Most small businesses are confused about their marketing message.  Some think that a slogan will suffice, some think that an ad about how great their company is will do, or that saying how long they have been in business will work.

How about those companies that think it’s their mission statement and vision statement that is their marketing message.

It’s none of those.

Whenever I consult with a company, I ask them, “What is your marketing message,” and the above are most of the answers I receive.

However, your marketing message is what will grab your prospects’ attention.   It tells your prospects why they should trust you, why they should choose to do business with you rather than your competitors, and says how you can solve their problem.

That’s it in a nutshell.

It should “speak” to your prospect.  This is done by appealing to your prospect’s hot buttons and whatever will trigger an emotional reaction. You must research and find those hot buttons.

Here are three things you should do and explore when putting together your Marketing Message:

1. Identify the problems that your target market is having.  You must ask yourself the following question: “What problems are the members of my target market having and how do those problems make them feel?” Each target market, individually, has its own frustrations and pains. The secret to putting together a message that will make members of your market sit up and listen is to identify the problem and the pain they feel as a result of that problem. They don’t care about your company, or how great you are, or how long you’ve been in business.  Identifying their pain and suffering tells them that you understand and empathize with them.  Let them know that you care.

2. Present them with your solution to their problem.  Ask yourself the question.  “What is the solution that I have to offer my prospect?”  Present your solution as a “cure” for all of the pain and suffering they are going through as a result of this problem.  Put yourself in the situation of your customer.  Would you make a decision on purchasing something unless you feel an excruciating pain?  Now is the time to identify all the benefits of your solution.  Identify how those benefits will improve their lives and how great they will feel when you take that pain and anguish away.

3. Explain what makes you different from your competitors.  To start, ask your present customers the following question, “Why do you deal with me rather than with (your competitor’s name).

Once you know how you are different from your competitors, you need to communicate your differences.  Those differences need to have a perceived value in the mind of your prospect, so help them along in your message.  It needs to be something they care about.

Remember what I always say to myself when I do any shopping.  What’s in it for me?

Again, all of this starts with knowing the wants, problems, needs, and fears of your target market.  It ends with you putting together a message that speaks to those problems in a very compelling and believable way. 

Do the above 3 things and you will create an irresistible message that makes your prospect want to know more.

Technorati Tags: market fears, market message, market needs, market wants, marketing message, marketing messaging, target market

As I travel, I have an opportunity to read many ads in many magazines and newspapers.  What disturbs me is that 99% of them are downright dull and I often yawn when reading them.

As the saying goes, “How you say something is just as important as what you say.” An ad should be similar to a face-to-face sales pitch.

A great ad will have, not only the offer itself, but the language, the tone, and the “voice” of the offer.

The problem is that most sales messages get so engrossed in describing the company, its products, and product features that they fail to appeal to the reader.

It’s understandable.  People in business are often so tied to their businesses or products that they get tunnel vision and fail to look at their copy from their reader’s perspective.

It’s understandable, but inexcusable.

My advice is to be more experiential in your ads, as if the reader is experiencing what you are telling them.  Let them feel or imagine how it feels.  Make it “benefit-rich”.  Most importantly, appeal to the reader’s ego when describing those benefits.

People always buy for, or are influenced by, personal desires, selfish reasons and self-interested motives.  And guess what?  It’s been that way for thousands of years, and nothing’s changed.

People are people.  They always buy on emotion and they always will.

Our job as entrepreneurs is to express our offers in terms that trigger the prospects emotions, press their hot buttons, tug at their heartstrings, and push them into taking action. 

To do otherwise with your offers is the biggest mistake you can make.

Technorati Tags: ad writing, magazine ads, newspaper ads, sales offer

Here’s an experience I just had this week. I was reading my local newspaper, and an ad jumped out at me. It was for a Hair Salon. It stated: “Bring this Ad with you and your first visit is FREE.”

I set up an appointment and complimented the owner on her ad.

Here’s the interesting part—

When I was leaving, the girl that did my haircut gave me a small bag with a gift of a sample shampoo they probably got from their supplier, but also a small sample of the conditioner she used when she washed my hair. And in the bag was a “Thank You" letter from her.

Here’s what the letter said.

Hi
I just want to say it was a privilege to have the opportunity to treat you to one of my personalized haircuts and styles.

As a thank you, I am giving you 50% off your next haircut and style when you book your next haircut.

Please call and reserve your time with me, Elaine at Salon by the Sea, 732-282-1600.

My hours are Thurs 10-8 Fri 9-5, Sat 7-4.

Sincerely
Her name, address and the website

The reason I’m mentioning this is that you could massage this process to fit your own enterprise.

The thing is that I still paid for the haircut, because I’d feel bad if I didn’t. Plus, the salon owner now also has a new client because she gave me a great haircut and created a great “experience”. Could you do something similar and get similar results?

Let me know in the comments section below how you might use this concept in your enterprise.

Technorati Tags: free offer, grow business, growing a business, thank you letter

There is a very short window of time that you have when you initially contact a new prospect by telephone, in a face-to-face meeting, or networking. If you fail to make an impression quickly, you have tuned them out.

Here are some of the things I’ve experienced where the person lost my attention.

1. Opening the conversation by introducing themselves, their company and what they do.

2. If they are in my office, making small talk about the “stuff” they see.

3. Explain to me how your product or service will benefit me. (This is not a misprint. Read below to understand.)

4. Telling me what other companies they have worked with.

5. Showing me the awards they have received.

6. Giving me a brochure immediately.

7. Starting a telephone conversation with, “Hi, how are you?”

Again, these are just a few of the things that have turned me off and you have probably experienced the same.

The moment your prospect senses that you are trying to sell them something that they don’t need or want, they will tune you out and look for a way to disengage or disconnect from the call.

They really don’t care about you. They don’t want to know about your company, listen to you talk about your products or services, or making small talk.

What they do want is a solution to a problem. They want to know how you can help them improve their business. Here are some thoughts on how you can accomplish that.

You must direct all of your attention on their situation and resist the opportunity to talk about you or your company.

When you meet someone, say something like the following, “Mrs. Prospect, many of our clients are currently experiencing (insert the problem here). How does that compare to your company’s situation?”

This demonstrates that you are knowledgeable about their business and/or the industry, and it gives them the opportunity to tell you about their most important concerns.

Over my last 40 some odd years, I have found that most people will tell you anything you want to know providing you give them a reason to do so. The key is to develop and ask high-quality questions.

Here’s really the bottom line…

The more time you spend talking about your product, the less inclined a prospect will want to continue that conversation.

The more you focus your attention on their situation—their problems—and demonstrate how you can help them improve their business, the more you differentiate yourself from your competition.

And this goes for anything you do in life. Whenever you are in any situation, if you talk about yourself, you lose them.

You only have a few moments to connect with a prospect, so keep it brief. Keep it focused. Keep it about them and you will keep their attention.

You’ve all experienced this, so tell me one of your stories.

Technorati Tags: differentiate yourself, differentiate yourself from your competition, differentiation, network meeting, Networking, phone contact, phone conversation, prospect's attention, sales meeting

At one of my recent talks, I was asked about the new social media websites and whether attendees should sign up, and how can they use the media to enhance their business. 

There are lots of opinions in the press about whether the social media work, or whether they are just time wasters.  Different people report different results. 

Remember, these media are only tools, and the only determinant as to whether you use them or not is whether they increase your bottom line.

Ignore the hype and focus instead on how to make them work for you as the tools they are.  Don’t drop everything else you are doing to pursue them, expecting they are going to make you wealthy overnight, as some claim.  They are not.

Dedicate a portion of your time and budget to learning how to implement them.  But make sure you don’t neglect what’s already working for you.  Just add these tools at a pace that compliments, rather than disrupts, what’s already working.

When you see these new media for what they really are… tools…not miracle workers, it becomes not a matter of whether or not you should use them.  Instead the question becomes how do you best use them to get the results you are after.

Don’t let fear of these new media, or lack of knowledge, stop you.  Begin by focusing on creating systems and processes which are easy to implement, and can be repeated over and over.  This is a great basis for eventually outsourcing the work, so you can put it on automatic pilot.

With social media you now have the potential to spread your message farther and wider than you could before.  Like any tool, you just have to learn how to use it to your advantage.

Besides blogging, your social media efforts should start with Facebook and/or Twitter.  Your profile on these media is an important way by which media users can find you.  So make sure you create a profile pertinent to your purpose for the page.  Use keywords that can help them find you.

Probably, the best possible scenario when using Facebook is to build a Fan Page for your business.  A fan page has a similar feel to your regular Facebook page, but it allows you to create a public profile so that you can share your business and products with Facebook users. You can find out more by going here: http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages

Here is a good example of a fan page: http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=mari+smith&init=quick#/marismith?ref=search&sid=1386575769.1132394570..1

If you’d like to learn more about Facebook and Twitter marketing, here is a good inexpensive resource: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=1081671
 
What are your thoughts or experiences with social media marketing?  Let me know in the comment box below.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Media, Twitter

Who’s right?  Who’s wrong?

Seth Godin, Chris Anderson, and Malcolm Gladwell are going at it about “FREE”, the book recently written by Chris.

Personally, I side with Chris and Seth, even though Malcolm makes a strong argument for his position. 

I think it’s clear that if you look at the trends of “free”, you can see how it has grown more and more pervasive over time, and people expect free samples or free trials of whatever they are considering buying. 

For instance, whether it says “Free Trials” or not, people expect 100% of their money back if they are not satisfied.  This amounts to a free trial.  “Free” has been woven into the fabric of American society so much that I believe most people see it as an economic birthright.

As such, I believe everything is trending towards free first-time usage. The “free line” (the amount of free things given) will move higher and higher as competition continues to grow and “free” embeds itself even deeper and deeper into the American psyche. 

As more and more companies build “free” into their business models (not just as a marketing cost), it’s going to force other companies to lower their prices or change their models.

Sure “free” has been with us for a while, but it has been slowly evolving and has been slowly changing the game.  Chris Anderson is giving us a status report.  Read it.  You definitely want to know where we are now so you have a better chance to get where you want to go.

If you want to follow the debate, check out Seth’s, Chris’ and Malcolm’s positions.  Chris’ and Malcolm’s debate center around paid versus free journalism; Seth’s expounds on ‘free”:

Seth: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/malcolm-is-wrong.html
Chris: http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/06/dear-malcolm-why-so-threatened.html
Malcolm: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_gladwell?currentPage=all

To get a FREE 25 PAGE EXCERPT from the book, go here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=lLZbXN2odVYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

To buy the book, go here:

Technorati Tags: business model, Chris Anderson, Free, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin

Whenever I work with a consulting client, I talk more with the employees than I do with the top management. One of the questions I ask everyone is, “What are you really selling?”

What a question!   And what different answers!

Many individuals have a blank look on their faces.  And it’s understandable.  Many individuals who work for a company really don’t know what they are selling.

Let’s take a car dealer for example.  You can say he sells cars.  Or, I know all of you on this blog will say, “It’s the benefits they get from what they are purchasing.”  And you’d be correct.

A person doesn’t purchase just a car.  They purchase a car for what benefits they receive from it.  And the benefits will vary from car model to car model.  An example is a Corvette. 

Does a person really need a Corvette?  Is it economical?  Is it reliable?  I could go on and on.  The real reason someone purchases a Corvette, is because of the heads that will turn as he drives the car.  By the way, those heads will be mostly females. 

Another example is a fitness center.  Most of the individuals are members because they are overweight or want to keep fit.  One would think that what they are selling is weight loss and looking fit. 

What they are really selling is the feelings and benefits the customers get when they lose weight and look fit and trim.  The looks they get when they walk down the street. Or the whistles one gets.  The confident feelings that they get as they strut down the street. Or how about the special look in her husband’s eye, when……….

Just in these two examples, you can see the real things the two of them are really selling.

Spend some time thinking about your own company and what you are really selling.  The answer you get will lead to much success and just might explode your sales.

Let me know any other ideas you might have.  Give me your input on your own company and what you think you are really selling.   I’ll work with you on improving it, and as I said before, so that your sales will explode.

Technorati Tags: increase sales

I just returned from the beautiful island of Aruba, walking the beach each day, and seeing the effect the world economy was having on tourism and business in general on the island.

The beaches are almost empty, and from what I hear from the Aruba Hotel Association, the island is experiencing a 45% reduction in tourism. 

Besides the hotels low occupancy rate, the restaurants are virtually empty.  The deteriorating world economic condition is affecting everyone.

So you might be asking what do season tie-ins have to do with the economy?  Well I was there during the holiday season and I didn’t see any businesses taking advantage of season tie-ins.  Yet, in looking at the state of affairs on the island, it is indicative of most of the countries in the world. 

The various businesses, whether they were catering to the local Arubans, or the tourists, should have been capitalizing on the season to increase sales.  Unfortunately, they didn’t.

People are very aware of holidays and the seasons and tend to be very responsive to offers that logically are linked to any of them. 

There are dozens of holidays you can choose from.  Think of ways to tie your business or products into the seasons or holidays.

Here’s one example.  Send out a mailer to your customer data base and say that because of the spirit of X-Holiday, you would like to give them a special gift.  Take whatever you have to offer and package it into an offer that your customer can’t refuse.

Or let’s say you do home cleaning.  You can make a tie-in with Spring, which is just beginning.

Here’s what you can say: “We will give your home a complete spring cleaning for ‘half price’ and help you to permanently ‘resign’ your position as home cleaner at a surprisingly low cost.” 

Again, the same approach can be used at any time.  In September, for example, you can make the same offer for getting the home ready for Thanksgiving. 

I’m sure you get the idea.  So start thinking of ways to tie in the seasons with your product.  Let me know some of the ways you implement this idea.

Technorati Tags: holiday promotions, holiday tie-ins, seasonal promotions, seasonal tie-ins

I’ve received a few emails asking me to give you more ideas of doing Successful Joint Ventures.

Remember, a Joint Venture involves two or more professionals or businesses, who have common prospects, or possibly complementary services.   These entities now join together for mutual marketing and sales, usually for specific prospects. 

They will work together to create joint marketing materials, joint sales calls, referring of prospects, joint direct mail, e-mail or advertising campaigns.  They might even combine their services, talents and assets to create a larger base of potential customers. 

When I had my Insurance Agency, I would do Joint Ventures with accountants, financial planners and various attorneys.  Each individual professional benefited from wider exposure, more referrals, and marketing that is more efficient.

I would venture to say that every professional and company has many opportunities to create joint Ventures.

Here’s an important part of a Joint Venture.  Both parties must assume responsibility for marketing the joint venture. A Joint Venture Partner who expects to ride the back of the other partner will quickly find themselves alone. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. When you form a Joint Venture,  your partner will define your company and will directly impact your sphere of influence and reputation.  Each Partner’s reputation “rubs off” on the other. So make sure that you take care when approaching someone as a Joint Venture Partner.  As the initiator, you have the advantage of choosing who you want to join forces with. Do Joint Ventures only with those partners that have the reputation you want for yourself and the market reach that you desire.

2. When you approach another business to become your Joint Venture partner, you will have to sell them on the idea that the partnership will be beneficial to them, not just for you.  They will have a real profit benefit. You must always be ready to give before you receive.

3. You must also be the one to assume the responsibility for the Joint Ventures success and you will have to do the vast majority of the work, at least at first.  You will be approaching individuals who may like the concept and want it to work, but they will also be skeptical.  You will have to carry the ball and show them that you are committed to the Joint Venture and that you will produce results for them.

If you follow thru, the Joint Venture will be an ongoing marketing strategy that will create more and more new customers for you and your business. 

Technorati Tags: joint venture secrets, joint ventures

Before I give you some methods and ideas of offers to get Customers Beating a Path to Your Door, it is important that you understand that the real secret to creating a successful offer is to do the initial research and to find out as much as you can about the individuals whom you are targeting for your offer.

Here are a few examples:

I consulted with a company which had 6 restaurants.  It catered to different groups of individuals.  4 catered to local residents, and 2 were in locations that catered to the business community because the two were located among office buildings and hotels.

If you’re going to do a direct mail promotion, the questions is: should you mail the same offer to both groups?

My answer is no.  For the restaurants located in the business community, I would get a list of the executives and managers who worked in the office buildings.  I would then send them a mailer that contained a brief cover letter, a brochure stressing that the restaurant was the perfect place to stop for dinner with visiting executives whom they have to entertain, or the perfect place to stop after work for Happy Hour.  I would mention that it was a great place to meet, greet, network and mostly relax in a great environment.

I would also enclose a few coupons for a 2-for-1 executive lunch and/or dinner.  I’d would also have something in the envelope for the secretary to use for lunch.  It would offer a 50% discount for lunch.

For the neighborhood restaurant I would get a list of the area homeowners with families and I would mail them a letter, but with a different brochure.  I would also create a small booklet of coupons.  Perhaps two offers for 50% off of lunch, and depending on the day of the week that we are slower than usual, I’d offer a 2-for-1 dinner, early-bird dinners for two, or all-you-can-eat for spaghetti on the slow days.  This could be only for the hours of 4 thru 6PM. 

John, here’s one for you for your dry cleaning business.   Because you have a few locations, I’m going to assume that they are located in different neighborhoods.  If you are like most dry cleaners and advertise in the local community weekly newspapers, and since there are quite a few newspapers to choose from, you must be selective.  Let’s assume there are two newspapers and one goes to the high-income neighborhood and one goes to a middles-class neighborhood.  The questions is, “Should you run the same ad in both papers?”

In looking at the papers in my area, I find that most merchants run the same ad in both papers.  They are wrong to do so and here is why.

Just as I mentioned in the restaurant example above, there are different groups of individuals you are trying to convince to visit your establishment.  Therefore, the messages should also be different. 

To the high-income neighborhood, I would write an ad that stressed how important it is to be looking your best for upward mobility and how individuals would see them as well dressed. I would then offer them one suit cleaned and pressed free, with another suit at full price or one tie done free with each suit.  You can create other offers for other garments

For the middle-class neighborhood, I would write an ad that stressed quality cleaning at a very modest and affordable price.  I would also create a small booklet entitled, “How Dry Cleaning can Help Certain Clothes Last Longer,” and just as above, offer discounts to get them into the store. 

I’m sure you can think of others, so let me hear some of them in the comments section.

Technorati Tags: attract customers, more customers