Copywriting Archives - Page 12 of 13 - McLellan Marketing Group

How do your customers shop?

October 26, 2006

Here’s one thing I know for sure about your consumers. They are either men or women. (Or kids who will soon evolve into one or the other.) Especially in a retail setting, they behave like completely different animals.

Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell, a market research company dedicated to examining consumer shopping behavior wrote a fascinating book, Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping. In the book, Underhill explores the shopping beasts by gender.

Here are a few observations Underhill made about male shoppers:

~ Men equally rarely ask for the department they want in a store. They’d rather wander around lost and leave if they can’t find it.

~ If a man tries something on, he’ll buy it 65% of the time.

~ Only 25% of men will grocery shop with a list, as opposed to 70% of women.

If men shop this way – what clues does this give you for dealing with men in your environment?

How about the ladies, you ask? Well…

~ If a woman tries something on, she’ll buy it 25% of the time. (Remember, men were at 65%)

~ At the supermarket, over 90% of women brought a shopping list.

~ Women particularly hate being jostled from behind and may leave a store without buying if aisles are too narrow.

Wondering what others are saying about it? Secrets of the Male Shopper is a long but very interesting read about the state of the male shopper. Check it out. Smart thinking made even more notable because the author is an 18 year old student.

So, are your shopping habits typical of your gender? How can you use these insights as you think about your customers?

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P.S. Don’t miss this post!

October 25, 2006

Made you look, eh?

That’s the beautiful power of the P.S. When you are writing any sort of direct mail letter, always include a P.S. The two most critical elements of your letter are the headline and the P.S. Ask yourself this question — if they only glance at this document, what is the one thing you want them to know? Guess where it belongs? Yup — the P.S.

Roberta Rosenberg, the Copywriting Maven, gives some great tips on writing a stronger P.S. It’s well worth the read.

I will say that I disagree with her third tip — use two P.S.’s. I think it waters down the effectiveness of the technique. But that’s nitpicking. Overall, I think she’s right on the money.

I’ll also give you a warning — a P.S. does not work as well on a blog post because so often it will appear below the scroll. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use one, just don’t expect it to have the same effect as it would on a traditional direct mail letter.

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Hey politicians….we are not listening!

October 14, 2006

Ah, fall. The crackle of the fallen leaves, the sounds of football fans cheering in the stadium, the crisp air and the unmistakable squawking of politicians trying to get elected.

Blech.

Here in Iowa, we are in the middle of a heated political battle for Governor. In one corner, we have Jim Nussle. His website tells us how horrific his opponent is and we can see him shown with the Iowa Pork Queen. (Could we not all do 20 minutes on that alone?) In the other corner, we have Chet Culver. Chet’s site and ads tell us of the evil that is Jim Nussle.

Enough already!

Imagine for a minute that every Pepsi ad simply told you how awful Coke was, and visa versa. How stupid can politicians be? And a better question, how stupid are we for allowing it?

Marketing 101 — define yourself. Tell your audience why they need/want you. Demonstrate how you are going to add value. Earn the audience’s trust. Be credible, consistent and authentic.

Have you seen one political candidate this election season that has understood or embraced the principles of Marketing 101? I sure haven’t. And you want to know the saddest part of it all. I’m not sure, if there was a candidate ethical and brave enough to do it — that he/she’d get elected.

Over at the Brilliant at Breakfast blog, the point is well made. We say we hate this sort of election antics and yet, we keep responding.

We’ve all seen horrible ads that seem to keep running over and over for products or services that appear to be less than desireable. Why do they keep running? Because they are working and someone is making a lot of money. I guess the politicians aren’t such dumb marketers after all. How sad for us all.

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Tag, you’re it!

October 11, 2006

Taglines, when done correctly, can give your brand quite a boost. Like the space shuttle, which needs a high energy set of booster rockets to break through the earth’s gravity before it can soar, your company’s efforts need a spark to get it moving forward.

Fair warning — making up a tagline just to have a cool tagline is not branding. Your tagline is not a brand. We can talk more about that tomorrow. But…when done right…

A good tagline can capture and transmit your brand promise. The discipline of identifying a few key words that communicate the full weight and force of your brand message is one of the cornerstones to creating a successful brand. Think of it as a rallying cry. It’s what you shout in the team huddle before going into the big game. It’s a comforting whisper in your client’s ear. It is the enticement that lures prospects to learn more about you.

If you do it well, your tagline can energize your team and give them focus. It reminds them every day of the promise you are making in the marketplace. A good tagline is not a pithy witticism or platitude. It needs to stand up to these critical questions:

~ Does it provide a clear, recognizable and sustainable differentiation from your competition? If you can swap out your name/logo and put theirs in, you have trouble.

~ Does it respond in an authentic way to a pressing need that your clients and potential clients struggle with?

~ Does it provide you (internally) with guidance for management decision-making, hiring, training and resource allocation?

If you can say yes to all 3 questions, you probably have a pretty strong tagline. Let’s test the theory — sell me your tagline. Convince me its a good one.

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Link love or lazy links?

October 7, 2006

I’ve noticed that one of the prevailing types of posts in the blogosphere are link lists. You know what I’m talking about — where a blogger will simply list 2-5 links to other blog site’s blog posts. So here’s the question of the day — smart or lazy?

Here’s my general philosophy about marketing messages. Don’t make your consumers work any harder than they have to. Keep in mind, they are only marginally interested in what you have to say. All along, they are wondering "what’s in this for me?" and if you don’t answer the question pretty quickly, they will move on.

So my answer to the question posed above is it all depends. Some link lists are great. The author tells you why they think you’d find value in the link they are providing. Check out how Church of the Customer bloggers handle their links list. By reading the brief description, I know whether or not it’s worth my time to check it out. Genuine link love.

But, I’ve also stumbled upon plenty of lazy linkers out there. A laundry list of links with no explanation serves no purpose to your readers. If anything, it seems to me that the poster is simply either too lazy to actually write something and feels pressure to post or…even worse, they are trying to fake link love to get link backs. (We all know you shouldn’t fake it!)

Either way, your consumers are too smart. If you are linking for your own benefit — knock it off. If you’re linking to share great posts or give someone a well deserved shout out — then be sure to put a little meat on the bone for your readers so they can decide if its of interest.

Long term, if you don’t — they’ll self select you right out of the mix.

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ASS+U+ME

October 3, 2006

Image via Wikipedia

I think we all know happens when we assume something, eh?

Here’s a lesson oft learned the hard way. When proofreading, do not assume.

Overzealous proofreading can create a catastrophe no different than doing a poor job or not doing it at all. Recently mail order giant L.L. Bean barely averted disaster because they have a culture that puts great value on diligent proofreading. An employee was 100% certain (always be wary…) that the toll-free number in the catalog proof was incorrect. It was listed as an 877 number and the employee knew it was really supposed to be an 800 number. So, he changed it.

Yes, you guessed it. The number was correct as it originated in the proof. Had he not proudly mentioned his "catch" to a fellow employee, L.L. Bean would have had about 500,000 catalogs in their recycle bin. Ouch.

Whenever you proof phone numbers, it’s always a good idea to take the extra second or two and dial the number. Remember the rule — before you correct, check!

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Blogtipping. Friend or foe?

October 2, 2006

I fully admit I am still a neophyte in the blogosphere. I aspire to be a seasoned vet and no doubt will get there one day. But I’m still learning.

I spotted an interesting trend over the past few days that has been given the moniker of blogtipping. The premise is a simple one. On the first of every month, bloggers introduce their community to 2-3 new blogs. With each introduction is a shout out for a few things that make the blog good and the author then offers one tip on how the blog could be even better.

Easton Ellsworth gets the nod for starting this new custom. Ann Michael, Mike Sansone, Phil Gerbyshak and Liz Strauss took blogtipping to a hilarious turn by creating a 4-part ode to the notion. Cute…you bet. But does it make marketing sense?

Traditional views in marketing is that the world is a competitive place. Does it make sense to tell your “customers” about something they might like better than what you have to sell? Shouldn’t you do everything in your power to keep them enamored with you and their eyes off any potential competitor?

Nope. Have you ever tried to hold a puppy who didn’t want to be held? They squirm, wiggle and whimper until you let go. Customers are the same way. No one wants to feel bound against their will. You will earn their loyalty and respect (and repeat business) by demonstrating that you know them well enough to point them in the direction of other products, services and in this case, blogs that they will benefit from discovering.

The benefits to you? Clients love referrals. If you introduce them to something/one they love, they’ll love you even more! The other benefit? If you scratch my back, I might scratch yours. It’s human nature to learn more about someone who makes a referral to you. If you’re a good fit for their audience, those you have tipped will probably return the favor.

Is there a downside? I don’t think so. I highly doubt that anyone unsubscribes from a blog which has successfully blogtipped them to another great blog. After all, you’ve just demonstrated that you know your customer well enough to know what else they’ll enjoy.

So blogtipping is a great marketing strategy! And I will be joining the fray of tippers come November 1st! Hats off to Easton and everyone else who embraces the blogosphere by recognizing that believing in abundance is a much smarter strategy than clinging to the poor puppies!

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Don’t let your technology embarrass you!

September 26, 2006

As a blogger on TypePad, I access my account by going to their home page and entering my userID and password. Simple and efficient. The TypePad home page is clean and well organized. It has plenty of links and concise bits of information. All what you would expect from people who use technology to make a living.

Here’s the odd thing. Every time I go to their home page, the exact same quote appears. Now, wouldn’t you think someone as sophisticated as the TypePad folks would use the power of their own technology and have quotes rotate? If that was the case, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed.

Although it isn’t really fair, we consumers tend to notice things that seem deficient or out of place. Don’t let your use of technology suggest that perhaps you haven’t thought it through, or even worse yet, don’t quite have a handle on it.

What does your technology say about you?

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Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!

September 24, 2006

Even if you don’t like baseball (which, btw is sick and wrong) you have to like the song Centerfield by John Fogerty. Great melody and a great message.

The song is about passion for the game and a hunger to play it. That’s sort of how I’ve been feeling about blogging of late.

Once my blog coach, Mike Sansone, turned me onto the power of blogging, I’ve been hooked.

Mike’s an amazing combination of coach, cheerleader, and play coordinator. He’s helped me with the technology, the culture and the nuts and bolts of blogging. The generosity of his spirit is only eclipsed by his vast knowledge on the subject. That’s what makes a player or a coach great. Anyone can understand the rules of the game or even the mechanics of it. But, when something ignites your passion and you can’t wait to step up to the plate again — that’s what makes a champion. And in the world of blogging, Mike is just that — a champion.

So, if in the infancy of my blog I am doing anything right — clearly it is a credit to Mike. I am pretty darn sure that any of the mistakes I have or will make along the way are all mine!

Thanks coach for helping me get into the game!

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Sex or money?

September 15, 2006

Depending on the specifics, both can be pretty motivating, can’t they?

Actually, sex and money are two of the eight key benefits that trigger us to buy something. Heck, they trigger us to buy just about everything. Want to know the other six?

Drew’s Eight Emotional Buying Triggers

1. Time/convenience

2. Money

3. Recovering something lost (like your youth)

4. Sex

5. Knowledge/self improvement

6. Security/safety

7. Comfort

8. Care of loved ones

Marketers love to list features. That’s because they are too lazy or too egocentric and can’t stop thinking from their own point of view. When a marketer is smart and thinks from the buyers’ shoes, they talk benefits. Help your customers achieve one of the above motivators and you have a sale.

Want to read more about the subject of emotional buying? Check out Daniel Goleman’s "Working With Emotional Intelligence." It’s a fascinating read.

Don’t make your potential customers figure it out for themselves. Whether you are offering them an hour to spend with their kids, sex appeal, or an extra $20 in their pocket — tell them!

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