"If It's for everybody, it's for nobody"

When most businesses set out to market or advertise they play the numbers game. They hit everyone and think "If everyone sees my material then at least someone will respond." True someone will, but nowhere near as many people as if your focused on one section of you market, personalised your marketing material to that particular industry or demographic and bought the list or placed the add in to paper or magazine to match. Target like a sniper and you could increase your response rates by 100's of %. 

"If it's for everybody, it's for nobody" Dan Kennedy.

Marketing Man

P.S. If you would like any advice on how to apply this to your industry please just leave a comment in the comment box. 

All Web Site Owners Should Be Doing This!

If you own a website and it has good content then you really should be using Google's Adsense program. I have recently published a short e-book on the program called "Adsense Profits Exposed" you can buy it at www.adsensemadeeasy.co.uk

Here is a little more about adsense below (Excerpt from the Book)

What is Google AdSense?

Google AdSense is an ad-serving program that places ads that "make sense" – specifically, that make sense based on relevant content, and assumptions about who might be interested in that content. AdSense is an application of the broader concept of Contextual Marketing. Contextual Marketing is just what it sounds like. On a website about custom cars, you might have an ad for fancy wheels or car care kits. On a website about off-roading, you might have an ad for durable truck tires or spotlight rigs. A hockey site might advertise hockey sticks…and a tennis site, tennis shoes. Contextual Marketing just means aligning the ad serving with the context/nature of the website and its audience, the same way like items are grouped in a store. And the "context" can be cut much finer than website level, it can be page level, article level, and so on, so the ads always match the material they are appearing near, and thus, appeal to the interest of the reader/buyer at any given moment.

So what’s in it for you – the website publisher/owner? That’s easy. Every time a visitor to your site clicks one of these ads, you make money. The better the ads are targeted, the more clicks you get, the more money you make. AdSense displays easy-to-read, text-based, relevant ads that don’t overshadow the content of your website or annoy visitors. Actually, you have seen hundreds of these ads yourself, as you’ll realize in a moment. Today there are probably only a few places in your website that can directly make you money, if any. The magic of Google AdSense is this: It allows you to earn money through every page of your website. On top of that, with algorithms used to align ad content with page content Google automatically selects and displays ads for your website that are likely to generate the highest revenue for you.

Marketing Man.

To order your copy of "Adsense Profits Exposed" visit www.adsensemadeeasy.co.uk

Don't be afraid of your madness!

Becoming a successful entrepreneur is a long hard slog, bloodied noses and even being raised from the dead! I know first hand I'm still on that long hard road.
Lonely doesn't even begin to describe how you are going to feel every one thinks your mad no one really wants to help and they just want you to give up and get a proper job.
Don't listen! YOU are different. Do you think that Richard Branson and Alan Sugar acted and did things like a 9 to 5 worker? My advice those who do know they are different is read the autobiographies and model their success.
Marketing Man.
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Who Said We Should Worry About Recession?

I you take a look at all those who have struggled through the recession you will notice a trend. It's those who are fighting price wars with each other trying to compete on the cheapest price alone, they aren't offering anything new or exclusive to their customers and it becomes boring.

The common belief that no one has got any money any more is a complete lie, what you need to be doing is aiming your product or service to those who still have money and are willing to invest in you or your product.

E.g Take Simon Brooke an entrepreneur who develops an interest in his family tree, only to discover that he is the great grandson of the Victorian perfumer John Goldsmith who's exclusive perfumes have been out of production for decades. So a an entrepreneur their is only one thing he can do, Relaunch the old brand. 
Price tag, a set of three perfumes will cost no less than $27000 or (£18000). What is that I here you say, "No one will buy that it's ridiculous especially coming out of a recession". Wrong, there is a three month waiting list for this product so you better snap yours up quick, you'll find it a Harrods in London. 

Think about how you can focus your product or service on the Affluent markets that's where the money is and will never go away. 

Marketing Man.

USP (Unique Selling Proposition)

You have probably been made aware of USP's before but they are often thought of and used as generic terms in sales letters and print ads that all businesses use when they think they are being unique.

e.g. 'We offer the best service', 'Our price is the cheapest'.

You catch my drift with this, these are not USP's any more they mean nothing you need to think of something remarkable look at your competition and do what they aren't doing that will give you a good USP and put you at the forefront of your customers minds.

Here are few good ones off the top of my head::

• 'We are the only car repair shop that will buy your car if you are not 100 percent satisfied with our work.'
• 'Delivered in 30 minutes or it’s on us!'
• 'So exclusive you can't afford not to buy'

Only you can make your USP stand out, give it some thought and remember that only the remarkable businesses survive.

Marketing Man.

The Wise Old Owl

The Wise Old Owl

'A wise old owl lived in an oak

The more he saw the less he spoke;

The less he spoke the more he heard

Why aren't we all like that wise old Bird?'

You will learn that I like to adapt nursery rhymes and poetry in to useful business thinkers as I call them. They are easy to remember and make you think, and if you do as you are supposed to then you will use the poems in your business life and they will improve the way you think and do things. In turn bringing in more profit and a better frame of mind. 

The Wise Old Owl: 

The message here is that we should all be observing, taking in and listening to our peers, colleagues and most importantly our Customers.

Listen to what they want first before telling them what they want. The most important question a sales person can ask his customer is "When it comes to x what is most important to you?" then shut up. The less you speak the more you will hear, they will tell you how to sell your product to them by answering your question and you will hear more of the answer by listening. 

People feel respected when they are listened to, I don't mean keeping your mouth shut and thinking "whats for tea? I wish this guy would shut up and let me sell" Listening. I mean really listening, don't take notes you will miss things always have eye contact and focus your thoughts on your prospect.

A great book to read to learn how to focus your thoughts is Psycho-Cybernetics By Dr Maxwell Maltz.

The truth is when you really learn to listen to your customers you will see what they want and you won't have to sell anymore they will sell themselves. Really good listeners are hard to come by and becoming one will keep your customers loyal no matter what industry you are in.

Remember: The more you see the less you will speak, the less you speak the more you will hear.

Marketing Man.

   

Push Their Emotional Hot Buttons

Here is the next step in my advertising program following on from 'Focus on the features, not the Benefits'

Push Their Emotional Hot Buttons


This is where research really pays off. Because in order to push those buttons, you need to first know what they are.


Listen to this story first, and I’ll tell you what I mean: Once upon a time a young man walked into a Chevrolet dealer’s showroom to check out a Chevy Camaro. He had the money, and he was ready to make a buying decision. But he couldn’t decide if he wanted to buy the Camaro or the Ford Mustang up the road at the Ford dealer.

A salesman approached him and soon discovered the man’s dilemma.


“Tell me what you like best about the Camaro,” said the salesman.


“It’s a fast car. I like it for its speed.”


After some more discussion, the salesman learned the man had just started dating a cute college cheerleader. So what did the salesman do?


Simple. He changed his pitch accordingly, to push the hot buttons he knew would help advance the sale. He told the man about how impressed his new girlfriend would be when he came home with this car! He placed the mental image in the man’s mind of he and his girlfriend cruising to the beach in the Camaro. How all of his friends will be envious when they see him riding around with a beautiful girl in a beautiful car.


And suddenly the man saw it. He got it. And the salesman recognized this and piled it on even more. Before you know it, the man wrote a nice fat check to the Chevy dealership, because he was sold!


The salesman found those hot buttons and pushed them like never before until the man realized he wanted the Camaro more than he wanted his money.


I know what you’re thinking…the man said he liked the car because it was fast, didn’t he?


Yes, he did. But subconsciously, what he really desired was a car that would impress his girlfriend, his friends, and in his mind make them love him more! In his mind he equated speed with thrill. Not because he wanted an endless supply of speeding tickets, but because he thought that thrill would make him more attractive, more likeable.

Perhaps the man didn’t even realize this fact himself. But the salesman sure did. And he knew which emotional hot buttons to press to get the sale.


Now, where does the research pay off?


Well, a good salesman knows how to ask the kinds of questions that will tell him which buttons to press on the fly. When you’re writing copy, you don’t have that luxury. It’s therefore very important to know upfront the wants, needs, and desires of your prospects for that very reason. If you haven’t done your homework, your prospect is going to decide that he’d rather keep his money than buy your product. Remember, copywriting is salesmanship in print!

It’s been said many times: People don’t like to be sold.


But they do like to buy.


And they buy based on emotion first and foremost. Then they justify their decision with logic, even after they are already sold emotionally. So be sure to back up your emotional pitch with logic to nurture that justification at the end.


And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk a moment about perceived “hype” in a sales letter. A lot of more “conservative” advertisers have decided that they don’t like hype, because they consider hype to be old news, been-there-and-done-that, my customers won’t fall for hype, it’s not believable anymore.


What they should realize is that hype itself does not sell well. Some less experienced copywriters often try to compensate for their lack of research or not fully understanding their target market or the product itself by adding tons of adjectives and adverbs and exclamation points and big bold type.


Whew! If you do your job right, it’s just not needed.


That’s not to say some adverbs or adjectives don’t have their place…only if they’re used sparingly, and only if they advance the sale.


But I think you’d agree that backing up your copy with proof and believability will go a lot farther in convincing your prospects than “power words” alone. I say power words, because there are certain adverbs and adjectives that have been proven to make a difference when they’re included. This by itself is not hype. But repeated too often, they become less effective, and they take away (at least in your prospect’s mind) from the proof.

Marketing Man.

Why Is your Busniess Different when it comes to marketing?

Looking back at the last post I want you to think more about why YOU think that your business is different when it comes to marketing?

The fact is it's not. Whether your own a Florist or a Road Haulage company you still need to market your business don't you?

If you are selling business to consumer or B2B you are always selling to a person the only difference is one person is buying for themselves and the other for their business. Don't be fooled by the black curtain that is pulled across the two markets to separate them, that's there to make you feel safe which is risky business when it comes to making money, or at least good money. 

I say rip it down pack up your ruck sack and go on a little adventure and find something from another industry and adapt it to yours, You'll be surprised at the results.

Marketing Man

A few questions you may need to answer Yourself!

Answer these questions (Beware you might spell out a few home truths!)

1. Why is it when I meet with a business owner who wants help with their marketing and advertising they immediately put up a defensive barrier when you suggest change?
2. Why ask for help if you're not willing to change?
3. Why do most businesses owners struggle day after day after day, yet when they are given a solution instantly dismiss it with "But my Business is different!"?

If this is you, which is very likely take a long hard look at you and your busniess and learn how to embrace change. The only businesses that survive the long haul are those who know how to adapt to the changing times, good business owners listen to the younger people in their business and take their ideas on board because they know that these are the people who are going to move the business forward and ensure it's survival.

Embrace change and listen to the future and the rest is history.

Marketing Man

Purple Cow

The Purple Cow

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one,
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one

by Gelett Burgess


How wrong could Gelett Burgess be. He obviously wasn't a marketer and if he was he would have been a terrible one. I use this poem as an example based on the great Seth Godin's perception of being a purple cow, It's much the same as the pink elephant it's about being noticed.


The bottom line is when it comes to marketing and advertising you want to be the Purple Cow not run away from it. This poem represents the millions of businesses out there who would just rather see the purple cows and gawp at them, the people who say 'Well my business is different, we could never market like that it just wouldn't work!'

At the end of the day the only way you will ever be seen as the market leader or different from your competitors is not by saying we have the best service and we have the best product but by shoving it in their face and mooing at them so they can't miss you.

Go away and read Purple Cow by Seth Godin learn how to be remarkable.

By it on Amazon: Purple cow

Marketing Man

Focus on them, Not you

When a prospect reads your ad, letter, brochure, etc., the one thing he will be wondering from the start is: “what’s in it for me?”



And if your copy doesn’t tell him, it’ll land in the bin faster than he can read the headline or lead.


A lot of advertisers make this mistake. They focus on them as a company. How long they’ve been in business, who their biggest customers are, how they’ve spent ten years of research and millions of dollars/pounds on developing this product, blah, blah.


Actually, those points are important. But they should be expressed in a way that matters to your potential customer. Remember, once he’s thrown it in the bin, the sale is lost!


When writing your copy, it helps to think of it as writing a letter to an old friend. In fact, I often picture a friend of mine who most closely fits my prospect’s profile. What would I say to convince this friend to try my product? How would I target my friend’s objections and beliefs to help my cause? When you’re writing to a friend, you’ll use the pronouns “I” and “you.” When trying to convince your friend, you might say: “Look, I know you think you’ve tried every widget out there. But you should know that…”


And it goes beyond just writing in the second person. That is, addressing your prospect as “you” within the copy. The fact of the matter is there are many successful ads that weren’t written in the second person. Some are written in the first person perspective, where the writer uses “I.” Other times the third person is used, with “she,” “he,” and “them.”


And even if you do write in the second person, it doesn’t necessarily mean your copy is about them.


For example:


“As a real estate agent, you can take comfort in the fact that I’ve sold over 10,000 homes and mastered the tricks of the trade”


Although you’re writing in the second person, you’re really still focusing on yourself.






So how can you focus on them?


Glad you asked. One way is to…






Emphasize Benefits, Not Features


What are features? They are descriptions of what qualities a product possesses.


• The XYZ car delivers 55 miles per gallon in the city.


• Our ladder’s frame is made from a lightweight durable steel alloy.


• Our glue is protected by a patent.


• This database has a built-in data-mining system, and what are benefits? They are what those features mean to your prospects.


• You’ll save money on gas and cut down on environmental pollutants when you use our energy saving high-performance hybrid car. Plus, you’ll feel the extra oomph when you’re passing cars, courtesy of the efficient electric motor, which they don’t have!


• Lightweight durable steel-alloy frame means you’ll be able to take it with you with ease, and use it in places most other ladders can’t go, while still supporting up to 800 pounds. No more backaches lugging around that heavy ladder. And it’ll last for 150 years, so you’ll never need to buy another ladder again!


• Patent-protected glue ensures you can use it on wood, plastic, metal, ceramic, glass, and tile…without messy cleanup and without ever having to re-glue it again—guaranteed!


• You can instantly see the “big picture” hidden in your data, and pull the most arcane statistics on demand. Watch your business do a “180” in no time flat, when you instantly know why it’s failing in the first place! It’s all done with our built-in data-mining system that’s so easy to use, my twelve year-old son used it successfully right out of the box.






I just made up those examples, but I think you understand my point.


By the way, did you notice in the list of features where I wrote “steel alloy?” But in the benefits I wrote “steel-alloy” (with a hyphen). Not sure off-hand which one is correct, but I know which one I’d use.






Here’s why: you are not writing to impress your English teacher or win any awards. The only award you’re after is your copy beating the control (control being the best-selling copy so far), so take some liberty in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You want it to be read and acted upon, not read and admired!


But—back to benefits… If you were selling an expensive watch, you wouldn’t tell your reader that the face is 2 inches in diameter and the band is made of leather.


You show him how the extra-large face will tell him the time at a glance. No sir! He won’t have to squint and look foolish to everyone around him trying to read this magnificent timepiece. And how about the way he’ll project success and charisma when he wears the beautiful gold watch with its handcrafted custom leather band? How his lover will find him irresistible when he’s all dressed up to go out, wearing the watch. Or how the watch’s status and beauty will attract the ladies.


Incidentally, did you notice how I brought up not squinting as a benefit? Does that sound like a silly benefit? Not if you are selling to affluent baby boomers suffering from degrading vision. They probably hate it when someone they’re trying to impress sees them squint in order to read something. It’s all part of their inner desire, which you need to discover. And which even they may not know about. That is, until you show them a better way.


The point is to address the benefits of the product, not its features. And when you do that, you’re focusing on your reader and his interests, his desires. The trick is to highlight those specific benefits (and word them correctly) that push your reader’s emotional hot buttons.


How do you do that? Well I’ll tell you next week...

Time To Re-Evaluate Your Market

Time To Re-Evaluate Your Market


There are offline businesses going into bankruptcy everywhere. In a time of prosperity, people rush to buy the latest electronic gadget or to get the latest bath accessories, one for each change of the season. So, your market niche may have done well when the economy was doing well, but now you've noticed a down tick in purchases. What's going on? Don't assume that this is a product of the economic recession; instead, be proactive and try to determine what factors are affecting your sales. It could be the economy, but it could also be various other factors: A shifting demographic, poor sales strategies that don't work in a downturn, or bad or no advertising campaign.

Shifting Demographics

When you set up your business, you probably had a good idea of what demographic you wanted to serve. With the recession, the demographic you serve may have had shifts in their income level or even living situations. Take a look at the boomer generation. They are experiencing an epic shift in their income as they retire, with battered retirement accounts from poor market results. Even though you could rely on this demographic to purchase certain products and services as they continued to dominate the market, this may not be true in the future. So, you need to re-evaluate the demographics that you are serving in your market niche.


Sales Strategies

Running the same promotions with worse results? That's not really surprising considering that the psychology of the market place has changed dramatically and that the consumer may not be in a buying mood for a while. Before the recession, status was a great psychological trigger to use to create a buying opportunity. The same trigger is somewhat meaningless in a downturn unless you are marketing to the very rich. The biggest strategy for the downturn is going to be value offers; you need to make sure that many of your strategies reflect a trigger for value.


Bad or No Advertising Campaigns

The immediate impulse of business owners in a downturn is to stop throwing money at advertising since there are fewer buyers. This is a mistake and can be a self-fulfilling prophecy for poor sales later on. So, if you haven't evaluated your advertising campaign, you need to do that now. Look at where you are advertising, what psychological triggers and sales strategies you are using, and whether you can provide value offers that put you ahead of the competition during this tough economy.



Phill Hudson

Visit: www.westlancsleafletdistribution.co.uk