason to differentiate your quality from discount offers.

Analogy: If total results quality & long-term success would be 100 points, five perfect materials could supply 50 points. Even if perfect methods contribute 50 full points, poor quality materials might trickle in 20 points. Since results depend on each material, that project would fail eventually despite apparent short-term achievement. It’s because 100-point success would be difficult without consultations focused on fully defining & resolving specific conditions with the right methods & products.

Consider Long-term Results

Diagnoses might be incomplete or inaccurate when more problem symptoms are discovered after projects start. Plans should include alternative steps &/or reexaminations if changes become necessary.

Products & plans can seem to fail because people rush in without considering possible misperceptions.

Example: Wisconsin conditions are hard for vehicles. I didn’t know how long my old car would last, but I needed to replace a loud, rusted exhaust system. I chose products that might last as long as my car. After a repair, my car wasn’t as quiet as I expected because of my cheap muffler choice. The installation was good but products were only adequate. I bought a modicum of certainty without total comfort.

People might demand certainty, control & comfort without defining expectations. Do people expect to banish all doubt or just confirm specific facts?

Does control mean preventing symptoms or reducing severity? Does comfort mean preventing all pain or achieving refreshing sleep?

Consultation Example: ‘If you can create ABC but not XYZ, would this project be successful? How long should ABC last? If (material) needs 8 hours to dry, would that interfere with your schedule? If we add (product) to the kit & you do (method), you can create (result). Do you want that added benefit though it would cost $__ more & add 2 hours of labor? When you think about your budget & available time, is there a higher priority result we should fulfill?’

Trial & Learning

Trial & error processes imply ending with errors which can cause more problems & delay solutions. When customers choose options from case studies of lessons learned, quicker solutions can reduce damage.

Limited time pushes people to quickly learn skills to use unfamiliar products in time to avoid urgent damage. Pre-assembled materials in kits can reduce that pressure.

Questions & answers guide people in the logic of unfamiliar projects. What firmly indicates whether projects succeed or fail? What constitutes full trials in forming reliable conclusions? Is it a number of steps or length of time? Is it a product or method? If preliminary results are unexpected, would it be justified to stop or change projects? Would it be practical to restart some steps or is it unsalvageable?

Which case studies of comparable conditions could indicate potential missing or excessive elements? Did anything reveal potential disruptions? What started preventing, ending &/or relieving disruptions? As projects started, progressed & ended, which transitions were positive or negative? Did unexpected symptoms emerge?

Trial & error can produce waste, but trial & learning can bring value. With proper guidance, processes can be trial & learning if people know how to compare expectations with emerging results.

Try to qualify & quantify differences between pre-action conditions, planned results & actual project effects. If conditions were different than previously thought, did that difference disrupt the project? Which facts could indicate different products &/or methods are necessary?

Help customers with checklists in case preliminary diagnoses give way to new discoveries or if results don’t fit expectations. Whole projects don’t have to go totally astray, if salvage steps are possible.

Project kits should include mid-project guidance so customers can change course based on changing needs &/or if preliminary results don’t fit expectations.

People might wonder about results of buying products from you after purchases from other stores. If you don’t have access to specifications of products from other stores, you can offer general reviews of what could/should be possible based on conditions.

People might wonder if project benefits would be worth their total monetary, energy & time costs. It can be hard to discern how things might add up. If you have detailed case studies, you can compare those pre-project conditions with customers’ conditions.

If goals in case studies match customers’ goals, those can be like answers of equations. If A + B + C + D = 20 (goal); A could = conditions to be changed. B + C + D = necessary inputs to fill gaps between A & 20. B could = materials. C could = tools made necessary by conditions & materials. D could = methods made necessary by tools, conditions & materials. Since using certain materials & tools make certain skills necessary, do customers need to learn those skills or choose other materials & tools? In other words, changing B &/or C can make it necessary to change D to get 20.

While comparing customers’ goals with case studies, explain how inputs fit conditions & goals, plus ways inputs synergistically work together for specific results. Example: In that case study, people noticed (problem) & decided to achieve (goal). They used (method) to create (result) with (product).

If preliminary results turn in unintended directions, what could’ve caused that or taken away what’s desired? What could be added or taken out now to get projects on track?

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Customers’ Success Depends On You Maximizing Their Work

Help customers identify necessary labor to produce benefits & organize necessary resources. Customers need your product knowledge, local conditions information & leadership to make tasks & thoughts more productive.

It can seem strange to lead people to achieve their goals because motivation should be built in. After being discouraged by conditional setbacks &/or poor product quality, people might not challenge generalized thoughts leading to negative beliefs.

‘Nobody ever made that kind of scheme work’ & other generalized thoughts can be countered with specific ideas. Focus on what local people need so they realize you offer high quality products that work in planned projects.

Though people seem to never have enough time, better time management & cheap products won’t create great results. Explain why project kits are necessary for faster, better quality results.

Offer Example: ‘(Store) has project kits for (results). There are specific reasons projects will or won’t work. When positive & negative reasons are identified, projects can be customized to maximize positives & reduce negatives. At (Store), let’s review specialized information to learn about specific obstacles & opportunities for designing projects to create benefits & reduce frustrations. When you need (results), it’s hard to start projects because of demands on your time & energy. It’s time to invest in project kit advantages from (Store). After buying what other stores push, you’ll be relieved by investing in customized benefits from (Store).’

Why Should Customers Invest In Results of Your Leadership?

Customer integration requires collaborative leadership to ask & answer questions.

Before guiding people through transitions, be sure you & they understand starting points plus obstacles to desired results. Whether results should be temporary or maintained, people need instructions, so expectations are fulfilled & investments are preserved.

Since people have imperfect perceptions & knowledge, they might resist positive changes to predictable life routines. If people don't realize how disruptive problems will be, they might not know changes are necessary or understand how your offers make changes easier. Help identify & prioritize problems so people optimally invest time, energy & money.

Explain offers so people understand value they can receive & how to avoid consequences of unsolved problems.

Since imperfect lives can be series of obstacles, offer preparation resources to mitigate what's unavoidable. Consultations can help you understand people’s rough spots, their current resources plus successful & unsuccessful efforts. Consultations are also for guiding product choices & planning methods.

Though affluent people hire professionals, middle-income customers might need guidance to do or outsource any steps.

How can you help people through processes from problem discovery to solution maintenance? Identify existing & emerging problems. Compare products. Plan how to use unfamiliar products for creating & maintaining benefits.

When you write offers & do consultations, consider questions like these examples: Which causes & effects can & should consumers take on or outsource? If causes end, how long will effects last? Will effects cause further problems or is damage limited?

Cognitive Labor is a Legitimate Customer Workload

Even if potential thoughts are infinite, daily time & energy are finite. Though people have many needs & desires plus inspirational & aspirational ideas, follow-through is limited by knowledge, time & energy. When you help customers integrate needs, desires & ideas with your resources, you work together to turn potential into reality.

Offer Example: ‘When people need to prevent & solve problems, some stores offer barely adequate products. It’s like throwing lumber to stranded swimmers who need boats. (Store) offers consultations to guide you to find & use resources to fulfill goals. Let’s work together to combine the right resources to convert your needs, desires & ideas into reality.’

Allison Daminger wrote the article “How Couples Share ‘Cognitive Labor’ and Why it Matters”. Here are my interpretations of some of Allison Daminger's ideas plus my extrapolations:

Cognitive Labor includes thinking, planning, deciding & problem-solving. These mental tasks include anticipating needs, identifying options for filling needs, deciding among options & monitoring results.

For some issues, Cognitive Labor requires knowing, interpreting & applying limits.

Example: People are frustrated because they don’t know why plants aren’t healthy. Watering plants can be more complicated than gardeners anticipate. Some plants need some acid in soil, if water is acidic, it could be good for some plants & hurt others. Too much water can dilute acid & minerals in soil. Soil composition, heat, humidity & light affect how much water plants can tolerate. Gardeners can solve problems & cause others because things that help plants can also help harmful organisms. Gardeners need to do just enough to bring benefits.

People’s preparations for decisions are invisible, but significant & can be onerous.

Cognitive Labor Can Distract People From Other Tasks.

Anticipation is mostly in one person’s mind & can interfere with other activities because people have limited mental bandwidth.

Some decisions are spontaneous. High stakes decision-making is often done in a longer period, frequently involves conversations & is possibly postponed until convenient times.

Cognitive labor can lead to anxiety: People wonder if they’re forgetting anything. As conditions change & technology advances, people realize they don’t know valuable things. That knowledge gap means people won’t recognize emerging problems & don’t have resources for preventing or solving unrecognized problems.

Which needs have people failed to anticipate? What schedule conflicts have they not foreseen? Which ongoing home project might people have lost track of along the way? Should they keep searching for better solutions or consider problems solved?

People need to be satisfied with information, insights & practices to achieve comfortable closure. Even if they know they’ll reopen issues/projects when new information is available or conditions change, people want to be sure they’ve done all they could currently.

After people feel they’ve settled issues, they might believe they’re protected & ignore those issues. When protection isn’t permanent, it’s important to understand what’s possible & determine if preliminary answers can guide people to significant progress.

If the best time for action is unknown, somebody needs to determine whether to risk starting too early or late. Is there enough time to establish full assurance (about best practices) before implementing preventative action?

You can lead people through consultations even if you don’t have all pertinent answers yet, because you can check which questions apply to customers’ conditions.

After finding applicable questions, you can search for answers. With answers about what’s apt to happen & potential results, you can work on options. If customers are comfortable with options, they can commit to using products & methods. That commitment is important, so people don’t give up without allowing enough time for full effects.

During consultations, you can determine what people need for producing & maintaining full results, so customers are assured. Part of assurance is sharing common term definitions because misunderstandings can lead to problems & mistrust.

It’s important to agree what words mean so people can set realistic goals. People might not know they’ve made mistakes when expectations aren’t accurate.

Share the Cognitive Labor

Do some of the heavy mental lifting to streamline processes, optimize results & reduce risks. It takes more than strength for physical lifting; strong lifters also need correct techniques.

Effective, efficient decision-makers know what & how to think. As a retailer & consultant, you should know how to evaluate conditions & know which facts are necessary.

It’s important for you to know the cognitive labor load of processes from identifying vulnerabilities & problems to eliminating or reducing those. Consider which options could make budgeting & financing less stressful.

Marketing can include reminding customers about seasonal preparation or it’s time to check for problems. People will be relieved to outsource that anticipation work to you.

There’s an overwhelming span of problems from potentials to what’s probable plus emerging or current trouble. There’s an overwhelming span of solutions from potentially effective to what’s likely to work & what’s currently working.

Among emerging & current problems, which are threats or nuisances? Can problems be solved, prevented, or just mitigated? If somebody buys unreliable products, there’ll be less money, time & energy to restart with effective resources.

Which efforts can customers do with current resources? If people can’t afford money or storage space for materials or tools, you might need to adjust your business. If products are packaged in bigger amounts than people need, do you justify small purchases? If people need tools for short times & can’t afford money or space for purchases, will you offer rentals?

Help people determine how much of each resource they can afford to invest in for results. If people end up buying tools they’ll use once, their money will be tied up until they sell or trade tools. If you have tool rentals, people can rent what they need & move on.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Necessity is More Important than Store Locations

Your store location won’t matter to people until your offers fit people’s goals. As you add value to consumers’ results, they depend on your inputs to maximize & maintain outcomes.

Customer Intimacy strengthens relationships by offering the most comprehensive, customized preventions & solutions customers can afford. Divorce can end intimacy when people feel disappointed, especially when they find better offers.

Customer Integrators go further with interdependent consultations about customers’ conditions & goals for systematic results. During interdependent consultations, retailers & customers learn from each other with questions & answers to increase understanding & benefits for others also.

Optimal products & information make stores necessary for creating & maintaining reliable, predictable results inspiring customers’ full confidence. Doubt about results brings stress which reduces life quality & could cause future indecisiveness.

Feelings (pride or regret) about results can cause positive or negative feelings about product manufacturers & retailers.

Reduce customers' doubt & regret by providing information to help them understand & evaluate conditions & options. Your efforts show dedication to consumers instead of greed.

Use information from suppliers, government agencies & educators to help customers make optimal decisions along all stages from planning to preserving & adjusting benefits.

Leadership & Cognitive Labor

Leadership includes optimizing mental efforts of identifying & using valuable resources.

Decisions & thinking require energy. Stress reduces energy. Tired people become more stressed when they have more decisions to make. Outline thought processes & planning, so people are less stressed & more productive.

Example: ‘The issue is __. Causes are __. Effects are __. If your conditions are __, options for reducing causes are __. Control of those causes brings these options for fixing the effects: __. Of these options, the best local option is __. The steps are __. These (products & methods) are effective & efficient because __.’

Offer Example: ‘Whether you think multi-tasking is productive, you’ll be more productive when you’re not distracted by multiple problems. Progress is limited each time you use physical &/or mental energy to pay attention to things that should be resolved already. With consultations & complete kits from (Store), you can be sure problems are practically settled, so you can focus on other priorities. (Store) has the right quality products & plans you need for confidence to conquer problems & move on. Let’s reduce your stress by solving & preventing problems.’

Explain Why Your Store is Necessary for Stress Relief.

Even if customers don’t expect total protection against problems, there's value in reducing risks. Example: Infested trees can fall & cause injuries & damage, so people remove blighted trees. Others preserve trees & reduce blight by killing insects & fungi, so it's important to know whether trees can be saved, possibly including branch removal. Those temporary treatments seem less drastic than felling trees.

Smooth flowing information & material resources make your store necessary by reducing customers' distress. When people feel uncertain or are sure negative things will happen, stress increases until people find relief.

Make specific offers based on how products & methods create integrated customized results to relieve & prevent problems. Price list ads don’t offer specific relief.

Offer consultations to discuss details, so you can integrate customized results into people’s immediate expectations & long-term lives. Example: Tree planting & trimming advice can save awnings from damage as trees & branches grow taller & wider. People can enjoy awnings & trees unless growth & rough weather overwhelm them.

When you offer definitively chosen products for prevention or solution projects, include timely information to raise awareness of problems. You shouldn’t assume people already know why your offers are valuable.

There’s value in helping people understand threats & optimal remedies. Definitive remedies are based on defining what went wrong & why, so customers stop causes plus mitigate effects.

After customers are reassured about remedies, their hope makes it easier to focus on creating optimal results. Like any pain, stress seems to push people toward quick liberation, like pain killing pills instead of cures.

When you liberate people from stress, they can focus on long-term relief. That’s why you should promote value beyond products & prices. Even if other retailers promote product benefits, consumers need methods for using products to create & maintain benefits. People need information to evaluate plans & results to avoid incomplete or ill-advised results.

Offer Example: ‘Some retailers brag about prices or product selection. (Store) offers consultations about conditions & results to recommend project kits for establishing specific benefits. Let’s review what’s possible if you need something quick plus determine what’s optimal for establishing long benefits. Benefit establishment requires the product quality plus optimal methods (Store) offers.’

Instructional Testimonials

Customer Integration inspires testimonials by showing you give advice for optimal customers’ results instead of just pushing products. Ask how customers created benefits to clarify how to write instructions & confirm what works.

Instructional testimonials can encourage customers with contextual insights.

Example: ‘I chose (product) because I could use it to __. It made a difference because in our area, (problem) starts each year unless we eliminate (precursors). After I removed (precursors) with (product 1 & method 1), it was easier to install (materials). Now I can maintain it with (product 2 & method 2). If I notice (symptom), it indicates I need to use (product 3 & method 3).’

Customer Integration fulfills expectations & needs/desires for lasting value. People might gain short-term results from discounters’ stuff because of poor quality & no consultations.

Brand reputations make purchase decisions easier but to increase sales, manufacturers give into discount retailers’ demands. Consumers’ expectations are apt to be based on earlier reputations.

Some manufacturers sacrifice reputations by reducing quality of materials & labor to comply with discounters’ pressure to cut prices. There are limits to how much costs can be cut by off-shoring & economies of scale.

People hope reputations are still valid & believe lower prices bring more value. Strong reputations seem to indicate poor results are from bad luck instead of bad quality. How would people know if failure is due to misinterpreting conditions, poor products or bad methods?

Some manufacturers don't tolerate higher costs of changing product runs to include better materials. You should be aware - you could get discount product versions. Some cheap products aren’t made for preventative maintenance or repairs, so failure is likely & necessitates full replacements.

If you don’t have access to high quality products, how can you help customers work around or overcome product quality gaps? Is there information you can convert into methods for preparing for projects or adapting results?

Discounters can force manufacturers to absorb costs of product returns, so consumers spend time & energy returning products instead of finishing projects. Their customers might still return often, so discount retailing is a hard business model to compete against.

Despite discounters’ claims, their reputation is the opposite of building dependable value by integrating high quality products, methods & information.

Without better offers from local retailers, discount customers can think they have little to win, but nothing to lose. Explain the importance of investing in high quality results. When prices seem to be the main value criterion, people don't think about how long they need results to last.

Explain why durability is important for specific purposes. Define durability & what's required to optimize specific conditions. Explain how your offer fulfills those purposes, requirements & definitions.

If you set people’s result quality expectations & guide preliminary planning, people will know what’s possible through integration with your store.

After basic projects fulfill purposes, people can maintain foundational results, plus upgrade aspects to increase satisfaction.

Offer Example: ‘During any __ project, whatever can go wrong could go wrong at the worst times. It isn’t just a matter of bad luck because discount stores push shoddy products. You can create good luck with projects designed for your conditions. (Store) has information to design projects, choose products & plan methods, so you’ll know which causes you need to change & which effects you need to create. Discount retailers expect you to settle for commodity products. Without customized planning, you’re stuck with commoditized methods & results that are like cheap clothes adequate enough to cover you, but uncomfortable. When needs aren’t fulfilled, cheap products could cause more problems than they prevent. When manufacturers sacrifice their reputations & discount product quality doesn't match your expectations, you need consultations to evaluate your conditions & products. (Store) consultations help you invest your time & energy in creating dependable results. You can achieve goals while others wait in discount store lines to buy & return defective products.’

You can avoid disappointing customers by helping them compare expectations with conditions, product specifications & method effectiveness.

Consultation Example: ‘Based on what happened & how conditions change, let’s consider available products & tasks you’re willing to do, so you’ll know what to expect. You can have maximum effectiveness with this kit because (products & methods) make (result) a long-term benefit by preventing (problems).’

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

People Often Need Leaders to Create & Maintain Benefits.

In previous posts, I emphasized using your ability to optimize benefits as inspiration for people to accept your leadership. Your leadership should include guidance & influencing perceptions, not just stocking shelves.

Show how people create more advantages by integrating your store into their lives. Interactions & transactions often seem to be more beneficial for leaders & business owners than followers & consumers.

Since customers compare competitive offers, use ads & consultations to describe how you help people create specific optimal value. Help people recognize value, so they can justify purchases. It’s harder for people to justify purchasing if they benefit too little & retailers seem to benefit too much.

Analogy: Think of consumers’ conditions as balance scales. Disadvantages, problems & risks are heavy enough to outweigh consumers’ current resources & efforts. Imagine you’re on a third arm & your profits tip the balance closer to your advantage.

Though your profits come from helping consumers, it can seem like the balance tips more in your favor without enough value for consumers. Your profits might seem to reduce consumers’ resources without proportionately reducing heavy problems.

To justify costs of your leadership, help consumers perceive value of reducing or eliminating negative conditions. Explain value to customers so they perceive how you tip that 3-arm scale for them & reduce the load of problems.

Example: ‘When you use (products) & this plan to (create result), you’ll benefit because __. Will (result) fulfill your goal, or should we explore something else?’

Define Full Prevention & Solutions

Checklists show what’s needed & guide planning by helping customers perceive total problems.

Describe effects of kits compared to untreated or insufficiently treated damage.

Example: ‘Damage you’ve described will cost $XYZ to repair. If you delay full repairs, the damage will become worse & more expensive to fix because __. Though other stores offer some products, let’s work together on achieving your goal by coordinating a plan with the right products.’

People recognize leaders as having access to resources including knowledge needed to plan methods for using resources. You produce value by determining the best plan, methods & resources to achieve goals.

Since people have different perceptive abilities, customers might misinterpret how conditions change. Explain how to find answers for your questions, so you can deduce what’s wrong & plan to make it right.

Consultation Example: ‘We’ll review your answers & checklist results to determine your ability to achieve your goal & your comfort with a plan. We'll create your kit as you agree to the feasibility of each part & step. Here’s the information checklist we’ll use to choose products & plan methods.’

This customer service structure is your basis for offering competitive value.

Offer Example: ‘In today’s complicated world, causes bring effects & those effects cause other problems. Discount stores sell products based on profitability. (Store) offers reliability, so you get information about specific causes & effects before product suggestions. Since reliability brings satisfaction & your goals define your satisfaction, let’s evaluate what happened & what you need. When we define reliability for your circumstances, we can be sure our planned methods & products fit specific results. Even if discount stores let you return unsatisfactory products, they aren’t helping you achieve goals. Since you need successful projects, you don’t have time for exchanging products & getting refunds. Let’s start your successful project while you’re in (Store), so you’ll have everything from planning to completion.’

Since people hesitate when they aren’t sure what to choose & how to do projects, you should lead customers so they don’t miss out. Project success depends on knowing which causes are starting, fully happening or ending.

Checklists help in confirming causes are over so customers can start repairing effects. Success requires knowing which causes bring which effects & possibly prioritizing major problems when resources are limited.

Offer Example: ‘Since people have multiple challenges, bring your concerns to (Store) to be sure you solve the highest priority problems. Though it’ll still be an imperfect world, (Store) offers checklists to find & reduce imperfections.’

Prioritization might be based on inaccurate & incomplete information. Since it’s an imperfect world, people decide based on incomplete perceptions. Also people disregard what doesn’t fit their paradigms.

Leaders help people adjust thoughts & feelings. People feel X when they experience Y, so they think Z. When people think better experiences are possible & feel those experiences have important benefits, they think of ways to gain those benefits.

You can guide their thoughts by offering results from effective, efficient processes, so people believe results are possible.

When you have descriptive case studies/testimonials, you can introduce options so customers can imagine benefits.

Consultation Example: ‘A customer was frustrated because __. Let’s review this case study about how (products) were used with specific methods & to create (result). Did this case start like yours? Since (product) specifications fit the solution you need, let’s check how comfortable you are with the instructions. We can adjust ways to use (products), so your benefits will be __ & is compatible with __. In X years, it’ll be time for a maintenance kit. Are we both understanding how you can use (products) with these methods & get the right result?’

Connect Customers’ Thoughts & Perceptions to Value

When you help customers' integrate thoughts & perceptions with new information, they'll recognize value of your offers.

Which information can connect people to what they need &want? It’s a matter of connecting customers’ thoughts & perceptions to what will bring fulfilling options.

Consultation Example: ‘Based on your answers, this information will help you understand how these products & this plan fit your repair & prevention needs. When you finish your project, your confidence will reduce your stress.’

Lead people to turn wishes into desires & plans. Goals can feel out of reach because people don’t have accurate plans. Accurate plans are based on what’s possible with available resources.

Desires are demoted to wishes after disappointments. If people overestimate resources &/or misinterpret conditions, desired results could be unrealistic or achieved results could be impractical.

Offer Example: ‘Since discount store shoppers don’t get any guidance, it’s possible to buy products & create results that don’t prevent or solve problems. Each person specializes in something & some problems don’t fit your specialty. (Store) specializes in (results). Everybody needs a team. It’s time to prevent/solve (problem) with a team effort at (Store). Since team efforts require resources & plans, that’s what (Store) offers you to prevent/solve (problem).’

Leaders Clarify Perceptions & Challenge Thoughts

Based on your product knowledge & conditions awareness, you can help people sort through facts to find what didn’t work & why.

Misunderstood perceptions & unchallenged thoughts can become beliefs. Clarification can renew confidence.

Consultation Example: ‘Though (product A) can be adequate for similar conditions, (product B) is better for us locally. Though you used the right techniques when (product A) failed, it was like a domino that knocked the rest down. (Product B) is effective with different techniques, so let’s form another plan based on current information.’

Provide information for each step including evaluating preliminary & final results plus determining which maintenance practices are necessary & when.

Since some decisions require unfamiliar research & comparisons, people should use processes for finding necessary information & determining which sources & facts are pertinent.

Easily obtainable resources can seem sufficient to people who don’t know total possibilities.

When you help people find new resources, help them recreate conditions. Nudge people with new beginnings & different (well-chosen) resources.

Offer Example: ‘(Store) project kits are made for local conditions & customizable for your needs & desires. With new products, methods & information, you’ll create more comfort. During our consultation, we’ll identify what you need for success & make a kit for your personal project. You’ll have less stress & more success when you start your project confidently.’

Until people know consequences of actions, they won’t know what to do. After people learn about methods, they need to learn about products or vice versa. Since they might need to iterate between choosing products & planning compatible methods, people should have processes.

Comprehensive plans leave very little or nothing to chance, so people are confident enough to strive for progress. Hesitation prevents their benefits & your sales.

Since anybody is apt to make mistakes, the confidence you inspire can bring people back because they want to reduce costs & avoid costly mistakes. Even after mastering some skills, customers might hesitate about unfamiliar activities. When you & other customers show how to create results that fit needs & desires, potential benefits outweigh people’s perceived risks.

Customer integration includes helping people make optimal decisions, so they can optimize results. Stress relief begins when you help people feel comfortable because they know they have essential information.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Serve by Leading People to Optimize Their Results.

Customer integration is established through retailers’ leadership. Whether customers are battling problems or optimizing experiences, they evaluate leaders based on benefits.

Lead people by showing how you’ll optimize their results. Since effective leadership includes effective planning, you should inspire consumers’ confidence by offering specific effective, efficient results from products.

By leading people to results, you’ll offer better service than product pushers.

Is It Time to Change?

Instead of trying to optimize results, people might retry products & methods instead of risking what’s unfamiliar. Link unfamiliar & familiar things with descriptive connections.

Offer Example: ‘The previous top technology was using (products) to (produce result). Those products, methods & results were adequate, but required too much time & effort. You’ll achieve more (result) when you upgrade with (new version), because __. Though previous versions could __, this upgrade helps you with better (result) because it __.’

If current products &/or methods didn't totally prevent or eliminate negative causes, people need guidance to 1) confirm causes & effects; 2) identify better options; 3) coordinate efforts to improve & maintain results.

Explain how to progress from current conditions to fulfilling desires. Explain how you’ll use knowledge about products, methods & people’s conditions to develop customers’ benefits. Show your desire to understand their needs with consultations.

Consultation Example: ‘What are your primary & secondary goals? Let’s review your results, so we can determine what you need for progress. Which products did you use & what were your methods? Apparently you found (product) creates tolerable results, but it seems you need more than that. This new (product) version does _ like you’ve experienced, plus it does __. Let’s review product specifications & instructions to determine your comfort level & what you need to learn. Let’s plan preparation steps all the way through to maintaining your results.’

The Next Step Is __ Because __.

When people aren’t sure what to expect, they don’t always know what future steps should be. Though people might recognize some action is necessary, they don’t want to start without knowing what will be effective. Yet, delaying could allow deterioration, which could make products & future actions less effective.

Offer coaching about what to continue or stop if people are frustrated with certain products & actions.

Since planning should be more than combining individual product instructions into projects, people need the right timing for each step. By customizing project kits & instructions, you can prevent confusion about what to do & inspire customers’ confidence in results.

Offer Example: ‘When you’re considering your project for (result), carefully think about your options. You can choose (Store) for consultations & customized kits. Or you can get individual products from other stores & hope all products are compatible with each other & your goal. You’ll be less stressed at (Store) because you’ll be confident in each project step.’

Consultation Example: ‘When this adhesive becomes pink & thicker, you can attach __. After it’s firmly bonded, insert __. Your previous trouble happened because older adhesives weren’t as strong. Now you can be sure parts will stay together, so you can confidently do each step.’

People might be more confident about familiar products & actions than new options. Since people have imperfect perceptions & limited abilities, it’s hard to determine if one person’s efforts are the best possible with current resources. Customers can team up to report project results. All members can learn & extrapolate which options fit their conditions.

Example: Overall neighborhood conditions were __. Noticeable differences in their yards were __. Neighbor A used (ABC) to do __ & results are __. Neighbor B used (XYZ) to do __ & results are __. This indicates __.

People might wonder if more steps are possible or advisable. When you keep previous results on file, you can make comparisons. What is changing/has changed since the last time people had (& were satisfied with) particular results? When did that change start? How different is it now? As conditions started changing, was everything working well or was something declining? If results declined, is that because devices are wearing out or are conditions becoming tougher? Have customers’ needs &/or expectations changed even if devices &/or conditions are essentially the same?

Improved Product? What About Improved Benefits?

Sometimes consumers don’t perceive ‘improvements’.

Upgrades might help but mandatory upgrades can be inconvenient. It can be like software companies only providing security updates for more advanced programs. Do advanced programs provide enough new benefits for all customers who would have to buy new computers?

If there are hassles or other costs in upgrading, perceived benefits seem less valuable. When people are satisfied with current product versions, more features or new versions of previous features might be unsatisfying.

If needs & desires aren’t fulfilled or conditions have changed, new product versions might be beneficial. Are new versions as effective for previous & emerging problem variations?

Somebody, who owns a small lawn, might be unimpressed by self-propelled mowers because that benefit is negated by frequent turns.

Don’t expect people to think the latest product is greatest. Instead of trying to replace consumers’ thoughts with yours, you can suggest issues for comparing goals & products.

People will be more impressed by your knowledge when you explain how facts make products & services more beneficial. Challenge people to compare results of your knowledge & high quality products with barely adequate products from competitors.

You can influence consumers’ purchase processes when you know why & how their processes start, proceed & end. Do consumers independently perceive threats or learn from others? What would help consumers identify/confirm needs & define desires? What would help consumers prepare for decisions, purchases, using products & evaluating results?

Costs of Progress

There are processes in gaining benefits from new products. Processes can be inconvenient because of personal efforts &/or financial costs. Are efforts & costs offset by new benefits &/or new effectiveness or efficiencies in similar established benefits? Processes of buying & benefiting from products/projects can involve: 1) reprioritizing & delaying other activities to dedicate time & energy for new higher priorities; 2) learning about & comparing products; 3) multiple decision makers (each with different criteria & expectations); 4) financing & reprioritizing budgets; 5) adjusting habits/methods &/or learning new methods (which means productivity will probably drop temporarily); 6) making mistakes until methods are mastered; 7) finding storage space; 8) disposing of previous materials; 9) wondering about the wisdom of purchasing.

Perceptions of progress depend on personal & social standards.

As standards change, people decide about restarting or continuing efforts to maintain results. It’s why satisfaction can change even if results haven’t changed.

Success is judged based on experiences & standards, so offer consultations about physical & experiential qualities. When you ask about reasons for doing or not doing projects or adding options, you can help people develop comfortable long-term results.

Physical & experiential results are incomplete until related stresses are relieved. Though some stress might remain because of imperfections, adjusting options can fulfill more criteria better than average discount products.

People’s acceptance of options might depend on overcoming misconceptions. People might not ask questions because they don’t want to be judged. Offer Example: ‘When you need answers, your questions are NOT wrong! Smart questions bring you benefits. If you aren’t sure what to ask, express your concerns so we can find questions & answers together.’

Though too many retailers push products OUT, you need to bring people IN with their concerns, so you can integrate your store with their results. Without in-depth help, customers might not have results they’ll want to integrate.

People might base criteria for projects only on current resources & expectations which are limited by current knowledge. When you help people choose & use advanced resources by supplying new information, you can open more possibilities than discount stores.

Though people choose what to believe, offer information people need to eliminate misconceptions & problems by increasing their knowledge & benefits.

Help people make their best decisions by comparing advantages & disadvantages. Even if you don’t eliminate each current problem & project disadvantage, you can help reduce the most disruptive problems & disadvantages.

Consultation Example: ‘If we maintain (result) & reduce or eliminate (problem/risk), how would these differences help you? If we can’t reduce or eliminate __ but we increase (benefit), how would these differences help you? We can do it with __. When you were dissatisfied with this product/method, did you notice any progress? What can we do to fit your budget, preserve progress & increase your satisfaction?’

When people are stressed by a lack of control, it’s important to determine how much stress is from unfulfilled (possibly unrealistic) expectations or resource gaps. If goals are adjusted, which resources will fill gaps between current conditions & goals?

Though customers might want to reduce stress by controlling conditions, mitigation might be more realistic than full solutions & control. Determine what customers can prevent & what they can alter enough to mitigate risks &/or problems.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything. Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved. When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Be a Market Leader by Leading Customers to Benefits.

In The Discipline of Market Leaders, Michael Treacy & Fred Wiersema wrote about product leadership as offering superior products & experiences.

Let’s add personal leadership because you should lead customers to benefits instead of hoping they’ll determine how products are beneficial. Your basic offer should be: Though your current condition is__, we can increase your benefits with these products & methods. As your current condition changes, we’ll use innovative products plus techniques to maximize positive changes & minimize negative changes.

Be persuasive by presenting benefits to match people’s goals & leading customers to choose & use products to achieve goals.

Show you believe customers deserve the best, by optimizing your store so your offers produce the best results. In Good to Great by Jim Collins, the first circle of the Hedgehog Concept is what you can be best in the world at. Let’s focus on making your offers are the best options for specific results.

To create the best results for your business & customers’ lives, develop a category of options & optimize the best option for each customer. Which resources make that option possible? How will you acquire & integrate those resources? What could interfere with that option? How will you reduce or eliminate that interference?

Even if you have the indisputable best offer according to the most authoritative criteria, you need to build a mental path to your door.

Analogy: After electricity is generated by combining factors, it follows the path of least resistance. After lightning finds paths from clouds to land, the Earth adds power.

Your offers should have enough power to get through mental resistance & integrate with the power of people’s desires for benefits. It can be like people comparing pictures. When offer descriptions match people’s goal visualizations, people believe your offer fits gaps between current conditions & goals.

While monitoring consumers’ conditions, present information so consumers recognize what they have & need for achieving goals. Offer resources to empower people to complete their desired conditions.

Offer Example: ‘You may be frustrated by incomplete projects because something disrupted your plans. Let’s review your progress, so we can reduce obstacles plus add products & information you haven’t found yet. (Store) has (products) & plans for adjusting your conditions. Together we’ll identify what will complete your building project.’

Analogy: Electricity isn’t successfully conducted, when there’s a gap because there isn’t a sufficient conductor &/or the power is too low to jump the gap. Let’s consider products to be conductors & information to be power.

Show you’re part of the circuit of resources people need to achieve goals.

Needs/desires > compelling offers of products plus implementation & maintenance methods > goals

After connecting facts & feelings to show you understand people’s goals, you can use facts to connect goals to your offers.

Offer Example: ‘Are your lawn mower & lawn well-matched? Does your mower fit your physical needs? At (Store), let’s consider facts other retailers ignore. Whether lawn mowing is an act of pride or just a necessary task, (product) makes it easy & quick with less noise. People are quickly tired from pushing mowers over uneven lawns. (Product) has quick adjustment levers for smooth performance whether you push or use self-propulsion. Its wide deck cuts more grass in less time than narrow mowers. It can get close to objects to reduce your need for edge trimming. (Store) includes preventative maintenance plans to sharpen blades & secure other parts. With products & service from (Store), you’ll have fewer hassles plus more time & energy after effective, efficient mowing.’

When people are distracted & distressed, their mental energy is like static electricity.

When mental energy (attention, interest & desire) flows through integrated connections, people can recognize & use coordinated (synchronized) values you create. Distracted people need benefits of coordinated products with goal-focused methods.

Coordination includes information to organize what customers already have & add what they need.

Customer integration builds value & establishes mental links so consumers perceive that value.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

Al Ries & Jack Trout wrote about creating categories & being first. Some laws are:

The Law of the Category If you can’t be first in a category, create a new category to be first in.

The Law of the Mind It’s better to be first in minds than be first in the marketplace.

The Law of Perception Marketing isn’t a battle of products; it’s a battle of perceptions.

The Law of Focus The most powerful marketing concept is to own a word in prospects’ minds. Focus your business practices on a cohesive concept.

If you don’t have time to read/listen to the whole book, you can do an internet search for summaries.

Let’s add some meaning to these laws. To effectively use these, you need to be categorized as being ahead of competitors in prioritizing consumers’ benefits. What do consumers perceive you to be focusing on? Show you want to profit by optimizing their results instead of just pushing products.

Since goal achievement is a journey, busy people prefer smooth, direct routes. It can be disrupting like driving over potholes when people struggle to make products & results conform to expectations.

Too many businesses focus on selling products instead of the benefits of reducing problems. You can be categorized & perceived as a specialist by offering precise kits. Align kits with customers’ goals so people check with you first when desires & needs emerge. You can be first on consumers’ lists if your store offers total integration to connect people to ideal conditions.

Even if you establish product leadership among stores, it’s important to inspire consumers to accept you as a leader, so you can lead them to great results.

Mediocre advertising is basically, ‘You have (problem), I have products.’ It’s like pointing & saying, ‘Go get it.’ That isn’t leadership. The value of leadership is diagnosing problems, finding resources & planning solutions plus preventing recurrence.

To lead people to use optimal resources, you might have to convince people to push aside failure. People might give up & think they can’t afford more efforts after unsuccessful attempts.

Offer Example: ‘When you need basic (project) results & can’t afford to hire professionals, you still need specialized information. If you’ve been disappointed, let’s determine what went wrong & make corrections. We won’t find fault. We’ll identify obstacles. Let’s compare your results & conditions with plans that fit your goal. We’ll find what fills the gap between your goal & current conditions.’

You Can Do What They Did.

Testimonials can describe what worked, so people can compare their attempts with successful efforts. Detailed testimonials can renew hope & desires because people learn other options can be applied or adjusted. Compelling offers renew hope & you can lead hopeful people by showing how results are possible.

When projects don’t work, people don’t always think about trying again with different products or methods. When you offer plans, show people there are ways they haven’t tried. It’s vital to remember people can believe what’s possible when they know how it’s done.

Offer Example: ‘Your frustration is understandable. Let’s work together at (Store), by using plans & checklists to determine what didn’t work & why. Instead of finding fault, we’ll find better options with products & techniques that fit your conditions, expectations & goals. Let’s focus on long-term benefits of high quality products to overcome negative conditions. Complete results are possible with the right knowledge & planning, so you succeed. These are important considerations because (Store) offers results instead of just pushing products.’

Be bold when you compare your store with competitors, so people recognize how your strong value fits their lives. Bold comparisons are more apt to establish consumers’ attention, interest & desire, so your offers inspire action. Identify when & why products are necessary, plus offer support for maximizing benefits.

Offer Example: ‘The right plans & resources make things work FOR YOU, so things are less apt to happen TO YOU. Good results can happen randomly, but when you want the BEST results, you need to make the best happen. Some retailers assume you just need products. They brag about selection or prices, but they don’t mention the cost of low quality, incomplete results. Since product selections only matter when you get the right results, let’s work together to select products for the support you need. When you have __ & __, you’ll be ready to create (benefits). At (Store), we’ll combine the right product versions & be sure you know the best methods for lasting benefits. Projects shouldn’t cause more stress than the relief you expect from your goals. When we know which results you need to create & problems you need to avoid, we can plan your benefits. Since (season) & (weather) are almost here, limited supplies are becoming available. It’s time to be sure you get the results you deserve.’

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Offer the Best Results for Specific People

Making profitable kits is challenging & necessary to surpass competitors & preclude consumers’ procrastination.

Customer integration can include project kits. It’s offering superior value & helping consumers recognize that value as necessary for their goals. If you can’t do full service projects for customers, what will exceed competitors & establish momentum for customers?

Which project steps or aspects overwhelm customers? You can nudge people out of procrastination & hesitation by offering completed steps as modules for people to connect. If some project steps are difficult for novices, customers can add those as modules as they finish easier steps.

If people aren’t confident in their abilities & potential solutions, product name & price ads won’t overcome procrastination. Inspire action by describing how you help people combine knowledge & products to create & maintain benefits.

People don’t want to fail & might tolerate problems instead of risking wasted efforts & money. Consumers hesitate when risks & frustrations of failure feel worse than risks & frustrations of problems.

Identifying problems & prescribing products won’t be enough if people need guidance about methods. There are ranges of added value factors between identifying problems & maintaining improvements. You can specialize in factors throughout that range & create people’s best options.

You determine how completely your offers improve customers' conditions with the number of factors you fulfill. You can adjust your specialty with increasing knowledge as conditions & suppliers’ offers change.

Offer Beneficial Patterns

As lives are disrupted, dysfunctional patterns are established when people react instead of plan.

Even if people need help struggling through weeks of work & household responsibilities, their struggles can be divided into progressive steps. Explain how better products & methods reduce struggles.

Since people might be frustrated while they learn methods, encourage them to focus on increasing effectiveness & efficiency when they do recurrent tasks. Their invested time & efforts produce smoother patterns & better results.

People are often overwhelmed even in familiar conditions but organized thinking becomes even harder in the face of new problems.

Many offers can be framed as relieving stress &/or adding enjoyment. Preliminary offers can show new patterns are beneficial, so people are confident enough to make changes. After people experience samples of what’s possible, subsequent offers of customized kits can create fuller benefits.

Retailers, that don’t help people with full options, aren’t people’s best options.

As competition intensifies, your success depends on building people’s confidence in their ability to keep progressing.

Customer integration creates people’s best options for important results retailers can profitably sell.

We’re building up to integrating the 3 circles of the Hedgehog Concept in Good to Great by Jim Collins. Those circles contain what: 1. you can be best in the world at; 2. you’re deeply passionate about; & 3. drives your economic engine.

In this global economy, you shouldn’t brag about being the absolute best but you can explain why: 1. your offers are the best options for specific results; 2. those results are important to specific people; & 3. your profitable prices are justified.

Show You Care About What’s Important to Customers.

Discount retailers study consumer behavior to increase sales, decrease services & determine price points. As a specialist, you should show you study consumers’ desires & needs to determine the most effective, efficient options. You can confirm that in your advertising & consultations.

In consultations, you can validate insights from consumer complaint & advice blogs. By comparing local problems & conditions with conditions, problems & solutions people described in blogs, you can learn what’s important to people. When you add those insights to suppliers’ product lists, you can develop plans for potential project kits for customers.

When you describe potential benefits of those kits to customers, you can ask about their perceived value. You might also learn what consumers misunderstand. Are they confused about terminology? Do they know how to choose & use products? Do they need guidance about best practices?

If people have trouble describing problems, you can use those blog posts for clarification. Example: ‘I think somebody else had a similar need. As I read this, please determine if it fits your challenges.’

To fully optimize customers’ results, you might need to ask sensitive questions.

Consultation Example: ‘I can help you achieve your goal if I know more about your conditions. You might be uncomfortable with sensitive questions. I hope you won’t be offended. How comfortable are you on ladders? If projects include ___, would you object? Can you lift & carry ___ pounds? Since this is a rainy season, can you finish this project in __ hours? Do you have __ hours to learn to use these tools & materials? Before you buy a kit, you can read instructions & determine if any restrictions would interfere with you using these tools & materials. After you read these instructions & review your goal & conditions, let’s compare kits. We can ask & answer each other’s questions & customize a kit. To do it, I might ask about your life, so we can be specific enough to design the best results.’

Your Hesitation Could Cause Consumers To Hesitate.

You can test offers to determine what will attract buyers. Even if a limited (the first 5 to respond) offer starts overwhelming your fulfillment ability, negative effects would be restricted.

If you hesitate about offering full value, consumers might hesitate about buying less than they need. By offering benefit ranges, you can guide customers to choose what’s necessary for optimal results.

Offer Example: ‘After you notice (problem), you need reliable information from (Store) to find the most effective solution. There are loads of conflicting insights & information, so you might wonder which insights & information are valid for your goals & needs. Since your goals are important, let's be sure you have the most effective, efficient products & information. Let’s review your goals & conditions to determine whether you should adjust goals, conditions or both. Until you know about available products & compatible methods, you can’t accurately evaluate options. Project kits from (Store) include full instructions & consultations you need for optimal results. You get optimal results when you explore possibilities & invest in the best options. If you find obstacles during projects, bring your questions because service from (Store) continues, so your progress will continue.’

Encourage People to Consider All Factors

Compare long-term results if rivals don’t sell high quality products & provide optimal service.

Offer Example: ‘(Contractor) will consult with you & evaluate your conditions, so together we achieve your goals & prevent problems. Old plumbing might not fit current codes because problems are inevitable from old technology. (Contractor) does complete projects, so you have full benefits. Some businesses aren’t real competitors because they don’t do complete projects. They claim to finish in one day, but do they help you avoid future problems? Some offer patented quick drains, but if old drain pipes are partially blocked &/or corroded inside, you’ll have problems. It costs more to do the right things in the right ways, but shoddy projects will cost you more money later & cause excess stress. Those hydrotherapy jets only relieve stress when you have the right installation results.’

More Value Means More Opportunities

Some durable goods retailers might have infrequent consumer contact & limited integration opportunities. Chet Holmes advised developing the broadest possible view of your business, so you can offer the ultimate benefits to customers. This should include offering related benefits plus preventing & solving problems. (You can do an Internet search for Chet Holmes & broadest possible view.)

Example: Furnace contractors offer comfort by moving air, so they include filtration & humidity control for air quality. Let’s use local retail examples.

Though furniture lasts for years, long-term benefits require maintenance. Some customers need frequent furniture cleaning because they have allergies. Pet dander & fur cling to & get into upholstery & cushions. Incorrect cleaning methods are suboptimal & can ruin furniture. Small tears & worn spots can become big problems. Furniture retailers can offer cleaning & mending or work with service providers.

These services could be advertised to all consumers, so furniture stores would get some income & be ready to replace furniture.

Outdoor furniture & grill stores can offer patio/deck cleaning equipment & awning repair kits or work with service providers. Outdoor games could entertain children who wait for meals.

Hot tubs or inflatable pools/bounce houses (sales or rentals) could be logical recreation accessories.

Ask about people’s plans & expectations. How many children & adults will be invited? How much space is available? Will neighbors buy or rent different products & open their yards for bigger activities? Do people prefer to spend a few hours grilling & eating meals or would they like full days of activities? If they want different activities over a span of days, do you have convenient ways to pack/unpack rental products? Do you have product varieties for different adventures each day?

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything. Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved. When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/

Help Customers Avoid Disappointments By Managing Expectations & Results.

People might try what seemed to work well for others. It’s important to define what ‘work well’ means for people & their conditions.

Consultation Example: ‘I understand why you want similar results. Since neighbors have different factors each year, you might get different results even with the same products & methods. Let’s avoid disappointments by reviewing possible differences in your conditions & goals. Let's determine how long- & short-term results are affected by current & foreseeable positive & negative factors. After studying results & factors, we can pick products & plan methods to optimize positives & reduce negatives. When you’re confident about what to expect, you can schedule your project.’

Explain how your responsibility includes asking questions to ensure good results. When short-term results can be different than long-term results, it’s important to know which deteriorations require repairs or just mitigation. Which changes warrant corrective action & should be prioritized? Would problem preventions or solutions synergize or interfere with other efforts?

Example: Should tires be replaced individually, in pairs or all four? Brake pad replacements wouldn’t make up for worn tires not gripping pavement.

Compare goals & problems to help customers prioritize.

Since preparation is vital, there can be risks in not anticipating probable problems & opportunities.

Offer Example: ‘Though we don’t know how intense (problem) will be this year, we know it always happens, so now it’s time for planning. (Store) has what you need to prepare, so get checklists from (Store) & you’ll know which preparations are necessary & enough. Avoid wasting resources in the wrong or inadequate preparations. Based on the past, we know what doesn’t work. Be sure you use the necessary high quality products & methods, so your efforts will be enough to protect your investment in your home.’

Guidance or Advice

Even if you hesitate about giving advice, you can supply insights. You can ask questions to help individuals, plus you’ll learn for helping future customers.

Example: ‘Since you know you need a solution, what do you need to know about your options? What are your criteria for choosing your best option? These product specifications seem to indicate this is your best choice because __. Does this fit your understanding?’

When you monitor information resources, you can recommend & explain them based on customers’ criteria plus how they explain their needs. People’s explanations reveal what they need to know about problems & how to shape their perceptions.

Example: ‘Dark spots could be dirt or mold. If it’s mold you’ll find __.’

People perceive conditions based on knowledge & priorities. Knowledge influences beliefs about possibilities & priorities influence beliefs about what’s necessary.

Example: ‘Dirt is inconvenient but mold could be hazardous. If it’s mold you need to__.’

To influence what people buy, you need to influence their knowledge & priorities. Influence their knowledge by comparing conditions before & after projects. Explain why results are important, so people adjust priorities.

There’s a difference between offering products & possibilities. Important basic questions are about who, what, why, when, where & how. Products partially answer ‘What’. Possibilities involve WHY people (WHO) want/need WHAT kind of results at locations (WHERE) at particular times (WHEN) & are created with methods (HOW).

Projects can be planned after studying possibilities.

When you consult with customers, your store is integrated into their results. You need reliable product & information suppliers with compatible resources, so you can merge facts about products & conditions.

You can combine customers’ insights from consultations with information from trade groups & manufacturers.

Consultation Example: ‘Based on your answers for the question checklist, your case is like these clients’ cases. They used this information package to decide on this project. This information has insights expressing pros & cons, so you can determine what current & emerging conditions indicate about your options.’

Experiences from Effective Results

Robert Frost wrote, “Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.”

Though duration is important, what counts more is compatibility of experiences with goals & personalities.

Try to help customers identify peak experience elements plus ways to make element combinations fit time & financial constraints. When experience goals are established, determine how much length & money would be required, so elements can be prioritized.

Consultation Example: ‘Since you have $__ & __ hours available, you need to reduce something because combining options A, B & C would cost __ & take about __ hours. Which option is like a foundation that gives your experience the most value? Should we try to keep the other options by adjusting this foundation to cost less & require less time? Would you prefer to keep this full foundation & split the other options or elements into other experiences for other times?’

Since happy experiences don’t last (except in memories), ask questions to determine what made past experiences great & what can be added.

Consultation Example: ‘Do you want to learn about creating new experiences or quickly start something that builds on what’s familiar? Are there good things you want to upgrade or replace with great things? What was barely satisfying before? What was so special you want it again? When you remember things you’ve heard or read, what would fit your goal? That can be done with (product & method). What would add sensory stimuli? What would add value to your experience & be something you’d save as a reminder or souvenir for future enjoyment? We can add __ because it’s similar to what you enjoyed & enhances __. As we check each option, we can customize benefits. You can increase your skills &/or add products. Since learning requires time, you’d need to plan a month ahead. Based on your budget & desires, do you want to boost your enjoyment a little each time or maximize it now? Based on your budget & available time, let’s plan your experience.’

Isn’t That Special?

After people define what’s special, help them define what increases satisfaction. Is it a product amount or size? Do they want certain duration of continuous experience or ability to easily restart? How do people evaluate or measure satisfaction? Can they apply that standard before implementation, so plans can be adjusted?

Offer Example: ‘Whether you're planning your vacation or a weekend, make it special. (Store) is here to help you use memories & imagination. Let’s combine great experiences in your past with new ideas. What would make your camping experiences more fulfilling? Do you want to be like frontier pioneers or space pioneers? (Store) has planning templates to guide you to include special things & eliminate disappointments. Fill in the template blanks, so (Store) can fill experiential blanks. Here are some samples: When I planned camping trips, I expected __. As experiences ended, I thought if __ happened this would’ve been the best ever. Those were the good old days because __. At (Store), let’s create your outstanding personal events by exploring what your reality is & what you want reality to be.’

Good Plans Are Better Than Great Intentions.

Consumers might only intend to do projects until they’re convinced they can do what’s necessary & beneficial.

Retailers might have great intentions when their ads are only product names with pictures & prices. Retailers & consumers don’t profit from intentions or names.

Since people want beneficial results, they need plans for using products. Since people want happy lives, offers should include planned ways to integrate products into lives to increase happiness &/or decrease unhappiness.

Compelling offers promise specific benefits with reasons to justify purchasing. People rate desirability & value of benefit descriptions in compelling offers.

Provide enough help to shape products & methods into customizable benefits.

Consultation Example: ‘We can plan a project to convert desires into benefits. To create (benefit A), we’ll use (product 1) to __. Your benefit will last longer when you maintain it with (product 2). When that’s established you’ll be ready for setting up (benefit B) with (product 3). Let’s put these product instructions together into a plan.’

It can be done with services also. Some travelers plan itineraries & others choose to be guided through fully inclusive packages. Whether people travel or create benefits at home, they venture into unfamiliar territory. Anything unfamiliar can feel threatening & unfamiliar solutions can seem more threatening than problems.

Build familiarity & value of benefits by explaining how problems cause stress & solutions bring relief.

Offer Example: ‘As (problem) increases, you’ll notice (symptoms). (Problem) affects life quality by __. Cheap products can reduce (symptoms) without solving the whole problem. (Store) has kits for you to stop & prevent (problem) instead of struggling to reduce (symptoms) month after month. These kits are for eliminating problems & reducing your stress. When problems are gone, you can protect your health plus invest time, energy & money in things you enjoy.’

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here- https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/