An Inside Reality Vs An Outside Perception

This is something you're probably already aware of. What motivates your customers to buy from you? They'll tell you something quantitative, specific, and immediately obvious if you just ask them! This is why I conduct business here, refer my friends here, am a loyal client here, don't mind paying more here, and keep returning to do business with you. That is how you perceive yourself on the inside. If a company's internal reality differs from its exterior reality, it must innovate in order for consumers to be ready to buy from it in the first place. However, after you've matched your internal reality to the market's needs, there's still a problem. Getting a "WOW!" response does not ensure that customers will flock to your company as a consequence. When it comes to promoting your business, "outside perception" is important.

Consider owning a small hotel or guest home that specializes in offering the best sleeping environment possible. You've spent a fair amount keeping the rooms as quiet as possible, but you're still experiencing problems. Finally, you've placed the finest drapes or shades to keep all of the light out, and your bed is dressed in the finest French linen available. Nothing is left to chance in terms of the accommodation's design to give optimum comfort for the visitor. Now, how would you go about informing the outside world about this incredible interior reality? In addition to word-of-mouth, you may offer your rooms on internet booking sites. This has the unintended consequence of making it harder to express your innermost ideas and feelings. There's no way for people to learn about your fantastic guest rooms, so you wind up appearing like everyone else.

This encounters a person who has a well-defined reputation. Previous purchases will have an impact on customers' perceptions of your company. While developing their own brand, your prospects will look to your external communications for inspiration. Even if your customer service is outstanding and your consumers appreciate you, none of that matters to a new customer if-

1. They don't even realize that you're an option;

2. They can't tell you how valuable you are since you can't communicate to the outside world what's going on within your brain.

If this is the case, these individuals will consider you as no better or worse than the rest of the group. However, if you are unable to articulate your inner reality, you will be viewed as having an inner reality that is diametrically opposed to what the outside world sees. In any case, if your prospect can't figure it out based only on your marketing, you appear to be simply another business offering whatever product or service you're attempting to advertise. Your marketing efforts are likely to be received with apathy at best, and opposition or hostility at worst.

Your success has so far been primarily attributable to your ability to predict what your consumers want. Your products or services meet market demand, and you have a competitive edge. You've been researching this market for years. You have solutions that add value to your consumers' lives. If that's the case, why not be compensated fairly? This is due to the fact that you are an expert in your subject rather than a marketing communications specialist. Both the internal reality and the external impression of your company must be addressed. If you put all of your efforts into the "inner reality" but don't know how to market your product effectively, it's a recipe for frustration and failure. When it comes to trying to figure out where your money has gone, you'll either be ripping your hair out or feeling like the town's "best-kept secret". You may also have purchased marketing books, engaged a public relations or advertising agency, or hired a media sales representative to assist you with your "outside perception." Your clients, on the other hand, will dislike you since you are selling them falsehoods! Managing all aspects of your business is critical to its success.

"You have to make the product interesting, not just the ad, to be effective," says advertising genius Rosser Reeves (the originator of the USP).