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Write so they will hear you

October 30, 2012

Most people, when faced with the blank screen on their computer and a deadline for a new marketing piece looming, get a little uptight.

It’s intimidating to capture everything you want a prospect to know and share it in a compelling way. Your product or service is superb and you have so much to say — how will you do it justice?

Which is why most marketing copy is dreadful. Here are the most common mistakes:

We do a brain dump, sharing everything we know.
We want to demonstrate that we’re experts so we use impressive words and jargon that shows that we’re in the know.
We cram way too many words into the piece because it’s all important.
We talk about our company, our product, and our people…but not about the customer.

If you make even one of those mistakes, odds are your prospect is taking a glance at your first two or three sentences and then moving on. You haven’t invited them into the conversation – you’re just talking about you.

Remember, you are trying to start a conversation. Who would you rather talk to – someone who walks up to you and asks a question about you or a person who walks up and starts telling you all about them?

So how do we avoid those mistakes? We can ask ourselves these questions.

How do they talk?
I can have the best deal in the world, but if I tell you about it in Japanese and you don’t speak Japanese – you can’t possibly want what I am selling.

You need to know your prospect well enough that you know how they talk.

Are they engineers who use very precise, detailed language and acronyms?
Are they teachers who speak about their students with affection and pride?
Are they purchasing agents who need to squeeze every penny from the deal and deliver the highest ROI possible?

Understanding the language they use and how they’re going to have to sell your offering up/down the food chain, will allow you to craft your message in their native tongue.

Your prospects are busy and won’t take the time to translate your marketing messages. If they don’t instantly understand it and see that you’re talking to them, they’ll pass it by every time.

Do they know they need you?
No one wants to buy something they don’t need or want. That sounds like a duh, but many times businesses try to sell solutions to a client who doesn’t realize they have a problem.

Often, we just go right to the solution without even mentioning the problem. Let’s say that I want to sell my home in the next 12 months. You own a landscape business and send me information about how good your work is, showing me pictures of gorgeous yards, etc.

But I dismiss it, because I’m not going to live in my house much longer so why spend money on something I won’t get to enjoy?

You’ve lost the sale, because I don’t know I need you. But if one of your marketing pieces was titled “5 landscaping tricks to sell your house faster” now you have my attention.

If the first line of body copy told me that 34% of buyers passed on at least one home because the landscaping was disappointing – you have just converted a “no” into an interested prospect.
Now you have my attention.

By paying attention to these two elements – you can effectively avoid all four of the mistakes I mentioned.

You’ll speak in their language and only talk about what matters to them – their problems and how you can solve them.

Social Sharing – what and when works

October 28, 2012

Figuring out what is best for your company’s social sharing accounts can be tough. Not only do you have to figure out what to share, but you also need to know how and when to say it. The folks at Compendium crunched the data of over 300 companies’ social sharing statistics, to identify some social sharing best practices.

One additional thing they did was break this data down as a B2B vs. B2C comparison, as they learned while going through the data that there were some significant differences between what works for B2B companies and B2C companies.

Check out this info graphic that outlines some of the findings. If you’d like to review their social sharing guides that looks at some of these results, click here.

Let your customers help

October 22, 2012

There are some human truths that, if you allow them to, can dramatically impact your marketing efforts and focus.

Human Truth #1: We want to be helpful
Human Truth #2: We like being part of an exclusive group
Human Truth #3: We like to be perceived as smart and in the know
Human Truth #4: We like being asked for our opinion
Human Truth #5: We like it when other people know that we’re a part of an exclusive group and in the know

When you add all of those together – you create an opportunity to incent your regular customers to go beyond buying your product or service and actually become your advocate.

I recently saw a study commissioned by the Corporate Executive Board that found 60% of the sales cycle is over before a buyer ever speaks to a salesperson. That’s a staggering statistic and it is a cold, hard slap in the face reminder that a host of factors including word of mouth, social media, your website, and review sites are having a powerful impact on your business – whether you know it or not.

When you consider that much of your sales process is actually occurring in advance of what you can control — your official sales process, it makes leveraging your best customers and giving them ample opportunity to sing your praises an even more vital tactic. It’s your best shot at moving the prospect along the spectrum.

How do you activate your customer army? Here are some ways:

User Generated Content: Get your customers to submit stories, photos, artistic renderings or videos that talk about how they use/love your product or service. Better yet – make it a contest where votes matter. Then, not only will they upload their own content but they’ll also ask their network to vote for their entry, exposing each and every one of them to your brand as well.

Create an Advisory Board/Online brainstorming: Whether you want to choose a small group of best customers to create a formal group, like an advisory panel or open this up a little for some groupthink– you can pick their brains for new ideas, variations and even parallel products and services. Who is better positioned to know how to make what you sell even better?

Exclusive events with a twist: Remembering that your existing customers want to feel like they’re part of something elite but that they also love sharing access – throw some sort of an exclusive event. It might be a ticket holders only sale, a highly sought after speaker, or something else that would appeal to your audience. Offer admission to your best customers – but with a twist. To get in, they must bring someone who is not a current customer.

Let them decide: Give your best customers a chance to impact your brand. Conduct a poll that allows them to truly change an element of your business. It might be surrounding a new product launch or a pricing issue or something else. But trust their judgment, open up the voting and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn.

Proctor & Gamble believes so strongly in this method of marketing, they’ve developed their own formula, which is:

VIP vote + Sneak Peek + Inside Scoop

The psychology behind all of this makes perfect sense. We care more about something when we’re a part of it. The more you can relinquish some of the control/power to your customers, the more you can make them feel so much the insider that they’re invested in your success, just as if they worked for you.

Try one or a combination of these marketing tactics to turn your customers into your most active cheerleaders.

Are you Marketing Smart

October 17, 2012

Marketing Smart by my friend John Gumas from Gumas Advertising is a collection of proven strategies and tips to help you take on your competitors and win!

The book is straight-forward, pragmatic and actionable! Be prepared to dog-ear, highlight and nod your head as you read. You know I don’t love books that tell you what you need to do but don’t tell you how to do it. No worries with this book — every page is a how to primer!

Marketing Smart is written specifically for those professionals who are creating marketing strategies/tactics for Challenger brands — fighting against a bigger competitor who is likely to outspend them every time.

John’s got tons of practical counsel on how those Davids can take their Goliaths and win.

As you know, I like to ask the authors a few questions when I’m reviewing their book. Here’s what John had to say about Marketing Smart.

If you had to describe the content of your book in a single sentence (no run ons) what would it be?
Proven marketing strategies and tips designed to help Challenger Brands maximize their promotional efforts so they take on their larger competitors and win!

What one book that you’ve read do you wish you could claim as your own?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

In your opinion, what is the one trait that all uber successful business people possess?
Drive

What’s the biggest business mistake you’ve ever made and what did you learn from it?
Recognizing opportunity. It only knocks once, so I now make sure I analyze everything as that potential big opportunity.

Why did you have to write this book? What truth or insight was missing from the human consciousness — that you’ve now answered?
I felt there was a real need to write a marketing book designed specifically for Challenger Brands. I wanted to provide proven and practical advise in a step by step format that they should put into use immediately.

After someone is done reading your book — what do you hope they do as a result?
They understand what being a Challenger Brand really means and they learn the strategies needed to be a successful Challenger Brand Marketer. And as a result, they’ll refer back to Marketing Smart for real answers and “how to advice” for years to come.

Ready to take on your Goliath? Get your copy of Marketing Smarts here.

The power of we

October 15, 2012

Today is Blog Action Day*. What does that mean? It means that thousands of bloggers from over 108 countries will come together today to blog on a single topic. Ironically — this year’s topic is the power of we.

The essence of Blog Action Day, really.

Each blogger shares his/her own slant on the theme…with the hope that together we can raise the consciousness and the conversation on this one topic.

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I am a huge proponent of the power of we. I believe it should be a marketing staple — in every company’s plan/vision for how to connect with potential customers, employees and their community.

Here are some examples that I can point to that every business could modify/borrow and apply to their own marketing efforts:

Crowdsourcing: Why create it all yourself when you can work together and do something far greater than any one individual could accomplish? Together with Gavin Heaton, I have co-edited 3 editions of the Age of Conversation book series.

We brought hundreds of marketing bloggers together and asked each of them to write a single chapter in the books. Together — we created three books that look at how the digital age is changing marketing and our world. We also promoted the book together — raising over $40,000 for charities around the world.

Could you create a crowdsourcing project with your best customers? Or invite prospects to join in too.

Give your audience a voice: Once or twice a year, I survey the readers of this blog and ask them what they’d like to know more about. They literally help me create my editorial calendar. By creating content that lines up with their needs — I not only provide more value but I am also more likely to retain them as readers. (And potential clients)

Many businesses are afraid to invite customer opinion because they might hear bad things. I think that’s crazy. Far better to hear about it and have a chance to either change it or explain it — than not to know until you lose that customer. If you’re not surveying your best customers every year — you need to. If you aren’t sure how to do it — reach out to me and I’ll tell you how we can help.

Partner with someone with different skills/talents: Throughout my career, I’ve worked at huge (Young & Rubicam) agencies and small (my own — Mclellan Marketing Group) and realize that one of the best aspects of being in a small agency is that we can’t do everything in house. So we have to seek experts to partner with. That means we are always delivering the highest value to our clients and we’re getting smarter by hanging out with them too.

Identify an area where your business is a little light or your expertise isn’t as deep. Then go find a partner whose skill sets and values compliment what you’re already doing. You don’t look like you have a deficiency — you look like you are well connected and are committed to bringing excellence to your clients.

I’m curious — how do you employ the power of we in your business?

*Founded in 2007, Blog Action Day brings together bloggers from different countries, interests and languages to blog about one important global topic on the same day. Past topics have included water, climate change, poverty and food with thousands of blogs, big and small, taking part.

Video can make a prospect’s concerns go away

October 8, 2012

Video is a very useful medium that most companies underuse. But when they are used…they’re typically used to sell or teach. All of that is well and good.

But I think you might be missing the boat on an opportunity to make your prospects concerns go away.

I’m in Arizona for 10 days — a mix of working with clients and speaking at a conference. I didn’t want to pack enough clothes to cover all 10 days so I decided to pack for 5 or 6 and hit a laundromat on my day off, in between meetings. I know…the glamours of business travel!

So now it’s Saturday and for me, it’s “find a laundromat” day. I’m in a city I don’t know and I’m heading to a laundromat, which is usually not a high end consumer experience. So I have some concerns.

Will it be clean?
What hours is it open – can I go during daylight?
What’s the neighborhood like?
Is it crazy expensive?
How many machines do they have? Will I have to wait?

So I turn to the digital yellow pages. Now I am really flying blind. But, on one of the listings — the laundromat had a video. They showed me how clean it was. They showed me the neighborhood. They demonstrated that there’s always a staff person on-site. They even showed me how much the detergent etc. would cost. Their video made my concerns go away.

It wasn’t the closest laundromat. But, because of the video I was happy to pay for a longer cab ride to go to Ginny’s Washhouse. Why? They’d nullified my concerns.

All the laundromats had text in their ads that said they were clean and safe. But only Ginny’s proved it to me by showing me that it was true.

How is this relevant for you? Your potential customers have worries about you too. They might worry that you’re too far away or hard to find. They might be concerned that you’re too expensive or you don’t understand their industry. But deep down inside, every prospect has a worry or two about you.

Some of them will show up anyway. Or pick up the phone and ask about their concern. But many will simply fade away, not ready to proceed with that nagging worry in the back of their head.

The old marketing model would have been to put the spotlight on all that you do right and ignore those worries, hoping they’d go away. Today, we know better.

Attack those buyer concerns and worries. Pull them out into the light and deal with them. And a really powerful way to do that is with video. Our brains may believe bullet points and text but our hearts believe what we see. Video packs a multimedia punch that can use emotions, strong visuals and even music to create a tone of reassurance and confidence.

Keep in mind that sometimes their fears aren’t as easy to visually deal with as whether or not the floors are clean. You may need to use a testimonial approach where a current client looks into the camera and says, “I thought AB&C was going to be way out of my budget range so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it only cost $X.”

Get creative — but get to their worries and answer them right up front.

Desperate makes us both feel cheap (pricing strategy)

October 5, 2012

Your pricing strategy should never be accidental. It’s a vital element in your marketing mix.

Let me give you an example: We use an outside vendor to provide extranet services for our clients. We’d been with them for over five years.

We recently discovered a better solution. Not only is it better, but it’s also less expensive. It wasn’t so much the fact that it was cheaper that sold us. It was the ease of use for our clients.

But cheaper doesn’t hurt. And this was cheaper by a couple hundred dollars a month.

When I contacted the old vendor to cancel our service, guess what their immediate response was. “We can match their price.”

What? So you’ve been overcharging me for years? Or you magically just had a price reduction to the very dollar amount of my new vendor and you were about to call and tell me about it?

We’re still leaving but now, instead of feeling a little guilty about leaving our old vendor, I’m feeling a bit used. If they’d valued our business – why didn’t they offer us this new price while we were still their customer?

Talk about leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Dropping your price just to keep a customer is never a good strategy. It makes everyone feel a little cheap. In the end, no one wins and you can kiss any sort of recommendation goodbye.

Your pricing strategy is one of the key components of your marketing message.

It speaks about things far beyond your cost. It communicates value, customer attentiveness and how you view the relationship, both short and long term. It’s not something you should just stumble into. And it’s not something you should damage by mishandling a situation, like our old vendor did.

7 keys to compelling case studies

October 2, 2012

Why do case studies work so well?

It’s simple really. Everyone loves a good story. And there’s a reason why Aesop and others opted to teach their life lessons through stories that have been told and re-told for many years.

Smart parents know this trick too. They teach lessons to their children through stories of their own foibles, tough lessons and triumphs.

This same technique can deliver incredible results when it comes to your marketing as well. There are lots of different ways to use stories in your marketing efforts but one of the most compelling is through good case studies.

Case Studies are the marketing version of Aesop’s Fables. Stories told to make a point or teach a lesson that demonstrates the value of your product or service.

So how do you create a good case study? These tips will get you well on your way.

Case Study Tip #1: Structure it like a story. Make sure there’s a logical flow. Explain the problem (identify the villain). Introduce your company/product (bring in the hero). Describe how the challenge was overcome (tell of the battle). Sum it up (give it a happy ending).

Case Study Tip #2: Include lots of details. Don’t just say, “We were losing customers.” Give specifics. Our sales were down over 42%. Just like a good fable, the details make it work. So be sure to talk about your initial goals, the exact steps you took, any pitfalls you ran into along the way, and of course, the results.

Case Study Tip #3: Use quotes to give your case study its authenticity. Be careful not to dumb them down so they sound generic. Or even worse, don’t clean them up so they don’t sound authentic. Remember, we all tend to write more formally than we speak. So the minute you edit their comments – odds are you’re adding formality. Use real people, real names and when possible, real pictures.

Case Study Tip #4: Don’t get stuck in a rut with your case studies. Most people present a case study in writing, on a plain 8.5” x 11” piece of paper. But you can approach it in a variety of ways. How about a video case study? Or an infographic case study? Have you thought about journaling through a challenge and letting the entire journal be your case study?

Case Study Tip #5: Let your customers do the talking. Your voice can outline the problem and tactics you took to attack the problem. But when possible, use your client’s voice to celebrate the successes and to talk about the outcomes, both long and short-term.

Case Study Tip #6: Visuals are key. Before and after shots, growth charts, photographs of the results and infographics are all really powerful ways to help your audience really capture the value of your case study’s outcome.

Case Study Tip #7: Make sure everyone signs off on it before it goes public. The power of a case study is that it reveals an actual problem and its solution. Some businesses may be reticent to air their dirty laundry. Before you pitch your case study to a reporter or post it on your website, get everyone’s blessing.

Case studies are incredibly compelling when done right. If you’re lucky, you’ll tell a story that people will tell over and over.

What’s the best case study you’ve ever seen? What made it so memorable?

Search versus Social – which one wins?

September 29, 2012

If you’re wondering which is more potent — search or social media — as is often my answer — it depends.

The truth of the matter is that every organization should be thinking about BOTH because they are the yin and yang for each other. Each feeds the other side of the equation. When you write quality content about topics that your audience cares about (social) you attract readers, shares and you earn social proof of your expertise.

That content then begins to influence search for those key words and phrases that exist within your subject area and content (Search) and before you know it, you’re impacting Google and the other search engines — becoming more findable and attracting exactly the right people to your content.

Yin. Yang. The perfect combo. This infographic, developed by MDG Advertising really makes the point. And should be hanging in your office to remind you to go for the one two punch of social AND search.

(Click here to download the full-sized version)

They’ll buy when they trust

September 27, 2012

Here’s an equation that every business owner needs to understand.

Know + Like + Trust = Buy.

Whether you sell toothbrushes or multi-million dollar medical equipment and everything in between — until a customer:

Knows who you are
Likes who you are
Trusts you

there is no purchase. The depth of the trust required varies but there must be at least a base level of trust in place before anyone will spend a dime.

One of the things I love about social media/content marketing is that it is hard-wired to help savvy business people maximize this equation.

Know = search. If I can’t find you, then I can’t know you exist. Understanding how potential customers are using search when they want what you sell is vital to your business success today. Do you know what key words and phrases you should be mindful of? Are you creating content that will leverage that?

Like = social networks/blogs. When I hang out with you, in person or online, I get a sense of who you are and whether or not I like who you are. When I read your blog, I begin to learn who you are and what you believe. Are you out there, creating conversations and relationships? If not — when are you going to start?

Trust = consistency online and off. It’s easy to fake being nice, smart or helpful once or twice. But that’s tough to pull off on a consistent basis. We know that when it comes to our offline world. And we’re learning it’s just as true online as well. One of the greatest elements of having a digital presence is that it can quickly provide someone with a long term view of who/how you are. That builds trust.

That equation lines up perfectly with how content marketing/social media is supposed to work. When you create great, helpful content that aligns with how people search — you create that long tail effect that drives people to you. When you share it through your social networks and it’s done without being pushy or sleazy, people will come to like and respect you. Like and respect evolves into trust when you behave consistently in the same way.

Whether you actually sell online or you have a brick and mortar presence – using content marketing and your social media presence to move prospects along the spectrum of know, like, trust is just good business.

I’m curious — how are you building trust with what you do online?

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