Most acquaintances know that I’m a tea drinker. Some of my friends even call me a tea snob. Those in my inner circle describe me as, well, obsessed. (I’m currently at 26 teapots and counting, but that’s another story.)
When my aunt suggested we visit a tea plantation, my heart did a little dance of joy. It wasn’t exactly like finding the fifth golden ticket, but pretty close in my book.
The next morning, my mother told me we were visiting the plantation that day. So soon? I was psyched.
When my aunt arrived, however, she had decided that I would have more fun visiting an aboriginal cultural center than the tea plantation. I wouldn’t enjoy tramping around a mountain.
Mind you, my family’s hospitality is much appreciated. Still, I couldn’t help but think, “How can you possibly tell me what I would prefer doing?”
How many times have we made similar assumptions in our marketing copy? (Yes, myself included.)
I can’t count the number of times marketing directors and business owners have told me they know exactly what their prospects want to know. Based on… ? It usually comes down to a guessing game.
As we buckle down for business development in 2009, let’s stop making assumptions and start communicating with our clients and prospects.
Why not ask them, point-blank, what they’d like to know?
Chances are, they’ll probably pay more attention once we drop the monologue and start answering their questions.
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