In military strategy, the commander relies upon his perception
of the relative strength and disposition of the forces against
him. One of the rules of military intelligence, especially in the
area of espionage, is to influence and shape this perception
advantageously.
By inducing the enemy commander to believe
that you are massing your troops for an attack on a particular
objective, you can cause him to move his forces forward to
defend at that point. You can then attack successfully in an area
that is now relatively undefended.
Each company and each individual is positioned in a particular
way in the hearts and minds of other people. The way
that your customers, present and future, think about you when
your name is mentioned is the critical determinant of whether
or not they buy from you.
The customer’s perception is the customer’s reality. The
truth of the situation, or your product, service, or company,
does not matter. All that matters is what the customer thinks
and feels about you when you are not there.
One of the great rules for success in life is: “Everything
counts!” Every customer contact or customer experience either
helps you or hurts you. Everything either leads toward a sale or
leads away from one. Everything counts!
One of the most important parts of market intelligence is
determining in advance how you want to position yourself relative
to your customers, just as a military commander decides
how he wants to position his forces relative to the enemy.
How do you want people to think and talk about you?
What are the steps that you can take—starting from the first
phone call to your office through to the follow-up service on
your delivered product or service—that you can change to
improve the perception your customers have of you?
Each of these questions is important. If you change your
answer to any one of these questions from what you are doing
today, this new answer can lead to a complete change of marketing
strategy in your business. At the very least, everyone
responsible for sales and profitability in your company should
know the answers to every one of the questions above. Everyone
should have a clear, uncomplicated idea of who you are,
why you are in business, and why people should buy from you
rather than from someone else.
