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| Subject: Here's Something To Bring You Success | |
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Author: Dennis S. Vogel |
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Date Posted: 14:34:24 08/27/04 Fri In reply to: Simon 's message, "No Response & Running Out of Money" on 19:22:08 08/23/04 Mon Hi Simon, It's hard to give definitive advice without knowing your exact situation, including the content of your marketing messages which may not have been compelling to your target market. Also whatever results you get from my advice won't be as complete as it would be if we had enough time to work together. We can definitely boost your business. Here are things to consider before & while writing your ads. 1A- What's the main problem your target market has? 1B- What do you & your competitors offer making it possible to change, hopefully vastly improve that situation? 1C- How can or does using that product/service change customers' situations? 2A- What do you or your products do differently & more effectively than competitors? 2B- What's important about your way of solving clients' problems? 2C- Is what you offer better for some people or businesses than it is for others? 2D- Are those who benefit the most able to pay what you need to charge? 2E- What are your prospects doing now about the problem you can help them solve? 2F- If they've been settling for a partial solution or no solution at all, why have they been doing that? Is it because there wasn't a solution before? Didn't they believe promises of businesses offering solutions? Could they afford the solution? Did they know it existed? Was the problem shown in way to show it's important enough to have it solved? Did prospects believe they deserved & would profit from the solution? Was the solution permanent, long-term or short-term? Are there enough prospects to make it economically feasible to develop a solution? (I know this one sounds very mercenary, but from an economic standpoint, the purpose of governments is to provide what businesses can't afford to offer.) 3A- What makes your services/products more effective or efficient than what competitors offer? (This isn't the same as the previous set of questions. This is how you'll substantiate or "prove" your claims.) Caution- Truth is best, but people won't believe what's true unless it seems true to them. Example - If you sell cars, you could show how strongly parts are bolted & welded by using a crane to pick up a car then you could stand under the suspended car. Some people won't believe anybody would really do that, so they'll discount the whole thing. They'll think those pictures were altered. 3B- How do members of your target market describe the problem & your solution? (If you haven't gotten their direct input, you'll need to extrapolate based on messages successful businesses use to attract the same people. It's best if these businesses are similar to yours. In this case, "similar" means if you sell stereo equipment, you can emulate what music tapes & CDs stores successfully use.) 3C- What have similar businesses used to achieve Attention, Interest, Desire & Action? 4A- If you have a store, what are your prospects doing when they're close to your store? 4B- Where are they doing it? (Are they working for employers? Are they soaking up sun-rays at a beach?) 5A- What are your competitors' strengths? 5B- Which of those strengths can you use to your & target markets benefit? Focusing on competitors' weaknesses can be profitable, but weaknesses are easier to change than strengths. Then after your competitor has cured its weakness, you'll be left with your own weakness to cure. Example - Since Hertz is the first car rental company to grow nation-wide in the USA, it's the biggest of its kind. Because of that, more people rent cars from Hertz than any other single company. After that, the battle was for a company to become the second national car rental company. After Avis achieved that, it achieved greater success by comparing itself to Hertz. It did it in a somewhat haphazard way of using AIDA- Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. When dealing with the largest company in a category isn't convenient, some people will go to the second biggest. So Avis announced its second place standing. That was the main thing to get the Attention it needed. It's famous for it's statement, "So why try us? We try harder." But what propelled it higher is telling people its lines were shorter. It got serious Attention by being & claiming to be number 2. It sparked some Interest by asking, "Why try us?" then claiming to try harder. That claim wouldn't be enough to keep Interest, then achieve & increase Desire without promising a benefit. Then people had a choice, A- Stand in line for the "privilege" of dealing with number 1. B- Stand in a shorter line & get out of airports & get to their destinations sooner. Some think Avis increased profits because they promised to work harder. Do you think that promise would've worked for Rent-A-Wreck? Why drive a wreck, because we try harder.(???) I doubt it would've made much difference. Avis's calls to Action varied. Some advertisers use calls to action, but don't A, I, D first. Action won't AID them without the first three parts. Action won't even happen without the other three. What Avis shouldn't have done is think prospects will immediately think, "If I'm in a line shorter line, it probably means I won't be in line for long." People are too tried, distracted, apathetic & too mentally poor to pay strict attention. Don't assume (make an ass of you & me) people will come to a conclusion on their own. Even if they do think about your message, they may conclude something unprofitable to you. Calls to action can vary from "Call Avis to reserve a rental car." "Our shorter lines mean you'll be in line less & enjoy the ride sooner." That has an embedded command in it - enjoy. "Remember which line you want to be line next time you're in an airport." This one sets the context "you're in an airport." "While you‘re planning your next trip, choose the line you'll be in less at the Avis counter. Then reserve an Avis car too." Promising to try harder is nebulous. Try harder to do what? Having shorter lines can be observed. Being number 2 can be quantified. Even if Hertz would've hired more people, it would've had a hard time getting extra space in crowded airports. Without more counter space, they'd still have many customers waiting in lines. Hertz didn't have an easy way to make their lines shorter. Avis found a way to use Hertz's strength against it. Avis use the weakness - long lines - in Hertz's strength - popularity. Eventually Hertz & others streamlined their service & documentation requirements so people didn't have to stand in line so much. My article at this URL - http://web1.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/Faster-Results.html - will give you more guidance. Explain benefits you offer in the best way you can, so your prospects will understand it. Yes, some members of your target market know what businesses in your category (are supposed to) do, but they're also distracted by other thoughts & demands. Don't take it for granted they're thinking only about tasks your products & services apply to. If I had the right answers to the questions I wrote above, I could set up a tactic, strategy & messages to bring you the profits you need. But that would be a long consultation. But even then, to make my work fully effective long-term, you & your staff would have to create a favorable environment for your staff & customers. I know it seems like a cop out & a way to get paid, but what I described & outlined is a long-term project. Dennis S. Vogel thrivingbusiness@email.com Your business's health depends on you to give it a healthy dose of great marketing. Start your business's journey to better health here - http://web1.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ http://www.voy.com/31049/ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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