|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Five Tips For Designing Marketing Strategies That Get Results
"But this won't work" said Steve. "I've tried it in the past and had no response." Does this sound familiar? My newer clients often resist implementing certain strategies based on past experiences. However, I usually find out that it wasn't the strategy itself ? but how it was implemented that caused the dismal results.
So whether you are designing a simple flier or developing a plan for a strategic partnership you can increase your chances for success by following these five tips.
1. Develop Your Marketing For Your Potential Clients ? Not Yourself.
What looks good to you may not necessarily be appealing to your audience. It's OK to ask your friends and associates for feedback ? but their comments are only relevant if they are members of your target market. Also ? just because everyone else advertises in a certain way is not a proof that it works.
2. Provide Answers To These Three Critical Marketing Questions:
QUESTION 1: What's this about? Check that your materials immediately and clearly communicate what you offer, who it's for and what's the next step you are asking them to take.
QUESTION 2: What's in it for me? Don't make your audience guess about what's in it for them by leaving this information out or hiding it in the small print at the bottom. Use clear language free of industry jargon. Describe your offering not from the perspective of what you do but in terms of what the clients will receive and how they will be better off as a result of it.
QUESTION 3: Why should I listen to you? How will you establish credibility with your audience? Include your photo and prominently display your contact info. Present case studies, statistics, endorsements, testimonies from satisfied clients. If people don't believe you they will not respond to your offer.
3. Always follow the proven A.I.D.A. format.
ATTENTION Use a powerful headline that grabs attention. Don't try to be cute, don't expect that your prospects will take the time look for a deeper meaning in your clever slogans ? they won't. So be as direct and to the point as you possibly can. If you can boil the essence of the benefits you are offering to just one short sentence what would it be? That's you headline!
INTEREST Now that you have their attention you must quickly build your prospects interest. Use subtitles, questions and short stories to illustrate and communicate how well you understand their needs. This is a good place to allow your audience to connect with the pain their problems are causing them.
DESIRE Technical descriptions and numbers provide information but don't incite action. Your marketing must arouse in your prospects the emotion of desire. Show your audience how a solution is available and achievable to them through doing business with you. Offer powerful performance promise and eliminate the risk of giving you a "try" by a strong guarantee.
ACTION Without this part your marketing is like a salesman who gives a great presentation but forgets to ask for the order. Give your prospects a compelling reason to take action. Make your offer so incredibly irresistible they simply cannot refuse!
4. Follow up, Follow Up, Follow Up?
Over 80% of all sales are made after the prospect has heard from you at least seven times. Yet a typical business person gives up after just one or two follow up contacts.
Plan your follow-up steps in advance. Use a combination of mail, email, telephone and personal visits as your follow-up strategy. At each opportunity provide your potential clients with value ? this way they will forgive you the intrusion.
5. Develop a System
Most entrepreneurs and professionals waste their time and money on one-shot, fragmented promotional tactics. They practice "hit and miss" marketing system; they try a strategy and abandon it before it has a chance to produce any results.
Instead of developing new marketing strategies look for ways to improve the ones your are currently using. When you find a promotional strategy that works for you build a system around it so that you can consistently implement it over and over again.
Following these tips will make all the difference in the world between struggling to get clients and becoming wildly successfully in marketing your services. They are worth investing your best efforts and getting the support you need to implement them effectively.
(c) 2004 Adam M. Urbanski
The Author, Adam Urbanski, a Marketing Mentor, helps Service Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more free tutorial articles, hot how-to tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to http://www.themarketingmentors.com
Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!
Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!
Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!
Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!
Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!
CNNMoney.com - 14 hours ago
Ace Marketing & Promotions Inc. (OTCBB: AMKT) announces that IMAX Theaters is piloting Proximity Marketing at its Palisades theater location in NY, ...
Bizjournals.com, NC - 10 hours ago
Database marketing firm Merkle Inc. has signed up the Limited as a new client in a three-year contract. The Columbia firm will analyze customer data to help ...
Merkle Selected by The Limited to Support Integrated Customer ... MarketWatch (press release)
all 17 news articles
Boston Globe
Bizjournals.com, NC - 15 hours ago
United Parcel Service Inc. rival FedEx Corp. will cut its marketing budget by more than 25 percent for 2009, the company recently disclosed on its blog. ...
FedEx cuts marketing spend by more than 25 percent Reuters
FedEx to reduce marketing budgets by 25% Brand Republic
all 84 news articles
Bizjournals.com, NC - 15 hours ago
Downtown Greensboro marketing firm Bouvier Kelly has won three awards from the Carolina Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society for its work with ...
CNNMoney.com - 5 hours ago
TMI's marketing plan includes a program where LTC facilities can lease the equipment necessary to perform skin assessments and store the necessary data ...
Wellstar/TMI Announces Estimated Three-Year Revenue Projections MSNBC
all 9 news articles
National Post
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL - 12 hours ago
By Sarah Talalay | South Florida Sun-Sentinel University of Florida fan Michelle Jackson has her outfit for college football's national championship game ...
BCS is a political football in 2009 CNN
all 3,174 news articles
CNNMoney.com - 15 hours ago
Proton will start by marketing a variety of enhanced water products that provide health benefits for people and the planet as well as the commercial product ...
MSNBC - 2 hours ago
The initial stages of marketing the properties for sale have already begun, and the Company will expand those efforts now that the properties are completely ...
Indianapolis Star, United States - 12 hours ago
With a team of 25 brokers and additional market research, marketing, and client support staff, Summit Realty Group specializes in office, industrial, ...
MediaPost Publications, New York - 1 hour ago
by Erik Sass, 7 hours ago Katz Media Group is launching a new national marketing unit that will focus on creating custom solutions for advertisers that take ...
Katz Launches Katz Marketing Solutions Streaming Magazine
Katz Media Group Reorgs to Trim Costs MEDIAWEEK
Katz Media Group Launches National Marketing Unit to Exploit the ... Earthtimes (press release)
Radio Business Report - AdAge.comall 24 news articles
Focus...a Marketing Strategy
The secret to increasing sales doesn't lie in choosing just the right marketing tactic for each of your businesses. The real problem that's experienced by many entrepreneurs--a... Read More
Marketing: Can I Trust You?
We live in an unprecedented era of communication. Because of this, your prospects are literally bombarded from all directions with marketing messages. They've heard so many hyped... Read More
Private Practice Marketing: 3 More Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started
1) Create systemsCreate systems for everything you do, especially those things you do on a regular basis.My members and mentees ask me all the time how do... Read More
The Building Blocks to Effective Marketing
The Building Blocks to Successful MarketingIt's More than Sales and AdvertisingBy Julie ChanceWhether you're a Fortune 500 company or a one person shop, to be successful, you... Read More
Marketing For Just Cause
Cause marketing is a relationship between a for-profit and a nonprofit that brings in money and resources for the nonprofit, while providing credibility and goodwill for the... Read More
Is CRM Technology Living Up To the Hype?
Over the last few years the buzz about CRM (Customer Relationship Management) has grown extensively. It seems that every Sales & Marketing executive is talking about it.... Read More
Direct Marketing: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Unstoppable
Every business needs customers, but more importantly every business needs to maintain those customers while constantly retaining new ones. The only successful way of doing this is... Read More
Your Marketing Message - Could You Wring More CASH Out Of It With This Ancient Japanese Discipline?
When it comes to your marketing message, the little things count. Trouble is, you'll never come to respect how much, until you make a commitment to science.Let... Read More
Full Color Postcard Marketing: 7 Reasons Why They?ve Become the New Direct Mail
The most crucial aspect of having a high response rate to any direct mail marketing list is to keep your business' name in everyone's mind, constantly. But... Read More
Mobile Auto Detailers and Newspaper Companies as Clientele
If you are a mobile auto detailer or mobile car wash company you might wish to think of attaining the local newspaper as a strategic client for... Read More
The Value of a Customer
The Driver of All Marketing EffortsYou need to determine what the value of a customer is to your company. Answer the following questions:How much will the average... Read More
How to Protect Yourself Against the Hidden Cost of Shipping to Trade Shows
Trade Shows are lots of work, but they can generate lots of new business for their participants. In addition to the expense of staffing your booth, food,... Read More
Write Better Web Content
If you're reading this article, chances are that you, like most professionals these days, understand the value of the Internet. It may be where you go to... Read More
Do You Really Know Your Prospect?
I'd like to introduce you to someone. I don't actually know his name, but I'm hoping you do. I'm hoping you know quite a bit about him.He's... Read More
How To Be A First Class Marketer?
Did you now how to follow up a new customer with less phone calls?First thing for you to know that you only have about 5 minutes for... Read More
Direct Mail Leads - Brand Identity Guru
Direct mail can be one of the most effective tactics to reach your target audience. Developing a strategy for direct mail is critical to obtaining the best... Read More
Marketing To Women
Recent studies concerning the "new world of women" have been released. Some of the major findings may be surprising to you (less so if you are a... Read More
Marketing Operations Elevates Public Relations and Communications Professionals
Is your marketing department taking advantage of MOM and MRM? Do you have BAM and DAM systems in place? Do you know how to measure NPV? Do... Read More
If My Work is Good Enough
"If My Work is Good Enough, I Shouldn't Have to Market, Right?"Don't you think that good work should speak for itself...that if you're good enough at what... Read More
Brochures that Generate Sales Leads (and How to Write Them)
One rule in direct mail is that your letter sells your offer and your brochure sells what you're selling. For example, let's say you mail a classic... Read More
When The Stars Align - Choosing the Right Entertainment
Savvy event producers follow the Golden Rule: know thy audience. When they set out to create a special event, the first thing they do is slip into... Read More
Two kinds of Advertising for a Marketing Strategy
Advertising is the lifeblood of any business. If you do not learn how to advertise your products and services both efficiently and effectively, you won't be in... Read More
6 Article Marketing Smarts: How To Get More Reprints And Exposure
Article marketing is the latest buzzword for marketers looking to promote their sites and products online. But how do you measure the success of your... Read More
Marketing Without Ego
Our ego can get in the way of marketing our business. From our need to be right, to talking about ourselves incessantly; coming from an attitude of... Read More
Tips For Developing An Effective Questionnaire
Developing the questionnaire is undoubtedly the most important part of conducting a survey. The quality of the questions will determine the quality of the results and the... Read More
5 Tips for Getting the Most out of Exhibiting at Trade Shows
Exhibiting at trade shows can be a cost-effective way to generate business, whether you are a new entrepreneur or have been in business for years. Some exhibitors,... Read More
Buzz Word
Offline, it's called word-of-mouth advertising. Online, it's known as viral marketing. Semantics aside, one fact is perfectly clear: make your customers happy and they'll do the advertising... Read More
Matrix Web Sites - Scam or NOT?
While I am not talking about the movie "Matrix", you may be wondering like many others if Matrix Web Sites are Legal!Before answering this, you may know... Read More
How Important is Your Marketing?
Bob called last week from Phoenix, Arizona with some stunning news about his web site. He first contacted me in the fall of 2003. He had a... Read More
Bridging the Chasm from Lead to Loyal Customer
Bridging the Chasm from Lead to Loyal Customer: A Step by Step Guide for Developing Awareness, Building Credibility and Acquiring CustomersHave you ever watched a documentary about... Read More
Increase Your Sales By Following-Up
The difference between a successful business and one that just gets by is that the business that is just getting by thinks that the marketing is over... Read More
Receiving a Brochure Printing Quote
Brochures are a great way to get your message across. While having a brochure can be extremely useful, it is sometimes hard to know whether it is... Read More
Small Business Pricing: Setting A Price For Your Product / Service
The importance of pricing can not be underestimated as incorrect pricing can often result in the failure of a business. New businesses often make the mistake of... Read More
Nurture Sales Leads with Direct Mail Marketing
Direct mail is a cost-effective way to make sales and generate leads. But it's also an excellent way to keep your brand name in front of customers,... Read More
Mobile Marketing a New Age Strategy
More and more companies seem to be looking for new and innovative ways to market their products. Overlooking most of the traditional marketing techniques, more companies are... Read More
Signage for Mobile Car Wash Vehicles
If you are in the mobile car wash business and you should be. Then you know that your clean work vehicles is your best piece of advertising.... Read More
Profitable Marketing Programs Part 2: Figuring Break Even Point
In Part 1 -- http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/online/profit.htm -- I discussed how to consider both long term and short term profitability in your marketing programs and assumptions that go into... Read More
Dear Friend: Dont Start Your Non-For-Profit Fundraising Letters As A Stranger
Dear Friend:Don't do it.Don't start your fundraising letters with "Dear Friend."After all, when was the last time you received a letter from someone dear to you, addressing... Read More
Creating a Marketing Timeline That Works: 17 Simple Ideas for Marketing Your Small Business
"Goals are dreams with deadlines." -Diana Scharf HuntWhen clients come to me for marketing help, the first thing I ask is, "What's your plan?" If I'm greeted... Read More
Down To The Wire
When you want to win and woo new clients with national publicity -- and don't have an enormous budget to distribute your message -- turn to the... Read More
Everything Youve Ever Learned About Marketing Is Wrong
Everything you've ever learned about marketing and advertising is WRONG. Everything you've ever heard everything you've ever tried, everything you've ever done, it's all WRONG.Hello, my name... Read More
Overview on Qualitative Data Collection Techniques in International Marketing Research
This article is meant to be a brief review and reminder of some valuable yet often bypassed techniques to collect data on international markets and consumers.When thinking... Read More
Always On Stage - 3 Quick Tips for Trade Show Exhibitors
Do you feel uncomfortable when you're in the trade show booth? Like folks are looking at you? Like you're on stage? Got as little stage fright?Well, folks... Read More
25 Ways To Make Your Next Direct Mail Campaign Work
This list contains 25 powerful strategies to improve your direct mail results. It would be wise to use this as a checklist to ensure you've included as... Read More
Mail Can Make You Money
Are you still waiting for business to turn around before you start direct mail marketing? Waiting around won't get you any business. The time to start is... Read More
How to Start a Big Mail Service
A BIG MAIL SHOULD CONTAIN:At least three to four Mail order Magazines Circulars containingoffers or interest to new mail order dealers. Circulars which theBig Mail Dealer has... Read More
Copy SoapNet and Make Money
Whether you want to admit it or not, soap operas may hold the key to your home business success. This article includes a few home and small... Read More
Direct Mail Marketing Generates Sales Leads: Heres How
1. Personal Unlike an advertisement in a trade publication, which can be read by anyone, your sales letter arrives at your prospect's place of business as a... Read More
Marketing Mimics Life
Clichés. We've all heard them...and hear some of them so often that we categorize them as tired, stale old sayings. But, the fact is, particularly in both... Read More
Loyalty Cards Systems ? Beware, Some Should Be Avoided
Recently, I discussed a loyalty card system with a vendor who was selling quite a number of his systems to restaurants. I was shocked to discover the... Read More
Raise Your Income!
How often do you sit around and wonder how to make more money and get more people to buy more from your company? It's one of the... Read More
5 Steps To Help Fail-Proof Your Growing Service Business
Business startup and failure rates are scary...In The USA...- Every Year Over 1 Million People Start A Business- By The End Of The First Year 40% Of... Read More