The Customer's Perception Isn't The Same As Reality - GoFuckYourself.com

AdultB2B · 06-21-2010, 03:55 PM

The Customer's Perception Isn't The Same As Reality

There are really two different sides to your business: There's the "Inside Reality" and then there's the "Outside Perception." The Inside Reality has to do with all the things your business does that makes it valuable to your customers - from a product, operations, and management standpoint. It's what gives you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It's the instantly recognizable things that makes your business great. It's your "Something Good To Say." The reason it's called the Inside Reality is because there's a good chance the reality of what you do, the value you offer, isn't necessarily the same as your customers' perceptions of what you do. You'll find that these two words - Reality and Perception - are very important to the process of winning in advertising.

The Inside Reality encompasses everything you do and everything you are that makes you good. It's all your skills, your people, your expertise, your service to the customer - before, during, and after the sale - your systems, your operational procedures, your commitment to excellence, your passion, and the way you conduct your business. Now you might think you're actually better than you are, or you might not be giving yourself enough credit for the things you do well. But regardless, there's a reality of how valuable you are to the marketplace based on those things.

If you asked your customers why they buy from you, they could probably tell you something quantifiable, specific, and instantly obvious. They could point to specific advantages of doing business with you and say, "That's why I do business here, that's why I refer my friends to come here, that's why I'm a loyal customer of this place, that's why I don't mind paying more here, and that's why I keep coming back." This is what business trainers like Ken Blanchard, Tom Peters, and Michael Gerber are all about...innovating your company. Tom Peters calls it the "Pursuit of Wow!", and Ken Blanchard calls it creating "Raving Fans."

But here's the problem: Just because you've achieved "WOW!" or can create "Raving Fans" - i.e. you Have Something Good To Say - doesn't mean customers are going to flock to your business. Achieving "WOW" is extremely important, but there's still a job of marketing that has to be done. And that's where Outside Perception comes into play.

If the Inside Reality is about what you do and what you are that allows your business perform better, then the Outside Perception is about how customers and prospects perceive your company. And usually, the Inside Reality and the Outside Perception are different. You see, regardless of how good you are, or how great your Inside Reality is, your prospects are more than likely going to be, initially at least, apathetic. And it's not because they don't like you or they think your business is bad, but because trying to figure out how good you are is the last thing on their priority list. Ask yourself this question: How many competitors, either direct or indirect, does your business have? Whatever that number is, that's how many choices your prospects have and how many businesses do they have to sift through before making a buying decision. And that's assuming they want to buy what you're selling!

We call this situation the confidence gap. The Confidence Gap represents a consumer's inability to make a distinction whether any of the products or any of the services are any different or any better than any of the others. And unfortunately, many businesses are heaped right in the middle of that pack of indistinguishable competitors!

Which brings us to the crux of the problem: Most businesses don't have the ability to communicate via advertising and marketing their Inside Reality to the outside world. They can't lead prospects to the conclusion "I would have to be an absolute fool to do business with anyone else but you, regardless of price."...even if their business is good, and has achieved "WOW."

Now, there's a whole host of books, seminars and trainers that try to help businesses with their Outside Perception. There are books like "Guerrilla Marketing", "Principles of Marketing", "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing".. and then there are sales, marketing and advertising 'gurus' galore that all try to help you make your business look good to the outside world. And these are fine, but almost none of these books or trainers pay any attention to how good your business actually is - in other words, they ignore the Inside Reality. And they are almost all strictly technique oriented. They say, "Here, do this, that, this again, and then a little more of that and your ads will pull like crazy."

A very important principle to remember, though, is that advertising tricks and techniques won't compensate for a lack of confidence and perceived value in the consumer's mind.

This article and the ones to follow in the GFY Educational Series were previously published as part of a marketing system that Adult B2B Marketing has full copyright approval to republish.

$5 submissions · 06-21-2010, 07:55 PM

Great article, man. It's all about VALUE.

Marcus Aurelius · 06-21-2010, 08:05 PM

Fuck the surfer.

myjah · 06-22-2010, 06:04 AM

I was just having a discussion with my husband about confidence when purchasing - nice article.

Paul Markham · 06-22-2010, 06:17 AM

The problem is after 15 years of selling porn on the Internet the "Inside Reality" of most surfers is to not pay.

Getting them back to paying is the tough one.

fatfoo · 06-22-2010, 07:45 PM

Men may construe things after their fashion.

joebbc · 07-15-2010, 12:37 PM

ahh yes, great article indeed

Spelvin · 07-28-2010, 09:24 PM

Not bad! I've thought about this a lot, but it is nice to see it all laid out

mukeshsnp · 07-09-2011, 02:35 AM

Thank you for writing it!

dc0ded · 07-20-2011, 03:31 AM

good job. very good article. very educational. hope you keep up the good job.

My Pimp · 09-05-2011, 11:45 AM

Very interesting .

possiblygreen · 10-06-2011, 12:36 PM

Bridge the confidence gap, get the cash! Thanks for the post

Bat_Man · 04-22-2012, 04:53 AM

Very important topic .. Thanks for sharing ..

whtdrgn · 03-29-2013, 07:11 PM

Great read, thanks for share

razoryo · 01-31-2014, 07:24 PM

Awesome read, thanks a lot. I'll do my best to lead customers to conclude "I would have to be an absolute fool to do business with anyone else but you, regardless of price."

AdultB2B · 01-31-2014, 11:46 PM

Well your marketing NEEDS to do that, or else...

Erorina · 11-27-2014, 03:38 PM

cool thanks a lot

roxanneraid · 12-10-2014, 04:28 PM

Great stuff. Thank you for writing it!

hotbarbie · 12-10-2014, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by $5 submissions

Great article, man. It's all about VALUE.

Couldn't say it better! tnx OP for the awesome post

mihaitza · 12-12-2014, 01:04 AM

Thanks for super information!

horikh · 12-12-2014, 01:04 AM

great post man, thank you

valerynoir · 12-12-2014, 01:04 AM

Nice insight, thanks for sharing!

silviustr · 12-12-2014, 02:05 AM

Excellent information. Thanks for sharing.

bella.franceska · 12-12-2014, 02:05 AM

Nice insight, thanks for sharing!

miss.ralu · 12-12-2014, 02:22 AM

Very interesting reading and thank you.

parleal · 12-12-2014, 02:22 AM

Cool read!

fappingJack · 12-16-2014, 01:56 AM

Nice info man.

newjack509 · 12-16-2014, 02:43 PM

great writing, thanks for sharing!

rudimentalcom · 10-16-2015, 02:10 PM

Thank you so much for this. Great read!

j3rkules · 01-05-2016, 11:42 AM

That's very useful read, I will read it all carefully for sure.

xxxclusive · 01-23-2016, 01:33 AM

super article as always

Tomxxx · 02-03-2016, 12:16 PM

Good read! tnx

PirrTaste · 03-10-2016, 06:55 AM

do you have any examples showcasing do's and don'ts?

06-21-2010, 03:55 PM	#1
AdultB2B Adult Site Broker Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Pattaya, Thailand Posts: 1,323	The Customer's Perception Isn't The Same As Reality The Customer's Perception Isn't The Same As Reality There are really two different sides to your business: There's the "Inside Reality" and then there's the "Outside Perception." The Inside Reality has to do with all the things your business does that makes it valuable to your customers - from a product, operations, and management standpoint. It's what gives you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It's the instantly recognizable things that makes your business great. It's your "Something Good To Say." The reason it's called the Inside Reality is because there's a good chance the reality of what you do, the value you offer, isn't necessarily the same as your customers' perceptions of what you do. You'll find that these two words - Reality and Perception - are very important to the process of winning in advertising. The Inside Reality encompasses everything you do and everything you are that makes you good. It's all your skills, your people, your expertise, your service to the customer - before, during, and after the sale - your systems, your operational procedures, your commitment to excellence, your passion, and the way you conduct your business. Now you might think you're actually better than you are, or you might not be giving yourself enough credit for the things you do well. But regardless, there's a reality of how valuable you are to the marketplace based on those things. If you asked your customers why they buy from you, they could probably tell you something quantifiable, specific, and instantly obvious. They could point to specific advantages of doing business with you and say, "That's why I do business here, that's why I refer my friends to come here, that's why I'm a loyal customer of this place, that's why I don't mind paying more here, and that's why I keep coming back." This is what business trainers like Ken Blanchard, Tom Peters, and Michael Gerber are all about...innovating your company. Tom Peters calls it the "Pursuit of Wow!", and Ken Blanchard calls it creating "Raving Fans." But here's the problem: Just because you've achieved "WOW!" or can create "Raving Fans" - i.e. you Have Something Good To Say - doesn't mean customers are going to flock to your business. Achieving "WOW" is extremely important, but there's still a job of marketing that has to be done. And that's where Outside Perception comes into play. If the Inside Reality is about what you do and what you are that allows your business perform better, then the Outside Perception is about how customers and prospects perceive your company. And usually, the Inside Reality and the Outside Perception are different. You see, regardless of how good you are, or how great your Inside Reality is, your prospects are more than likely going to be, initially at least, apathetic. And it's not because they don't like you or they think your business is bad, but because trying to figure out how good you are is the last thing on their priority list. Ask yourself this question: How many competitors, either direct or indirect, does your business have? Whatever that number is, that's how many choices your prospects have and how many businesses do they have to sift through before making a buying decision. And that's assuming they want to buy what you're selling! We call this situation the confidence gap. The Confidence Gap represents a consumer's inability to make a distinction whether any of the products or any of the services are any different or any better than any of the others. And unfortunately, many businesses are heaped right in the middle of that pack of indistinguishable competitors! Which brings us to the crux of the problem: Most businesses don't have the ability to communicate via advertising and marketing their Inside Reality to the outside world. They can't lead prospects to the conclusion "I would have to be an absolute fool to do business with anyone else but you, regardless of price."...even if their business is good, and has achieved "WOW." Now, there's a whole host of books, seminars and trainers that try to help businesses with their Outside Perception. There are books like "Guerrilla Marketing", "Principles of Marketing", "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing".. and then there are sales, marketing and advertising 'gurus' galore that all try to help you make your business look good to the outside world. And these are fine, but almost none of these books or trainers pay any attention to how good your business actually is - in other words, they ignore the Inside Reality. And they are almost all strictly technique oriented. They say, "Here, do this, that, this again, and then a little more of that and your ads will pull like crazy." A very important principle to remember, though, is that advertising tricks and techniques won't compensate for a lack of confidence and perceived value in the consumer's mind. This article and the ones to follow in the GFY Educational Series were previously published as part of a marketing system that Adult B2B Marketing has full copyright approval to republish. __________________ Adult Site Broker - The Ethical Broker ASB Cash Adult Site Broker Talk

06-21-2010, 07:55 PM	#2
$5 submissions I help you SUCCEED Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The Pearl of the Orient Seas Posts: 32,194	Great article, man. It's all about VALUE. __________________ Need a NON-ADULT income stream? We build your YOUTUBE CHANNEL for only $20 per video! For Hire: $3/hour or $400 per month Marketing Specialist Virtual Assistants

06-22-2010, 06:04 AM	#4
myjah Back in the harbor Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 11,482	I was just having a discussion with my husband about confidence when purchasing - nice article. __________________ VP of Marketing AVN Media Network Skype: AVNJill [email protected]

06-22-2010, 06:17 AM	#5
Paul Markham Too old to care Industry Role: Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: On the sofa, watching TV or doing my jigsaws. Posts: 52,943	The problem is after 15 years of selling porn on the Internet the "Inside Reality" of most surfers is to not pay. Getting them back to paying is the tough one. __________________ Blowout deal. 880 videos, 2,400 image sets, plus many RAW videos. $500. PM me for a deal. Skype Paulmarkham70

06-22-2010, 07:45 PM	#6
fatfoo ICQ:649699063 Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 27,763	Men may construe things after their fashion. __________________ Send me an email: [email protected]

06-21-2010, 08:05 PM	#3
Marcus Aurelius No Refunds Issued. Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 14,809	Fuck the surfer.

07-15-2010, 12:37 PM	#7
joebbc Registered User Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: deep in anus Posts: 55	ahh yes, great article indeed __________________ Turn Your Surfers Blue Balls into GREEN! http://blueballscash.com

07-28-2010, 09:24 PM	#8
Spelvin Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 48	Not bad! I've thought about this a lot, but it is nice to see it all laid out __________________ ICQ me! - 396258270 -

07-09-2011, 02:35 AM	#9
mukeshsnp Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 32	Thank you for writing it! __________________ High Quality Fetish & Hardcore Asian Content http://asianxcontent.com admin (@) asianxcontent.com

07-20-2011, 03:31 AM	#10
dc0ded Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2011 Location: Bedworth, United Kingdom Posts: 1,022	good job. very good article. very educational. hope you keep up the good job. __________________ Guaranteed Adult SEO Service- Just $275 per month

09-05-2011, 11:45 AM	#11
My Pimp Confirmed User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 1,201	Very interesting .

10-06-2011, 12:36 PM	#12
possiblygreen Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 38	Bridge the confidence gap, get the cash! Thanks for the post

04-22-2012, 04:53 AM	#13
Bat_Man Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 421	Very important topic .. Thanks for sharing ..

03-29-2013, 07:11 PM	#14
whtdrgn Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: USA Posts: 38	Great read, thanks for share

01-31-2014, 07:24 PM	#15
razoryo Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Indonesia Posts: 2	Awesome read, thanks a lot. I'll do my best to lead customers to conclude "I would have to be an absolute fool to do business with anyone else but you, regardless of price."

01-31-2014, 11:46 PM	#16
AdultB2B Adult Site Broker Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Pattaya, Thailand Posts: 1,323	Well your marketing NEEDS to do that, or else... __________________ Adult Site Broker - The Ethical Broker ASB Cash Adult Site Broker Talk

11-27-2014, 03:38 PM	#17
Erorina Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 33	cool thanks a lot

12-10-2014, 04:28 PM	#18
roxanneraid Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 35	Great stuff. Thank you for writing it!

12-12-2014, 01:04 AM	#20
mihaitza Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 30	Thanks for super information!

12-12-2014, 01:04 AM	#21
horikh Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 33	great post man, thank you

12-12-2014, 01:04 AM	#22
valerynoir Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 32	Nice insight, thanks for sharing!

12-12-2014, 02:05 AM	#23
silviustr Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 30	Excellent information. Thanks for sharing.

12-12-2014, 02:05 AM	#24
bella.franceska Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 30	Nice insight, thanks for sharing!

12-12-2014, 02:22 AM	#25
miss.ralu Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 30	Very interesting reading and thank you.

12-12-2014, 02:22 AM	#26
parleal Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 30	Cool read!

12-16-2014, 01:56 AM	#27
fappingJack So Fucking Banned Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: somewhere down the road Posts: 2,172	Nice info man.

12-16-2014, 02:43 PM	#28
newjack509 Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 42	great writing, thanks for sharing!

10-16-2015, 02:10 PM	#29
rudimentalcom Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 33	Thank you so much for this. Great read!

01-05-2016, 11:42 AM	#30
j3rkules VIP Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 22,105	That's very useful read, I will read it all carefully for sure. __________________ How To Build A Porn Site And Make Money \| My Best $$$ Cam Sponsor 3 Top Adult Hosting Providers

01-23-2016, 01:33 AM	#31
xxxclusive Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 548	super article as always

02-03-2016, 12:16 PM	#32
Tomxxx Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Posts: 88	Good read! tnx

03-10-2016, 06:55 AM	#33
PirrTaste Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 127	do you have any examples showcasing do's and don'ts?