Achieving Customer Mindshare Through Advertising

Building "effective mindshare" -- the kind that leads to increased revenues and profits -- requires building in the mind of the customer not only awareness, but interest and desire in the product or service to achieve a top-of-mind position when the customer takes action.

-- B-to-B marketers are discovering the value of deeper insights into their customers. This includes their demographic data, such as age, gender and ethnicity. It also includes their emotional drivers, on the job and in their lives; how they work; and where they like to get information. Key questions include: Do they still read magazines? What Web sites do they use? Do they still go to trade shows? Do they like Webcasts? Podcasts? Do they watch online video? Do they blog ? How much work do they do at home? How do they commute?

-- In the B-to-B world, sales reps and sales engineers are essential in building a personal relationship that leads to closing sales. But using Web-based tactics to provide relevant information in a more cost-effective manner enables the sales force to focus on closing sales.

-- Building mindshare across the awareness-interest-desire-action (AIDA) spectrum is both an art and a science. The science involves the strategic and skillful use of "media" to deliver a message. The increasing complexity, fragmentation and "noise" level of the advertising environment make it more and more challenging to capture customer mindshare. That's where the art comes into play.

-- There are six basic principles that apply to all types of marketers reaching all kinds of customers with any and all kinds of media:

1. Stake out a single brand position .

2. Be unique.

3. Create resonance through relevance.

4. Use emotion for impact.

5. Focus the message and use frequency.

6. Keep promises -- live the brand.