What is the best way to make sure your business doesn’t fail? That’s right, foresight. But where do we get that foresight? Wouldn’t it be great if we could all know exactly what was going to happen with the economy. And, know exactly how our customers would respond. Many businesses fail because they fail to see potential problems ahead of time. But, even more fail, because they struggle to get customers through the door. If you’re interested in growing your business and want to make sure you thrive instead of dive, keep reading.

I recently returned from a Mastermind event with Dean Graziosi. Dean is one of the greatest marketers on the planet, and he shared with us the key to marketing in a down economy. But before I share that, it’s important that I share what Dean said is the biggest mistake most companies will make.

Most companies are cutting their budgets. CEO and CFO’s are going to every department and telling them to cut 10-15%. Cut people. Cut softwares. It doesn’t matter how they do it. It just needs to happen. It’s happening everywhere. But smart companies will do one thing different than others. “Smart companies will dial back in all areas except marketing” says Dean. “In marketing they’ll look to gain new capabilities. They‘ll hire consultants. They’ll sharpen the spear. They will out market and outmaneuver their competitors. And, they will come out as the leaders when the recession is over.” Instead of cutting the marketing budget. They’ll increase it! Why? Because smart marketers know that if you cut marketing, you cut the legs out from under the business. It’s a death sentence in the best of times, and it’s 10x worse when the economy goes south. So if you want to come out ahead when this is all over, start by thinking about marketing as the tip of the spear. Sharpen it! Don’t dull it.

One of the best ways to sharpen the marketing spear is to rethink your messaging. In fact, one of the greatest lessons I ever learned from Dean is to enter the conversation already going on inside the customers mind.

“Enter the conversation already going on in the customers mind.” - Dean Graziosi

When we enter the conversation from that perspective the customer feels understood. We tap into their emotions. We stop the scroll. And considering the average attention span is down to 1.7 seconds, stopping the scroll is vital!

But how do we get inside the minds of our prospects and customers? How can we know exactly what they’re talking about? There are many ways we can do this but here are a few key actions we can take:

This list is starting place, but continue adding to it. Make it a habit to revisit this list and continue thinking from your customers perspective.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in marketing is to assume that everyone wants what you have. It’s normal. After all, you can solve a lot of problems, but you need to remember that not everyone will want what you have. Not only that, but not everyone will be an ideal fit for you. And the more fractured your customer base the harder it is to scale your deliverables. Another marketing principle I learned from Dean is that when you market to everyone you speak to no one!

“When you market to everyone, you speak to no one.”
- Dean Graziosi

To Dean’s point above, the best marketers live inside the minds of their customers. That makes marketing to everyone the equivalent of self-imposed schizophrenia. Make sure you are marketing your business in a way that is relatable to your customers. That means your messaging can’t be fractionated. It must be succinct. It must resonate.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in marketing is to assume that everyone wants what you have. It’s normal. After all, you can solve a lot of problems, but you need to remember that not everyone will want what you have. Not only that, but not everyone will be an ideal fit for you. And the more fractured your customer base the harder it is to scale your deliverables. Another marketing principle I learned from Dean is that when you market to everyone you speak to no one!