Telling the Story of Your Business’ Good Work in the World—Part 4 > WHY YOUR CUSTOMERS SAY NO (& WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT) < The past few weeks I’ve been writing about genuine connection with the real people who comprise your audience. Marketing is a conversation with those real people. I’ve been offering specific insight into how to have a meaningful conversation, which starts with knowing who they are, what makes them tick and why they do (or don’t) care about the beneficial work your organization is doing in the world. (If you missed my earlier pieces in this series, see the links below.) Picking up where we left off…now that you know what drives your ideal client (or buyer, student, donor, etc.) TOWARD you, you need to be equally aware of what will keep them from away from you. In other words: what are the reasons they’ll object to making the investment of money, time or other resources that you want them to make? You’ve learned what results they want. And you are solidly offering those results. But still…they will find reasons to say no. Your job is to meet them where they are—to know what their no’s are and address those…upfront. Your business model is to do good in the world, and you have nothing to hide. Your ideal customer has standards, values and doubts about the world and themselves. You have already tuned into those through the getting-to-know-you process (a.k.a. market research) I’ve discussed throughout this series. This means you know exactly how to meet them, address their hesitations and pave a path for trusting, loyal customer relationships. If you think you MIGHT have something to hide, that very thing could be your greatest opportunity for connection with your customers—by openly discussing it. Proactive transparency builds trust, and trust is a crucial part of the relationship you’re establishing through this conversation called marketing. What are your customers' hesitations? Take some time to outline what their specific obstacles to engagement are, and carefully consider how to head those off at the pass. Coming up next: Last week I said that in today’s piece I would cover some of the simplest and most effective ways to glean this meaningful insight into your customers to really connect with them. Alas, I’ve changed my mind! In my next piece in this series, I'll offer my guidance into where, when and how to truly get to know your ideal customer base so you can establish that genuine connection with them. Read the earlier pieces in this series below: Part 1: https://app.wedonthavetime.org/posts/290886dc-ea6d-44d5-bebe-9235c00a84de Part 2: https://app.wedonthavetime.org/posts/eabcc2f4-b2ef-4072-9ef0-88977ea38192 Part 3: https://app.wedonthavetime.org/posts/ed0b8e19-4c54-4b3c-9a70-cb6b903d0790