A Marketing Lesson On Style

Direct mail gets tossed in the trash. No one reads the newspaper these days. Email gets caught in spam filters. What’s left to effectively market your business?

The truth is that these tactics and others all work well—and fail miserably—depending upon their execution. The failures have something in common. They didn’t appeal to the target audience. And there is a good reason why.

Marketing is, in essence, teaching prospects and customers about your products and services. To be the best teachers, we must understand that each student has their own learning style.

Three Learning Styles

Let’s visit the kindergarten classroom. Remember the letters of the alphabet, colorfully bordering the top of the room? In one corner are musical instruments, another has art materials, another books and still another building blocks.

WHY?

Because the kindergarten teacher doesn’t know the learning style of each of her students. Some may learn by looking at picture books. That’s a visual learner. Another loves to sing her ABC’s. She’s an auditory learner. Still another prefers drawing. He’s a kinesthetic learner.

Lifelong Learning

The fact is that your learning style stays with you for life.

For example, take me and my brother. We are polar opposites in our learning styles. When I purchase new software, I rip open the package and insert the cd to launch the software. I’m a kinesthetic learner and learn best by action, working with something and learning by trial and error.

But my brother! He’s over in the corner reading the 500 page manual cover to cover. “Wait!” he says.

“There might be a software conflict!” He is a visual learner and learns by reading diagrams, text books, and charts.

There is nothing wrong with either of us. We are just different!

Visual Learners

Learn through seeing…
These learners may think in pictures and learn best from visual displays including diagrams, illustrations, bulleted copy, videos, flipcharts and hand-outs. They tend to prefer sitting at the front of a room to avoid visual obstructions and often prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information. Give this learner printed communications with plenty of visuals and provide the opportunity for them to obtain more detailed written materials upon request.

Auditory Learners

Learn through listening…
They learn best through verbal presentations, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written information may have little meaning until it is heard. Consider speaking engagements, podcasts (internet audio files) and in person sales presentations for this learning style.

Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners

Learn through , moving, doing and touching…
Tactile/Kinesthetic persons learn best through a hands-on approach, actively exploring the physical world around them. They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become distracted by their need for activity and exploration. Supplying this learner with product samples, trial services or otherwise actively engaging them works best.

Marketing Implications

So how do we appeal to these wide ranges of learning styles? By including multiple marketing tactics within one marketing campaign. Visual learners will want to read printed materials, kinesthetic learners will want to sample your product or service and auditory learners will want to meet you or hear you speak.

To obtain broadest appeal and best results, invest in several tactics with the same message, directed to the same target market, and executed during the same time frame. For example, advertise in a publication targeted to your best prospects and, during the same time frame, send the publications’ subscribers a direct mailer. Use these two tactics to drive prospects to visit you online for a sample or trial offer, or to register to hear you speak at an event, listen to a podcast or attend a webinar.

The Learning Cycle

The key to successful execution of these marketing tactics is to ensure that each one conveys the same message, using the same copy points, images, call to action, colors and placement. All of these must also reflect and support the brand identity you have already carefully crafted.

Repetition is the answer to getting results. Like the evenings you spent memorizing your multiplication tables, learning takes time and frequent repetition. So, once you have a tactical plan that uses:

techniques to appeal to all learning styles
an engaging message
an irresistible offer
the most likely prospects to take advantage of the offer
you must repeat your marketing tactics to penetrate the consciousness of the potential buyer. It takes time—6 to 12 months—to build a memorable impression AND trust AND desire. Remember, you are the teacher and your students will need the entire school year to learn their lessons!

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