#compelling offers

[smallbizsuccess]

"How These 9 Shocking Tweaks Can Make Your Offers More Compelling?"

If you’ve ever wondered why some offers sell like ice water in the desert while others barely move, even when the product is solid, you’re about to discover the truth.

The secret isn’t always the product — it’s often the offer surrounding the product.

(Click link below to learn more)'

[davidpasqualone]

Four Things You Need When Scaling Your Business

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[davidpasqualone]

Unlock Your Business Potential: 10 Simple Strategies to Increase Sales

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[intelesure-blog]

Rule #3: There Will Be A Compelling Offer

The third inviolable rule of marketing is to have a compelling offer.  Frankly, many business owners and marketers are not very good at this.  The offers I see nowadays are boring, bland, and just plain vanilla.

Not too long ago I was on a flight to somewhere and below the window was a little ad from the airline that offered...wait for for it...$5 off your next flight if you booked in-flight.

With all the clutter in the world, ads appearing at every turn, and marketing overload in our daily lives we have to create offers that get our prospects to sit up, take notice, say "That's for me!", and most importantly, take action.

So I have put together a checklist here of 7 things that will help you create truly compelling offers that will resonate with your target audience and stimulate them to action.  Here they are:

1) Unique and Interesting

2) High Perceived Value

3) Believable

4) Low Risk

5) Relevant

6) Choices/Options

7) Unique Selling Proposition

Let's look at each one in turn...

Unique and Interesting

The first thing to do is look around at what others are offering and try and be as different as possible.  If you own a restaurant and you see lots of “buy-one-get-one-free” type of coupons then maybe make your coupon a “buy-one-meal-and-kids-eat-free” type of coupon.  You want to be unique in your industry.  Don’t be afraid to push the envelope a little and be bold.

Being different is going to help your offer stand out in a crowded marketplace.  After seeing the same things over and over we become desensitized to those things and the have less and less impact on us.

High Perceived Value

For your offer to have any impact at all it needs to have either A) high value or B) a high perceived value.  First, remember that value doesn’t come necessarily from the “thing” that you are offering.  It comes with the benefits that are associated with that “thing.”  You’ve probably heard the old adage, “You have to sell the sizzle and not the steak.”  While you really do have to sell the steak if you want to build long-term customer relationships that steak is a helluva lot harder to sell without it sizzling on the grill.

The second thing to keep in mind about value is that it is in the eye of the beholder.  In other words, what may be valuable to me may not be of any value to you at all.

The trick is in going back to your target market and having a deep understanding of what is important to them, what is going to move them, and what will be deemed “valuable” to them.

Believable

I just read an article the other day about how the days of "The Big Promise" are over and that marketers are facing a prospect in today's economy who has been jaded so much that Big Promises are no longer effective when trying to sell to them.

Pre-2008ish all it really took to get new customers was to make them a really killer, benefits-heavy, promise.  "Lose 30lbs in 10 days with no dieting or exercise!" or "Make $10K a month sitting in your underwear at the kitchen table in less than 20 minutes a day!"  You've seen those ads.  And while they still exist the purveyors of these promises are finding that they are getting nearly as many interested prospects as before and the cost associated with attracting the ones they are getting is skyrocketing.

So what's a marketer to do?  Well, as contrary as this may sound, you probably need to tone your Big Promise statements down some and make yourself sound more believable.  Your offers must convey trustworthiness and credibility if they are going to pull response in today's economy.

Cut the B.S. and you will see your response increase.

Low Risk

In the same vein as being believable that same cynicism that occupies your prospect's mind needs to be calmed with a low risk offer.

The lower the risk, while still maintaining believability (I don't know if that's really a word but it sounds fine), is what is going to stimulate response to your offers.

You can do this through guarantees, trial offers, payment terms, proof (testimonials, case studies, etc.), and others.  Whichever method you use don't be wimpy about it.

For example, if you are using guarantees make a really killer guarantee.  "Double your money back if you aren't delighted with our product!"  Of course, you need a great product that works the way it is supposed to, but if you have that then you should be making very compelling guarantees.

Relevant

Not long ago I got an elaborate direct mail piece in my mailbox.  It was a great big envelope that had all kinds of compelling copy on the outside that spoke to some of the things I was having some issues with at the time.  Part of the offer was a free membership to AARP.  The American Association of Retired Persons [emphasis mine].  You have to be at least 50 years old in order to join.  I am 35 years old.

The offer was completely irrelevant to me and my situation.  Now this is really more of a list selection (or lack thereof) problem but you can see how making your offer irrelevant can really kill your response.  AARP isn't the only culprit.  Here are some other offers I have seen in the recent past:

- homeowner's insurance to renters

- diaper coupons to single men

- lawn care services for condo owners

And the list goes on and on.  As you can see, being relevant with your offers is a crucial piece of your marketing arsenal.  If the offer is relevant to your target market you have a much higher chance of generating an acceptable response…if it’s not, then you fall on your face.  It’s that simple.

Choices/Options

A little marketing trick here is to give your audience more than one offer to choose from.  It's not always appropriate to do so, but when you can, you turn a "yes/no" decision into a "Choice A/Choice B/No" decision.  

If you ask someone, "Do you want to go eat lunch?" then their answer is either "Yes I do" or "No I don't."  But, if you say "Do you want to go eat at Restaurant A or Restaurant B?" then they start thinking about which one they'd like better.  The choice of not going at all may not even enter their mind!  By offering choices or options to your offer you significantly increase your chances for action.

A word of caution; don't offer too many choices or you'll overwhelm the prospect and they won't make a decision at all.  Keep it to just 2-3 options.

Unique Selling Proposition

A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is a short, definitive statement that basically answers the question, "Why should a person buy your product or service?"

The USP is more than just a catchy phrase or slogan, though.  It is a testament to who you are, what you stand for, and how you are positioning yourself in the mind of your customer.  A USP gives you clarity and focus to what you are delivering to your customers.  There should be no question in people's minds about what you are all about just by hearing or reading your USP.

Crafting a compelling USP is no easy task.  You are going to have to think long and hard about it, research it, and put some effort into fine tuning it.  With that being said, here are some ideas to help get your thoughts going…use them to help you craft your own USP:

1) What is it that you do that is GREAT?

2) Is there a gap in the market that your product or service fills?

3) What is something that people HATE that your product/service fixes?

4) What do people experience by using your product or service?

Answering these questions will help you craft offers that speak directly to your prospects and help them see that what you are offering is designed specifically for them.

[intelesure-blog]

Direct Marketing Principles That You Can't Live Without

Usually when I talk to clients or business owners about their marketing I usually start by asking them what kind of strategy they have in place.  And just as usually they will tell me about what they are doing in terms of tactics..."I'm running Google ads" or "We advertise in the newspaper" or "We send out postcards each month."

The problem is none of those things are marketing strategies.  They are mere tactics that should (hopefully) be part of a larger overall strategy.  But, like I said, that's rarely the case.

In my experience most businesses don't have a marketing strategy in place for the simple reason that they don't have any idea what a strategy is comprised of.  So, I thought I would spend the next several posts identifying the core, underlying principles that should be the foundation of every marketing strategy.

After putting together literally hundreds of marketing plans together for myself and my clients I have indentified 10 inviolable rules for marketing success.  They are:

     1) There will be a marketing mindset.

     2) There will be a target market(s).

     3) There will be a compelling offer.

     4) There will be appropriate messaging.

     5) There will be multi-media.

     6) There will be a way to capture contact info.

     7) There will be consistent follow-up.

     8) There will be a way to expand Life-Time Value.

     9) There will be tracking and measurement.

    10) There will be personality, character, and branding behind your company.

If you follow these your chances for success will go up exponentially more than if you don't. So, over the next 10 posts I will dedicate each one to one of the principles listed above and give examples of each so that you can see how they are applied in the real world.

After that you should be able to analyze and build your marketing campaigns based on the principles listed above and super-charge your marketing like never before.

[intelesure-blog]

The Google Direct Mail(!) Campaign

Is it true?  That stalwart of online advertising, the titan of the Internet, Google, is sending *gasp* DIRECT MAIL to attract online advertisers?!?

Surely this can't be true can it?  After years of "new school" pups telling us that direct mail and other "old skool" media was dead the biggest of them all, the mighty Google, is sending out direct mail pieces by the hundreds of thousands?  Yes, yes I assure you, it is indeed true.  And I have the proof!

This direct mail piece came to my house last week.  As you can see it was a fairly straightforward offer (proving that online and offline tactics do converge) giving me a coupon good for a $100 credit in Adword clicks and a simple call-to-action.

The best businesses out there understand that a multi-media approach with a highly targeted offer, to a highly targeted list, and a simple call-to-action is the way you crush it in marketing.

Google is EVERYWHERE.  You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the United States (or any other civilized country) who didn't know who Google was.  But that didn't stop them from reaching out through an "antiquated" media to find those businesses that may have slipped through the cracks.

The simple fact of the matter is, not all media are appropriate for everyone.  Some people respond to emails, some to phone calls, some to direct mail, some to face-to-face meetings, etc, etc, etc.  That's why you have to use as many different media as economically feasible to reach your market most effectively.  If you are relying on one media source for lead generation or customer acquisition then you are leaving money on the table.  Period.

The second point I would like to make about this mailer is the intended target.  Me.  If you will notice, the mailer says, "Come Back to Adwords..."  Since this mailer came to my home address this was culled from an old, inactive account that I set up years ago for some personal stuff I was experimenting with.  I am very active with Adwords, but with different accounts than the one this mailer was targeted at.

So they are trying to reach those who used Adwords in the past and have quit for whatever reason.  This is an important point because I am active online, am internet savvy, and have NOT responded to their attempts to get me to return to use Adwords.  But by sending me a direct mail piece they got my attention and stimulated action on my part.

I immediately went online and applied the coupon code to my account (so don't try and use it, it won't work) and had a $100 credit applied directly to my Adwords account.  

Time will tell if this campaign is worth it to them, but those fellas over there at Google seem to know a thing or two and if they are adding direct mail to their marketing mix it warrants that you take a long, hard look at it too.

Direct mail can still be a very viable tool if done correctly.  If you need pointed in the right direction on just how to do that, let me know at tobe at intelesure.com.

[intelesure-blog]

Tell Your Story BUT...

I found this ad at an IHOP the other day after I had finished my breakfast and was headed to work.  I'm always looking for ads to critique so I picked it up and read through it.

It was for a young college student trying to earn a little extra money by painting houses in the area.  And I applaud that.  I really do.  I think we need many more young men and women like this guy to go out and hustle for business, earn a few bucks for school.

But I had a few comments about the ad itself...

1) Kyle (the college student here) has hooked up with a company called College Works Painting.  From the research I found on the company they seem to be reputable and know what they are doing.  More on this in a second.

2) Kyle tells a story in the ad about why he is painting houses, what he's studying in college, and other life interests.  Which is great, but the last thing I am going to do is entrust an 18 year old kid with the task of painting my house.  Pull my weeds or cut my grass maybe.  It's hard to screw those up.  But paint my house?  Not a chance.  

So the story part is good.  People connect with stories and they are very effective as sales tools, but you also need to segue into experience that you have in doing this type of work if I'm going to feel comfortable enough to let you do something like paint my house.

3) The headline is weak.  Very weak.  "We want to paint your house!"  Nice, but so what?  Frankly, I'm not really interested in what you want...I want to know what's in it for me.  The headline should have included some big benefit statement that spoke directly to me.  A better one would have been, "A beautifully painted house you'll be proud to call Home" with a sub-head that said something like, "I may still be in college, but I have a PhD in painting houses!"  The story could have then expanded on the sub-head, letting the person know that he wasn't really a doctor in house painting, but he should be with how good he is, etc.

4) The offer may be even weaker than the headline.  Free estimate?  Thanks.  But I really expect estimates to be free.  That doesn't wow me at all.  The 10% off is a little better and should have been more prominent up top.  Instead of "Call now for a free estimate!" it probably should have read, "Call now for 10% off!"

His real opportunity to improve this ad is in the body copy/story portion.  He says "I" or "me" 15 times.  He says "you" or "your" only 5 times.  Like I said before, stories are great but they need to tie into your "reason-why" for hiring you.  Speak to me directly...my needs, wants, desires, etc.  

The company, College Works seems to be reputable and train their people thoroughly but this isn't mentioned anywhere in the ad copy.  The lack of testimonials, proof, or other reasons why we should trust Kyle to paint our house is woefully lacking.

Just making a few of those simple changes will make all the difference in the world to this ad.  I would challenge you to look at your own marketing and see if it makes any of the mistakes listed above.  If so, how are you going to fix them?  

[intelesure-blog]

For several years now I have driven past Home Depot and seen this bus bench advertisement displayed.  Years.  Not weeks or months.  Years.

This ad is obviously working to some extent or the business owner wouldn't keep it in place for so long.  So, "place" is a core component to making sure that your ads are read and acted upon.

And this ad is perfectly placed.  I can almost see the harried homeowner headed over to Home Depot to replace their counter tops, their bath tub, or some cracked tile.  And as they are pulling in this ad catches their attention.  It speaks directly to them.  As Robert Collier put it, the ad enters the conversation already taking place in their mind.

It offers an alternative to simply replacing whatever it is that needs fixed.  The ad basically says, "Hey don't buy a whole new one, just let us fix it.  It'll be faster and cheaper."  

Sent as a postcard or run as an ad in a newspaper this ad would probably fall flat.  There are a few things the advertiser could do to salvage response in those cases, such as adding a stronger call-to-action or making little better offer, but being in the right place is what is giving this ad legs.

Whoever ran this ad gets it and for that we applaud you!