| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Put Your Marketing To The So What? Test
Want to get Better at your Marketing today? For many service business owners, marketing can be a real mystery. We don't really know exactly how it works. We're not real sure about what works best for us. And probably because of some past frustrations, we're not even sure where to start. Most seem to at least have a notion of what's involved in marketing...a web site, Yellow Pages advertising, brochures, direct mailings, networking, seminars, trade shows, etc. But if that's all it took, wouldn't we all be attracting enough clients? I'm sure you've tried one or more of these things at least to some degree. And I'm sure you've had at least some successes now and again. But are you able to make it work consistently for your business? If not, what could be going on? First, let's agree to a definition of marketing. Here is my favorite one for small, service-based businesses: "Marketing is the use of strategies to generate a constant supply of high-quality leads for your service business." Simple to understand and speaks directly to the results we want. OK, so doesn't this definition take us right back to what we said we already knew about marketing... a web site, Yellow Pages advertising, networking, etc.? Well maybe, but first it's important to understand why your current marketing activities aren't producing consistent results. Put your message and materials to the "So What?" test. Start with your core marketing message. Pull out your most frequently used marketing tool and read it out loud. Put it to the "So What?" test. After you read it out loud, is it possible that your intended audience could respond with... "So What?"... "Why do I care?"... or "What's in it for me?" If your message doesn't tell your intended audience what solutions you are providing to address their issues/problems/challenges, and how it relates to the benefits they'll receive from your services, then a "So What?" response is exactly what you might expect. Messages and materials that are all about who you are and the history of your company and what services you offer and why you're so qualified to provide these services and how you partner with your clients to acheive superior results, etc. are likely to fail the "So What?" test. Challenge all of your current marketing materials. Remember, it's the intended audience that counts. What's in it for them? Why should they care? Listen, if your marketing is consistently generating all the high-quality leads you can handle, then don't change a thing. But if you haven't quite figured out how to generate a constant supply of leads for your service business, then you owe it to yourself to challenge your current marketing tools by putting them to the "So What?" test. Try these ideas: * Challenge all of your marketing tools that aren't contributing to consistently generate leads for your service business - even the ones that have worked in the past. Could you improve the message and get a higher return? Put it to the "So What?" test. * Try the X's and O's test (especially with the last letter you wrote). Mark an X every time your marketing piece mentions your name, company name, or the words "I" or "me". Mark and O every time it mentions the prospects name, company name, or the word "you" or "your". If the X's out number the O's, rewrite it before using it again. * Try gathering up a group of people you can trust to give you very honest feedback. You're not just looking for proof readers, but individuals who will give you honest feedback on whether your materials pass the "So What?" test. * Be prepared for some negative feedback, but more importantly, be prepared to do something about it. * Don't just accept opinions, but try to get down to realistic response. For example: "I think this part is too wordy and detailed." (opinion) versus "I got pretty lost and confused with the level of detail in this part." (response) * Remember that it is the intended audience that counts. If it's not clear who the message is intended for when it's received, then how can it pass the "So What?" test. (c) - Kevin Dervin, KPD Marketing About the Author: Kevin Dervin is focused on helping small businesses that are ready to grow, but struggle with how to consistently attract more clients. Visit http://www.proven-small-business-marketing-solutions.com for more great marketing information you can put to use in growing your business today. Find Kevin's Kansas City based KPD Marketing practice at http://www.ABCDgrowth.com and subscribe to his free ezine called ABCD Grow.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Growing Your Business With Your Marketing Priorities None of us have enough time in the day to get everything done, but small business owners and entrepreneurs like you are particularly pressed. You wear so many hats; there is a seemingly infinite list of tasks to accomplish each day, from providing services to clients, managing product distribution and delivery, to keeping accounting in order. 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. Create Free Internet Buzz with Your Workforce There are many different ways to increase your traffic on the web. Just as there are get rich quick schemes, there are get traffic quick schemes. Chill Out With A Summer Time Marketing Plan Is your business experiencing a summer time slump? Traditionally only industries related to travel enjoy a boost in business during the warmer months. The rest of us tend to take vacations, clean up our desk and while away the time playing computer games while we wait for business to pick up. PowerPositioning: WillYouAcceptThisRose.com Positioning is a powerful concept in marketing. To illustrate, have you ever visited a fast food restaurant, and, in a rush to complete your order asked for a coke when you "perhaps" meant to order some other soft drink? The Coke brand and its owners have achieved a top of mind awareness. 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 either charging too little or too much for their product or service. Website Promotion Strategies For Targeted Web Site Traffic If you're looking to drive more targeted traffic to your web site, you'll want to pay close attention to the website promotion strategies presented in this article. As an internet marketer, or a want to be internet marketer, you know that web site traffic is your livelihood. 7 Simple Marketing Tips Here are 7 simple marketing tips to help you boost your sales and profits quickly. All are easy to use and work for any business. Deceptive Marketing and Procrastination Procrastination is every marketers worst nightmare.This applies on three fronts. Resistances To Marketing a Practice-Part 1 If you are a therapist, counselor, or an alternative or complementary health practitioner (naturopath, homeopathetic doctor, massage therapist, body worker, etc.), in all likelihood, you are not only uninformed about effective marketing methods, but you are also likely to have some negative feelings about self promotion and marketing. Guerrilla Marketing in Action Guerrilla Marketing is using time, energy and imagination to market a product, business or person without spending massive amounts of hard earned profit dollars. It also has been defined as non-traditional marketing, something unusual, unexpected and designed to be noticed. B2B Marketing Tips - Create an Interactive Online Experience for Clients Business to business communications on the web are as stale as a piece of week old toast.As a marketing director you want to give your company the biggest bang for it's marketing buck. How to Put the Profit Producing Power of Couponing to Work for You Coupons have proven themselves to be highly effective sales tools for every conceivable size and type of business.Because coupons "pull in the business" they have gained remarkable acceptance and popularity among astute marketing managers. The Secret to 100% Success With Your Marketing There's a secret to marketing, which is so simple, yet so effective once you learn it and apply it, you'll be amazed at the great results you can produce. This secret will prevent you from failing with your marketing pieces. A Pass / Fail Test for Any New Market If you are considering entering a new target market, with an existing or new product or service, it makes sense to first systematically analyze the market in question via some fundamental market evaluation criteria. It is not only rational but most cost effective to determine if a new market pursuit makes sense for your company before any significant resources are further applied to the effort. Inform vs. Excite excite v. 1 a: to call to activity b: to arouse to feeling 2 a: ENERGIZE b: to produce a magnetic field in 3: to increase the activity of 4: to raise to a higher energy level syn see PROVOKEA lot of marketing doesn't do the whole job. Educating Your Customers One of the biggest marketing mistakes businesses make today is failing to educate their prospects and customers about the unique advantages that are being offered to them. The cornerstone of any marketing plan should be to educate your customers. Niche Marketing: The Affiliate Angle If you're just dipping your toes into the waters of Niche Marketing for the first time then Affiliate marketing is the ultimate low risk choice to get you started.Affiliate programmes cost nothing to join and present an almost infinite choice of products and services from which to build a niche business. Your Plan For Marketing Success The most important, yet overlooked aspect of marketing is an actual written marketing plan A business simply cannot succeed without marketing. Whether you are a one person business or have 50 employees, you simply must have a marketing plan to succeed. How to Write a Fundraising Thank-you Letter for Example (Includes a Free Sample) Thank-you letters are one of the most important letters that your non-profit mails to donors. They remind donors that they made the right decision in supporting your organization.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
