Just last week I was having a conversation with a colleague of one of my clients about the use of adverts in his marketing… He was convinced that adverts didn’t work for his business.

He told me he was trying to sell IT Support services to local businesses, but it didn’t matter what he tried, he wasn’t even getting one call.

When I delved a bit deeper, it did appear that he was targeting publications which got him in front of the right sort of business he was looking for, but he was not managing to attract any attention.

When I looked at some examples of his ads, it was clear that the problem was that he was using the wrong TYPE of ad.

You see, there are actually four ‘purposes’ of an advert – each one needs to be approached in a slightly different way – and it all depends on what you are trying to achieve.

According to direct response copywriting expert Bob Bly, the four “missions” of an ad are: Read More »

So nothing has changed since I went away on my holidays…

… the media still preaching doom and gloom… in an “end-of-the-world-is-nigh” sort of way.

But as business owners we have a choice NOT to participate in the recession. But how ready are you to reject the effects of a recession to your business?

If you look back at the late 80’s early 90’s, when we had the last major economic downturn, there were plenty of cases where businesses prospered – even grew – while their competitors went to the wall.

Even in this current climate, I see examples of businesses who are actually increasing their business – even in the “hardest hit” industries (such as Estate Agents, Restaurants and Retail).

Yes it’s true that spending is down…

It’s also true that people are being more careful where and how they spend their money…

Read More »

Go on then, spill the beans – just how successful do you think it was?

1) It went very well. The campaign more than paid for itself, and I had responses flooding in.

2) It was not bad. I’m sure I had a number of responses that turned into business.

3) I’m not sure. There isn’t any significant increase in business, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t work.

Now, how would you like to know for sure?

If you don’t think it’s important to KNOW what’s working in your business, then you should.

It’s one on the traits of successful marketing – making sure every pound you spend brings in two times, three times, ten times, even more in return.

Read More »

For as long as I can remember we have been taught that choice is a good thing.

It has never been more easy to get what you want, in the colour you want, in the size you want, in the quantity you want, when you want and at the price you want.

And that’s a good thing… Right?

Yes in many ways it is – certainly for the consumer. But as a business there is the danger you can offer too much choice.

You see, while offering choices can increase the probability of a sale, it can also work against you and cause the reverse to happen – you can actually LOSE sales.

For the majority of people, too much choice actually makes it difficult for them to make any choice at all.

Let’s look at Starbucks.

Read More »

Now that’s a question…

You’ve heard me talk about the importance of getting your marketing message right, and about how important it is to have the right offer going out to the right prospects, to maximise your probability of making a sale.

But even getting this part right is only the start. You now come to the part where you have to communicate that message in a compelling way, which encourages the reader to read all of your message. So they WANT to read on about how your product or service will enhance their lives or make their business run more smoothly.

So how easy is it to get this message across?

One of my new clients recently asked me about writing the copy for a sales letter he wanted to send out.

“I have no idea how to write copy,” he said. “Do I need to get a copywriter to write it for me?”

Read More »

It’s true – last Monday in fact…

I told them I couldn’t help them any more.

Have you ever done that – sacked a client?

I sacked them because they were completely ignoring my advice – the same advice they were paying me to give them…

It happens sometimes, but I think 3 months of excuses is more than enough to put up with.

When I work with a client, I do everything I can to make things work for them. I give them the best advice I can to get the best results I can to give them the best return I can.

But I do expect clients to listen to what I’m saying.

Here’s a brief rundown of what happened…

Read More »

I can honestly say it’s been inspiring watching the Beijing Olympics this year. The best results Great Britain have had in over a hundred years. It’s been inspiring.

But whilst watching the Olympics coverage over the last two weeks, it set me to wondering…

What is it that gives these Gold Medallists the ability to exceed and outperform all the other athletes, especially when ALL of the athletes are at their peak?

Read More »

As a child I clearly remember my mother telling me (on more than one occasion) “Use your common sense!”

But what IS ‘Common Sense’?

Just because something is obvious to you, doesn’t necessarily mean the same to someone else. If it did, we would all have had the same grades in our “O-Levels” (I’m showing my age now ), all drive SMART cars and all work as Cosmetic Dentists – now, apart from everyone having perfect looking teeth and always be able to find a parking space, how boring would that be?

But assuming that everyone will react in the same way also causes a problem…

… it’s all too easy to take things for granted, especially when it comes to marketing your business. It is way too easy to assume that your prospects will know and understand the benefits of your product or service like you do.

Remember Blendtec who I mentioned a few weeks ago? Let’s use them as an example…

Read More »

For some time now I have been asked if there is an easy way to attract a better class of client, as well as improve cashflow.

In my experience there is no such thing as an “easy way” – or at least, not in the way most people think of as easy – but there are 14 simple ideas you can use to get things running more smoothly and help you get consistent results and predictable business growth.

Here they are:

1. Clarify Who Your Ideal Client Is – Be clear who your clients are. Do you know exactly who needs the product or service you sell? Time to get specific.
2. Build A Clear USP – You absolutely need to be clear WHY you are different from your competitors. Create a great USP which clearly educates your clients and prospects about the benefits of buying from you. Focus on those things which not only tells your clients why you are the BEST choice, but why you are the ONLY choice when they are making their buying decision.
3. Gain Loyalty Through Education – Explain you and your business to clients and prospects in an informative and educational way. Explain to them the benefits of how your product or service will help and benefit their life or business. Remember WIIFM – What’s In It For Me? Make sure you tell them WHY they should even care!
4. Simplify Everything – You won’t offend anyone by explaining things using easy-to-understand language, as long as you don’t come across in a patronising manner. If your message is not clear and easy to understand, then go back and simplify it again.
5. Ignite Their Curiosity Don’t Bore Their Bones – What’s new in your business? Clients and prospects will want to know, providing there is a benefit to them. You need to give them compelling reasons to buy from you and keep buying from you again and again. Tell them what is new in your business and what you offer to your clients. Tell your client’s success stories, or new promotions of offers you are running.
6. Develop Client Trust – Like it or not, people who don’t know you will generally distrust you – it’s a fact of life. You need to overcome this distrust with proof that you can deliver the benefits you say you can. Use testimonials, case studies, industry facts and figures – anything and everything you can that shows you are the best at what you do.
7. Ask For Action – Always ask the prospect/client to take action – NOW. If you ask, more people are more likely to actually do what you want them to do.
8. Develop A Follow-Up Process – Firstly, make sure you do everything you can to capture a prospect’s contact information – present a compelling reason or offer as to why they should give you their details – and then follow up!
9. Create Upsells – Look at every opportunity to increase average client transaction value by increasing client spend at the time of purchase. What’s your “Would you like fries with that?”
10. Increase Response Through Phone Follow-Up – After any direct mail campaign, make sure you call as many of your list of prospects as you can – it will dramatically increase the response you get. If you don’t have time (or you are not comfortable doing it) yourself, then hire professionals to do it for you.
11. Take The Time To TELL Clients You Appreciate Them – Don’t let them guess, make SURE they know how much you value them – after all they pay the bills! Statistics show 68% of people change suppliers because they don’t feel that supplier cares about them!
    
12. Create Alliances And Joint Ventures – Find complementary businesses to joint venture with and cross-promote to their lists as well as your own.
13. Adopt A “Loyalty Programme” Mentality – People who have bought from you before are 6 times more likely to buy from you again, so you should be continually be developing your offering for products or services – either your own or through partners. Your entire strategy after they have bought once should be to offer them other things they can buy from you – again and again.
14. Establish An ACTIVE Referral System – Make sure you ASK your clients to refer to you – don’t rely on them to mention you in passing – most people forget or feel awkward. If someone has a really good experience dealing with your company, you can make it so they would feel guilty for NOT telling their friends, family and business associates about you. Sometimes offering rewards, incentive or some kind of benefit can increase the referrals you get.

This should give you an idea or two to work with, but I know that not everyone will have the time of confidence to get these implemented…

Read More »

If I’ve been asked once, I’ve been asked a thousand times this week about “cheap ” ways of marketing for lead generation – must be something to do with the current climate!

Now, if you are also making the mistake of thinking this way when it comes to ensuring the future of your business, then you may need to alter your approach slightly…

The focus should always be – indeed HAS to be – your message and the audience you are targeting.

Then, and only then, should you look at the method for delivering your message to them, in a way which will compel them to open and read it.

It has been proven time and again that the more you spend in trying to attract the right type of client with the right message, the quicker and better your business will grow – and best of all your competitors will be looking at NOT spending money to attract new business – so who are prospects going to be attracted to?

This makes perfect sense when you understand the Life Time Value of your clients.

Read More »