Tools and Tips
1
Learn About Your Clients
Focus on communicating with your clients, while at the same time educate yourself about their needs. Communicating the benefits you can provide is key to attracting customers.
2
Direct Marketing
Aim your marketing at specific prospects and speak to them directly. Niche marketing is vital to success. Market to a more focused group of prospects and save money in the process.
3
Communicate
Study the benefits of owning your product or using your service. A benefit differs greatly from a feature. Features are characteristics of the products or service, while benefits
Communicating the benefits you can provide is key to attracting customers. |
satisfy customer needs. When you focus on what is important to your client and not the feature of the product or service, people will respond.
4
Know Your Prospects
Qualify your prospects before spending hard-earned money selling to them. Many businesses spend unnecessary money on mass mailings that are not directed at any one particular prospect. There are efficient ways to qualify a prospect, such as consumer response using reply cards or an 800 number. Smart marketing uses qualification techniques at each stage of the sale.
5
Use Fear as a Tool
Enlist fear as an ally for a marketing campaign. It is a powerful, yet widely misunderstood, marketing tool. It can be an effective element to a marketing campaign, because prospects respond when they recognize the price of ignoring your message.
6
Gain Attention Early
Capture the attention of your audience immediately. Introduce a benefit before you say anything else. Perhaps it is a solution to a problem or a better price. The first thing your client should see is something they really want.
7
Create Urgency
Convince your prospective customers to act now by motivating them to take immediate action. Use expiration dates or deadlines, special limited time offers or cash discounts. Explain how acting right away will deliver benefits. Give your prospects a compelling reason to act now.
8
Use Testimonials
To someone receiving your marketing message for the first time, your company has little or no credibility. You are unknown. Assuring your client that others are pleased with your company's past performance builds confidence in doing business with you. Create a testimonial file--use it whenever you create sales and marketing messages.
The first thing your client should see is something they really want. |
9
Guarantee Satisfaction
Offering a guarantee will not entice more returns in your marketing strategies. Offering a no-strings guarantee of satisfaction sells more and ensures return customers. Your guarantee is a deciding factor . . . convincing prospects to make an early purchase decision.
10
Make it Simple
Make purchasing quick and easy. If it is a difficult process, potential clients might go elsewhere. Simplify your sales process to ensure quick and immediate results.
If you would like to submit your ideas for our Tools and Tips section, please contact the managing editor, Sandra L. Bienkowski at [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the May 2001 issue of HME Business.