Are you speaking your Customer’s language?

How aligned are you to your customer’s cultural beliefs. Is your business approach and branding aligned with your target market. Do they get what you are about?

Amongst the many things, I do I am a mentor and career coach for senior people in the FinTech industry. I have recently been coaching a senior salesperson who went through a lengthy interview process with one of the world’s leading advisory companies. My client is Italian with bells and whistles on, he speaks with his hands, his heart, and passion, at a speed that makes it difficult for his interviewers to grasp what he is saying.

Essentially, he is speaking Italian but using English words. When asked a question he spends 600 words on the answer while his English and American interviewers are looking for short & concise responses of 30-50 words only. This is a classic clash of cultures and a lack of understanding on both parts – not a recipe for success. I spent hours teaching/rehearsing with him to deliver his impassioned outlook into short, natural, and passionate ‘elevator’ statements that native English speakers.

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO YOUR BUSINESS?

I recently advised a small start-up here in CM where we agreed that their target market is not aligned with the vision they have set for their business.

They are looking at a customer segment that won’t get the value of their core business objectives. This means that this is a very hard sell for them to grow any form of sustainable business.

Think of your business branding, the story you tell about yourself and your business. Now think of your target customers, do they understand your vision, does it resonate with them, and will your vision drive them to buy your product?

If the answer is no, then what do you need to do? Well, there are 2 options open to you, one is to change your message/business to resonate with your target customer, and the other option is to target the customer market that resonates with your message and address your marketing to that market.

Are you a Thai company selling to a foreign market, or a foreign company selling to a Thai market? You should always drive your product, branding, and marketing efforts appropriate to the buyer not to what you think.

Think about it this way: if you are selling white flowers in a market where they are only used for funerals. Then you better have lots of funerals or you will not be selling a lot of flowers.