Clear, Compelling Marketing
Posted by Rebecca Blackwell on Jan 22, 2009
At Your Marketing Lab, we offer a free email course that’s all about how to create a consistent core message that resonates with your ideal customer or client. Why is this important? We are so over-marketed to these days (you might have noticed), that only the clearest, most compelling messages make it through - and even more importantly - move us to action. Below are a few of the main points covered in that course, summarized
1. Marketing is really about a continuous conversation you are having with your customers, prospects, vendors, and partners. In fact, every point of contact your business has with the outside world is marketing some message. Further, these conversations are either helping your business succeed or fail. Great marketing involves incorporating a core message into every one of these conversions.
2. When creating this very important core message, you must understand very well who you are communicating to. Further, you must understand who your unique ideal client is and cater your message directly to them. Create a system of continuous market research that involves surveys, paying attention to what they read, what they watch, what they love and what they are frustrated by and not interested in. Read their web sites, read what they are reading, subscribe to their newsletters, and join their associations. Talk with them - and even more important - listen.
3. In order for your core message to be meaningful to your ideal clients, there must be a strong point of differentiation within it. One of the best ways to differentiate yourself is to find something your competitors are not doing that your customers would find valuable. Or, find something your competitors are doing that your customers find annoying. Differentiate with that, but never with price. Remember - you can match your competition in every way, as long as you differentiate on one thing that matters to your ideal client.
4. Communicate your core message from a “benefits” rather than “features” perspective. None of us purchase anything because of the features of that product or service. We purchase because of what the features of that product or service does for us. More importantly - we purchase because of what we perceive the features of that product or service will do for us. Perception, as always, is king. Even more important: How we think about a product or service not only drives our purchasing decisions, it also shapes our expectations about that product or service and influences how committed we are to enjoying the product or service and getting value from it.
5. Some questions to help you on your quest of discovering the real benefits your ideal customers are looking for: What are your ideal customers really looking for? What do they really want? What do they really need? What are they already looking for? What do your products or services do that can deliver on those desires? Those are the benefits. Those are the hot buttons of your core message and they will have little to do with the actual features of your product or service. As long as your product or service delivers on what they really want, the actual product or service is incidental. So here’s the big take-away: Don’t craft your marketing message around what’s incidental. Craft it around what is desired.
You can sign up for the entire free email course, which elaborates further on these points and several other key components, by clicking here. It’s great information and free of charge.
But, I also want to ask you another question: Once you’ve developed a truly compelling core message, what are you going to do to ensure that your ideal customers hear it? While taking the time to craft the right message will put you heads and tails above your competition all by itself, if you can’t deliver it to your target audience in a strategic, consistent way, it does you no good.
That’s why, in Denver this Saturday, January 24th, we are bringing you a complete Marketing Strategy Blueprint Workshop. And we are bringing it to you for under $200. (If you’re not in Denver, we apologize. Stay tuned - we may be coming to your city soon and may also attempt an online version of this workshop. If either of these options are appealing to you, it would help us out a great deal if you let us know.)
If you are in Denver, this is a workshop you can’t afford to miss.
In this new economy, having a good marketing strategy is not just important - it’s essential. This Saturday, we’ll help you map out a Strategic plan - a Blueprint - for the rest of the year. Click on the link below to read more and to register. http://www.yourmarketinglab.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254
A few other important things you should know:
1. This workshop is backed by our 10x your money back gaurantee
2. This is the last time this workshop will be offered in Denver until June.
3. This is the last time it will be offered in Denver for $197. (Register with a friend, and pay only $147 each!) Also - seating is extremely limited, so don’t delay. Reserve your space now.
Lessons from the World’s Greatest Salesperson
Posted by Rebecca Blackwell on Jan 13, 2009
I’ve recently been newly inspired by a man by the name of Joe Girard. You’ve probably heard of him. He’s called the World’s Greatest Sales Person - and for good reason.
For more than a decade Joe sold cars. A lot of cars. In fact, in 1973 he was given the title of World’s Greatest Sales Person in the Guinness Book of World Records. Here’s a blurb from that entry: ” The all-time record for automobile salesmanship in individual units sold is 1,425 in 1973, by Joe Girard of Detroit, author of “How to Sell Anything to Anybody” and winner of the Number One Car Salesman title every year from 1966 to 1977.”
1,425 cars sold in ONE YEAR! In fact, during his fifteen year selling career, he sold 13,001 new cars and trucks, all at retail - no fleet, wholesale or used vehicles. After selling cars for just 3 years, Joe had so much business it was by appointment only. This is an amazing individual.
Read Joe’s bio when you have a chance. His entire life story is remarkable and inspiring and there is much to be learned from his story. However, I want to focus on just one of the things Joe did to build the amount of relationships necessary to sell thousands upon thousands of cars.
Joe truly understood the importance of relationship marketing if you want to consistently sell anything. (Or, in Joe’s case, completely dominate your market.) He did a couple of key things to build those relationships that all could revolutionize every business.
First of all, he hired people to deal with administrative work so that he could have more time to interact with his customers. Second, he kept in touch with people via mail month after month. At one point, Joe was sending 16,000 cards each month to customers and prospective customers. Imagine for a moment what it would be like to get a card in the mail each and every month from a car salesman. When you needed to purchase a car, wouldn’t it seem unthinkable to go to anyone else?
Dan Kennedy is quoted as saying that 68% of customers leave because they don’t feel loved or valued. You don’t really even know you’ve lost them. They just go away. Think about what would happen in your business if this wasn’t true. If, instead of loosing 68% of your business each year, you kept it. And imagine what would happen if that 68% felt so valued by you that they told their friends, family and coworkers. What would that do to the growth of your business? For Joe, it meant selling 13,000 cars.
This kind of customer retention and referral generation isn’t that hard to do, it just has to end up at the top of your priority list. You could send a hand written “Thank you for your time” every time you meet with a prospect. Send a hand written thank you card for each order. Send gifts of appreciation. Go beyond the flat customer retention programs that many companies mindlessly employ and do something for your customers to show your appreciation that is completely unexpected.
Here’s a great example: I heard about a handyman who built his business on the promise that his company would leave each client’s house cleaner than when they arrived. He trained his employees to not only clean up their own mess, but to noticeably leave the home cleaner in some way. What an amazingly simple way to not only create a wildly successful business, but to completely dominate a market.
What customer retention systems can you add to your marketing strategy this year to not only keep the customers you have, but to ensure that you are their only source for what you offer? How can you apply what Joe did to increase sales? What can you do that provokes those same loyal customers to tell everyone they know about you? Please share your ideas!
Your Mission for 2009 (should you choose to accept it…)
Posted by Rebecca Blackwell on Jan 5, 2009
Years ago my husband worked for a company that proudly hung a gigantic banner in the main office area with their Mission Statement printed boldly on it. The “higher-up’s” suspected low morale (quite accurately) and the CEO thought an inspiring reminder of “their” mission would fix that problem right up. The banner read, “TO BE ALL THAT WE CAN BE.” (Lest you think they were the Army, you should know that they were a software company.) They’re out of business now. From that clear and uniquely compelling Mission Statement I’m sure you can’t imagine why.
There are 2 useful points that we can take from this sorry tale.
#1: Marketing isn’t just about delivering a message to those outside the company. Internal marketing is also very, very important. Everyone that works for you or with you should be continually reminded of your company’s most important messages: the company’s story, values, purpose, mission, etc. Everything you market to the outside world should be marketed internally. This will ensure that your employees and partners are clear about what your business is about and turn your company into a marketing company that produces XYZ - Which is how every company must come to think of themselves if they are to survive.
#2. There seems to be some confusion about the purpose of the Mission Statement. Most companies seem to think that their mission statement is a short, pithy way of describing the overall purpose of the business. I beg to differ. For Mission Statements to be valuable they should form the basis of a short-term marketing strategy and they should change often – either when the mission has been accomplished, or when the mission needs to change. From this perspective, a more useful way to define a mission statement might be:
A clear end point to work towards.
This description from Growth Connection does an excellent job of conveying this concept:
A true mission is a clear and compelling goal that focuses people’s efforts. It is tangible, specific, crisp, clear and engaging. It reaches out and grabs people in the gut. Like the moon flight, a good mission has a clear finish line — you should be able to tell when you’ve done it — at which point, you need to create a new mission. “We’re going to climb Mount Everest” is a mission; the more general, “We’re going to climb the Himalayas” is not.
And, like the moon flight, a good mission is risky, falling in a gray zone where reason says, “This is unreasonable”; and your intuition and drive say, “But we believe we can do it anyway.”
In summary, a mission is
* “What we are here to do”
* A clear and compelling goal that serves to unify an organization’s efforts
* Crisp, clear, engaging, verging on unreasonable.
Think of the Mission Statements of your business as New Year’s resolutions for your business. What exactly are you going to accomplish this year? What changes are you going to make? What are you going to do better? The answers to these questions encompass your mission for the coming months. How you go about accomplishing the mission is the basis for your marketing strategy.
Just as many of us draft up resolutions every January, your mission statement(s) should change every time you draft up a short-term (6 months to 1 year) marketing strategy. Your mission statement is the definition of your marketing strategy’s achievable goal – a clear “finish line”. This statement should inspire and focus you. You should be able to read it and be able to imagine what it will feel like to reach that goal. Just like good resolutions, they should both stretch and empower you.
Creating Effective Email: A 10 Point Checklist
Posted by Rebecca Blackwell on Dec 10, 2008
This is an article by Corrinda Campbell of Business Connection Network. I thought it was excellent, and worth sharing. Enjoy!
If email marketing is on your list of marketing strategies now or anytime during the year, follow this 10 Point Checklist to increase the number of opened email and convert your prospects into customers.
1) Subject Line – This is often the most overlooked part of the email, yet it is the most important. The Subject Line is the primary factor that determines whether an email is opened or deleted. There’s a lot of discussion about the “art” of writing the Subject Line. Overall, keep it to about 50 characters or so as many email providers only display a limited amount of characters. Shorter tends to be better, but it really depends. Ask yourself, does the reader know who it’s from, what’s in it for them and why they should open this email.
2) From Line – This is also overlooked when creating email campaigns. The From and Subject Lines are mini-billboards. Are you going to open an email from “info” or from a person or company you know. The From and Subject lines work together. By including your name and/or the company name in the From Line you don’t need to repeat it in the Subject Line and have more characters devoted to the Subject Line message. Usually 15 characters or less is best. Use the word count function found in the tools section in MS Word to quickly count characters.
3) Get Permission – Spam laws are getting tighter and tighter with increasingly severe penalties. Including ending up on the black list of ISPs and email providers. Be sure you have permission to send email to the people on your list.
4) Clear Call To Action - So you’ve got permission from the people on your list and you’ve written effective From and Subject lines and your email has been opened. Be sure your readers know what you want them to do when they open the email and the benefits of clicking through the email links to your service, product, or content.
5) Links: Bigger Buttons & Underline in Blue – Many studies of have shown that bigger buttons work better; and specific copy works better than general copy. (e.g.: “Click Here for the Free Report” v. “Click Here”) If you use a text link, blue underlined links tend to perform the best.
6) Landing Page – Your email has been opened and the reader follows your Call To Action. When they arrive at your website, be sure to send them to a specific page relating to the contents of the email instead of the home page. If you’re a running a specific or limited time promotion it may be a good idea to create a special landing page just for that email. This will also make tracking the promotion easier. If you’re selling something make sure your shopping cart is no more than 3-clicks away from the email. After 3 clicks the level of abandoned carts increases.
7) Promotion Layout – Direct mail tests have shown that dollars off coupons versus percent off promotions get a better response. Framing your promotion with a dashed boarder also tends to increase conversion.
8) Text v. HTML – There is a lot of discussion around text versus HTML presentations. Text only email do well, but depending on the content of the email HTML can also be very effective & creative. The downside of HTML an layout is that many email accounts block the graphics. If you use HTML offer a text or web-based version. Also, very important, label your graphics with alt tags. They will appear even if the graphic is blocked. In addition to the alt tags be sure to support the graphics with straight text, don’t limit the whole contents to one large graphic.
9) Relevancy & Frequency – The number one reason email is deleted or unsubscribed is lack of relevancy. Be sure your messages are on point. If you are cross-promoting another product or service, make sure it’s related to the topic. If you broaden the scope of the original content just ask for permission. Segmenting your list can also increase your level of relevancy. The answer to, “How often should I send email messages?” is “It depends.” Ask yourself if this message relevant or if the email includes new information. Relevancy and fresh content also tend to answer the question of the best time and day of the week to send email. If the email campaign is well crafted readers will open it.
10) Proof Read & Test Your Email – Whenever possible it’s best to have someone else proofread your email and provide feedback. This is when a mastermind or peer review group comes in handy to catch mistakes and fine tune your message. Testing your email’s appearance is also important because different email clients and web-based email accounts render HTML and even text differently. Even if your email service provider has a test function built-in I think it’s a good idea to use a dedicated test list. Create a specific list that includes the addresses of the accounts you have created with the top email providers. Send your email to that list first.
Top email readers: Outlook, Thunderbird, and Eudora
Top web-based email providers: Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, and Gmail
This is a fun link to see mistakes some of the top retailers have made. It’s entertaining but it’s also a good check list of things to watch out for.
http://www.retailemailblog.com/2008/01/oopsy-hall-of-fame-2007-inductees.html
About the author of this post: Corrinda Campbell, M.B.A. is a business and online marketing consultant in Denver, CO and host of the Women In Business Network Luncheon. She is devoted to helping entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed by providing affordable, high impact tools and resources. For more information visit www.BusinessConnectionNetwork.com
6 Secrets to Capturing More Business
Posted by Rebecca Blackwell on Nov 17, 2008
I attended a lunch last week where Tony Rubleski, author of Mind Capture: How you can stand out in the age of Advertising Deficit Disorder, spoke. I took a couple pages of notes that I thought I would share with you here.
A lot of what he talked about is not ground breaking information, but he positioned it in such a way that it had a real impact on me.
It’s interesting how we need to hear the same messages over an over in order for them to really sink in. As business owners and marketers, we know that it’s important to provide a consistent message across multiple media in order for our prospects to really hear it. This is also true for us. I might read 10 books this year and countless blog posts that essentially say the same things. However, I will likely pull different insights from each simply because of the positioning strategy of the message, or because of my frame of mind when reading it, or because of what someone else said about it.
The point is this: Keep reading. Keep listening. Keep learning.
With that said, here’s what Tony had to say about standing out in the “age of Advertising Deficit Disorder.” I’ve added some of my thoughts as well. Enjoy! (Then buy the book.)
The 3 Greatest Challenges We Face As Marketers in pursuit of a truly successful business:
1. Attention. We’ve all heard the claim that you only have 2 seconds to grab someone’s attention before you’ve lost your opportunity. I don’t know if that’s exactly true, but Tony points out that the principle is absolutely true. You have a very short period of time to capture someone’s attention with your marketing.
2. Time: 99.9% of people today are busy and easily distracted. When was the last time you talked to someone who wasn’t “really busy”? Yeah… I can’t remember either. All marketing campaigns are just one more thing competing for our prospect’s time.
3. Credibility: We are a highly skeptical society these days. In order for anyone to listen to you for more than 2 seconds and not immediately dismiss what you are claiming, you must prove your case. And, of course, you must do it quickly.
Here are 6 ways you can capture your audience’s attention, time and trust:
1. Referral Capture. Referrals are extremely powerful. We are much more likely to be open to hearing what someone has to say if they were first recommended to us by someone we know and trust. So… how can you get more referrals? Ask for them. You simply never know what will happen until you ask.
There’s an effective and not-so-effective way of doing this. The not-so-effective way is to just hand someone a few of your business cards and say, “When you come across someone who might be interested in what I have to offer, would you point them in my direction?”
The effective way is to be a bit more proactive and ask for introductions. If you are doing a good job taking care of your customers, they want you to be successful. Who do they know that you need to know? Ask them to introduce you.
A really great idea that Tony called “website magic” is to visit your top customer’s web sites and take a look at what they’re doing. Have they won any awards? Did they just launch a new product or service? Take note of something you would like to congratulate them on. Then, look for the space on their site where they list their clients. Find the one or two that you most want to be introduced to. Send your client an email that says, “I was on your web site today and noticed that ________. Congratulations! By the way, I also noticed that _____ is one of your clients. Would you mind introducing me to them?” You can also use this technique on Facebook, Linked in and My Space, etc.
Keep track of who is referring other people to you and reward them! If someone refers you once, it is highly likely they will refer you again and again - IF, you encourage that behavior by rewarding them. Every document you have should ask, “How did you hear about us?” Give your referrers gift certificates, gas cards, movie tickets, etc. Make the gift a real gift (not just a promotion) by giving them something you think they would enjoy that is not something you make or do.
2. Evidence Capture. Use testimonials, videos and blogs to support your claims. Give away content rich white papers, free reports and eBooks. Generate positive PR. Have an outrageous guarantee that shows just how much you believe in your product or service. Update testimonials frequently and consider the use of video testimonials.
3. Story Capture. Stories engage the mind. They are great attention grabbers. Once pulled into a great story, it is hard to pull away. Using stories in your marketing is a great way to capture someone’s attention and hold it for a decent length of time.
4. Content Capture. Give people really, really good content. Stop worrying about giving too much away for free. Do you really think that you have information that is not available for free somewhere right now? You can’t control information. You can’t capture it, hold it or corner the market on it. Don’t even try. Instead, set yourself up to be the main authority in your particular niche. Use the fact that people are short on time and don’t want to spend a lot of it searching for what they want or need to set yourself up as the one source they trust in a particular area.
Just because so much information is available for free doesn’t mean we aren’t willing to pay for it. Once we get serious about wanting to know something or do something, we will gladly pay for “how to” information. Your customers and clients are going to buy from someone when they get to that point. If you’ve given them plenty of great content over time, you will be the first one they go to when they are ready to purchase.
5. Grabber Capture. When using direct mail you must be creative in how you send it. Hand address the envelope and put a real stamp on it. Send it in a red greeting card envelope. Put something in the envelope (the lumpy mail technique). Mail the marketing piece in something other than an envelope. Be creative and bold about this. You could even send your letters via UPS or Fedex. The point is, put at least as much thought into how you are going to get your prospect to read a promotion as you do into producing the promotion. (This applies to email marketing as well. Be creative!)
6. Innovation Capture. Gather good ideas from everywhere. This includes outside your industry. A good idea is a good idea and can be applied to any industry. Make it a habit to look at everything with a child-like curiosity. Some of the best ideas have come from those who questioned everything. Keep track of all your ideas and the ideas of others’ by create and use a swipe or idea file.
Finally, Tony shared these quotes that I thought was worth passing on:
“Sometimes you have to be willing to be misunderstood.” Jeff Bezos (SP?) founder of Amazon.
“How many industry norms can you violate or turn upside down?” Dan Kennedy
