Meeting vs. Creating Demand [Inbound Marketing Inquirer]

customersThe Tip Jar is a weekly inbound marketing tip that is only available to subscribers. This week’s tip jar discusses the difference between meeting and creating demand and how it should influence your marketing strategies and tactics.

Tip Jar: Meeting vs. Creating Demand

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Are you meeting demand or creating it? As you consider different marketing strategies and tactics, this is a crucial question you need to answer.

Meeting Demand

You’re meeting demand when your customers need your product or service in order to respond to a specific circumstance or event. For example, they only need collision repair if their car is damaged. And they only need a personal injury lawyer if they’ve been injured.

When these customers have a need, they will immediately seek out a solution. They’ll be looking for you. However, if they don’t have damage to their car and haven’t been injured due to someone else’s negligence, then no amount of advertising or blogging can convert them into a customer. In this case, you need to be easy to find, which tends to point toward things like search and referrals.

Creating Demand

Sometimes, customers don’t realize that they need your product or service. I’ve talked to a number of businesses who didn’t realize how under-optimized their Google ad campaigns were. Or maybe you’re a financial services advisor who can educate people about situations that are putting them at risk. Many consumer product companies fit into this category, too. Does anyone really need an iPad?

And so these customers are not actively looking for your product or service. They need to be drawn in and convinced. In this case, you need to be reaching out and educating, inspiring and enchanting.

All of the Above

Of course, many businesses are a combination of both; demand fulfillment and creation. But understanding the different mindsets helps clarify your marketing strategies and tactics. Focus on tactics like search and advertising for meeting demand and content marketing and social media for creating demand. [/ismember]

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