Why Less is More

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I had an epiphany this week.

It happened because I was seeking to create a video . . . to introduce an idea to others.

My first attempt was, I thought, “Pretty good”.  I mean, I was willing to share it with some people I trusted.

Less Is More
I’d asked for feedback and I got it.  In spades.  “You’re trying to cover too much.  FOCUS!”

Sculpting a Message 
Michaelangelo, the Italian artist and sculptor, created magnificent works of art that included ‘David’ and the ‘Pieta’, among others.  In the beginning of every masterpiece he created, Michaelangelo was staring at a big bland ‘block of rock’.

In his day, it was the equivalent of a ‘blank page’ in a Word or Powerpoint document.

Slashing and Burning is Best Done with a Laser
My original ‘message’ covered far too much.  Everything it included, suffered because of it.

So I sought to create an ‘under 2 minute video’.  That meant I had to do some serious ‘editing’ of the video.  And, the message I was seeking to convey to my audience.

Find The Filter
That’s when something rather amazing happened.  Creating a ‘shorter’ message forced me to refine what I was seeking to say.  I must credit my colleague, Craig Chapman with his challenge to craft a video that runs “under 2 minutes”.  Without that, I doubt the final product would have been what it is.

The Pleasant Surprise
As the message was filtered to fit the time allowed, it changed.  For the better. My original message was really a number of messages.  Not unlike an orchestra when they’re tuning up.  It was more cacophony than concert.  As the production time reduced, the message was refined.  It was tighter.  It was better.  It became a concert . . . where everything in it was in tune and harmonically reflecting the same note.

Once again, I am indebted to Craig Chapman of Cray Marketing for his admonition to ‘Cut It Back’.  Pruning is good for plants.  It’s even better for your marketing messages.

If you’d like to see the final product . . . VISIT THIS PAGE.

KEY POINT:
Less is (definitely) more and . . . better in the end! 

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How Do YOU Stand Out in Business?

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Four (4) things prospects like to know when they first meet you:

WHAT . . . do you do for your clients? (Value Proposition)

WHO . . . you do that for? (Target Market / Ideal Client)

HOW . . . you do that? (Secret Sauce)

WHY . . .  are you better than other firms? (Unique Selling Proposition)

Your TALKING LOGO addresses most of these questions.  But what’s the REAL basis for ‘standing out’ from your competitors?  It’s NOT (darn it!) as easy as crafting a great message you can use when you meet someone for the first time.

How Do You STAND OUT . . . to a Prospective Client?
Years ago a famous marketing professor at Harvard Business School (Ted Leavitt) was asked to help a major accounting firm ‘differentiate’ their audit services.  A major corporation’s audit business is worth a LOT of money to the accounting firm that “wins the audit” away from other competitors.

To differentiate a product or service, it must be BOTH:

1)  Beneficial . . . i.e. it must offer a meaningful benefit, and
2)  Unique . . . i.e. it can’t be like anything else

Then, he explained the challenge . . . “If something is truly beneficial, it won’t be ‘unique’ for long — competitors will follow suit and if something is truly unique, maybe what you’re offering isn’t all that beneficial”.

Everything this firm offered in an audit was also being offered by their competitors.  So where was the opportunity to differentiate?  It didn’t (seem to) exist!

The Challenge of Differentiating Your Business and Services
But Leavitt had an idea.  He asked to interview their best audit clients to learn, “WHY . . . did they choose your firm to get an audit?”.  The client agreed.

A large number of their clients later told him, “We just liked them better than any other firm”.

“Perception IS Reality”
In marketing, being ‘liked’ isn’t about being ‘nice’ (even if you are!).  It’s about being seen as a Preferred Provider relative to your competitors.

The clients suggested a number of PERCEPTIONS about Leavitt’s client and told him that it was how they behaved during their meetings that convinced them his client was the ‘best firm’ to use to get that audit.

Basically, what they SAID and DID convinced these prospects to go with Leavitt’s client!

The Big Lesson Here
Ask your ‘best clients’ the question, “Why did you choose OUR firm?”.  Follow that up with, “What did we SAY or DO to make you believe we were ‘the best’ firm to use?

You’ll learn what you need to say and do in front of prospects . . . to ‘Stand Out’ from the crowd of your (alleged!) competitors.

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Marketing To Needs vs. Wants

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In a recent post (3/22/2012) I discussed the need to be sure you get a response from any marketing you do to promote your services. But getting a response depends on WHAT you’re offering and . . . HOW you’re inviting a response from your prospective client.

Which is More Potent . . . Needs or Wants?
No doubt about it, marketing what people want is relatively easier than marketing what they need.  If that seems odd, consider this:

Most people will agree that ‘being healthy’ is something they ‘want’ to be.  At the same time, they may ‘need’ something to achieve that goal — i.e. a colonoscopy after age 50.

Of these two, which one is easier to sell?  Which one is easier for someone to ‘buy’ into getting?

You may want a new sports car, but you may need some sales training to help you get it. Wanting the sports car is obvious and desirable. Needing sales training that can help you get it is neither!

Needs or Wants — There’s a Different Approach for Each!
If  your prospect wants what you offer, then you can invite a response in the form of an immediate buying decision.  For example, if you’re offering a wonderful Caribbean cruise, that’s highly desirable.  And a good Call-To-Action would invite someone to book with you.

However, if your prospect needs what you offer, then you should use a different approach. Typically, ‘wants’ are associated with ‘soft’ services like ‘business consulting’ more than ‘hard’ products or goods like a ‘getaway weekend’ cruise. Remember, we want to be healthy but we need a colonoscopy.  The former is obvious and desirable.  The later is not.

The Two-Step Call-To-Action
I’m assuming you’re offering a service more than a product.  So what you’re offering is really the (needed) MEANS to some (wanted) END that your prospect would like to enjoy.   This requires an offer to get something — usually information — that would help someone get what they want.

A CPA might therefore ‘offer’ an e-book on:
“The Five Biggest Tax Deductions Business Owners Always Seem To Miss”

Inviting people to download that e-book would certainly identify people who might logically need other services that a CPA can render.  But, absent an opportunity to engage prospective clients in the first place, those subsequent conversations may never have a chance to occur!

KEY POINT:
When appealing to ‘wants’, always offer an item-of-value that is low-risk / no-cost to accept and suggests high-value if it is.  Once you have the ‘first’ step out of the way, you can make follow-up actions appropriate to the person’s ‘need-to-know’ and ‘readiness-to-go’ ahead with later offers to engage your services.

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The Deadly Direct Mailing

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I just received a direct mail piece from a firm I did business with years ago. They’re still in business.  Which is nice to know.

But their mailer is, well . . . ‘deadly’ to say the least.

The copy is self-centered drivel and their offer is non-existent.  How sad.  For them.  I hope his mom ordered extra copies for her bridge club because at least she’ll see some value from this mailer!

What’s The Goal?
The creation of any promotional marketing communication must begin with as clear an understanding of what you want to happen after someone receives it as is humanly possible.

That implies, of course, that you expect ‘some thing’ to happen as a result of receiving and processing your message in whatever medium of delivery you may choose to use — print, verbal, online, etc.

Response . . . Must (ALWAYS) Be Your Goal
Given the time, money and effort required to produce and deliver a message these days, you really can’t justify any marketing that doesn’t call for your reader, listener or viewer to do something in response to your message. This is a ‘Call To Action’ or ‘Offer’.  Same thing.

Of all the goals for your marketing communications, make sure a response is one of them!

KEY POINT:
Any communication that doesn’t invite response is a wasted opportunity.

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Will a Real (Good) Website Stand Up?

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I just read an excellent rant (or, venting?) by a noted business growth consultant — Andy Birol.

Andy’s earned a solid reputation based on a history of helping clients build their business and value.

He’s actually quite good at it, too.

His latest post reflects his honest frustration with how well his website is working for him.  Or, maybe not.

The Problem With Many Websites
What Andy and many advisors realize is that “good-looking websites” aren’t necessarily ‘effective websites’.  Of course, it might help to define what ‘effective’ means, right?

‘Effective‘ means that your website can create an opportunity to help you generate revenues.

In most cases, this doesn’t imply an online transaction or purchase.  But it does suggest your website should be able to create well-qualified opportunities from which you can generate a client (and, the revenue that suggests) in a reasonable amount of time.

Let’s face it.  Whatever your expertise, it’s safe to say you probably aren’t a website developer.  Your expertise may lie in helping your clients manage their risks, make good investments, protect their intellectual property, and the like. So the lure of a ‘pretty-looking’ website may be quite compelling.

If It Looks Terrible But Works Great . . . Don’t Mess With It!
What Andy’s learned is that ‘good looks’ aren’t all that important in producing the performance criteria he’s learned is really important — i.e. identifying a well-qualified individual for his services.  That’s a huge insight.  And, a valuable one to remember.

I am constantly amazed (but not surprised) at how often a website built on the HubSpot platform looks ‘clunky’ but works extremely well.  There’s a New Yorker magazine cartoon where two dogs are in the library and on their master’s PC.  One dog says to the other, “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog”.  Very true.  And that’s why even ‘ugly’ websites can be more productive of leads than pretty websites . . . ‘pretty useless’, that is!

On a Google search, if your website or blog offers highly relevant content, it will attract traffic in the form of well-qualified visitors to you.  Once you have qualified visitors, using CTA’s (Calls To Action) and offering items of value can help reveal their identify so you can begin a marketing dialogue with them.  Just as Andy’s learned.

KEY POINT: Find Out If Your Current Website Is Working As You Wish
A valuable service of HubSpot is a complementary review of your current website.  The service is called “Marketing Grader“.  It takes only a few moments. You enter your URL (and up to 2 of your competitors) and it will give you an most insightful report on where you’re doing good and where you might be able to be doing even better.

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Be Relevant

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There’s a lot of truth to the saying, “If you want to be heard, say something worthy of my attention”.

The image to the left was part of a sidebar on a blog where the ‘offered information’ is highly relevant to the ‘Ideal Client’ or ‘target audience’ who’s seeking to use their telephony more easily and effectively.

The Lesson:  Be Relevant!
In the ADHD world of today where people may have less time to do what they want and less attention than they’d like . . . to invest in a meaningful exchange with you . . . you must be relevant or you’ll be history very quickly!

Key #1: “Have a Goal in Mind”
Anyone can create a presentation, not everyone will get a desired result.  All communications should be based on the result or outcome you’re seeking.  In business, that’s often to ‘get a sale’ or ‘move the chain’ in the sales pipeline.  But it can’t be simply to ‘communicate’ . . . a grunt will do that (and not much else!).

Key #2: “See The World As Your Audience Sees It”
“If you can show me a Tisch, I’ll give you $5,000, right now”.  If you speak German, I’m probably about to part with $5,000!  If not, I’m probably confusing you.  So ‘losing’ you isn’t far behind.  Effective communications implies getting to understand the world as your prospect sees it.  Knowing their hopes, fears, dreams, concerns, etc. is the basis for knowing what they’ll find is relevant.

Key #3: “Learn To Construct a Compelling Argument”
Most schools and universities aren’t teaching young people how to communicate ideas effectively (i.e. persuasively).  That’s a vital skill-set that’s rapidly becoming a lost art.  Good news.  If you learn how to create a compelling argument, you can move people to take action.  Often, actions that will benefit both of you.  My recommendation:  read “How To Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less” by Milo Frank.  Master what Milo is telling you and you’ll communicate more effectively than most people on the planet!

Key #4: “Communicate Consistently”
With the many distractions all around us, even a well-designed message will be ‘missed’ unless it is repeated consistently.  You’ve seen an ad on TV that seems to show up every time you watch TV?  The reason is because the marketers know you’re probably not even going to notice it unless you have a number of opportunities to see it.  Same thing with your messages.  Staying ‘in mind’ without getting ‘in face’ is an art form.  But it’s an art form you’ll want to learn and practice if you want to move people with your messages.

KEY POINT:
Being RELEVANT, having a GOAL to achieve, being COMPELLING and sharing your messages CONSISTENTLY will make you a far better communicator with prospects and clients than most of your alleged competitors!

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Standing Out

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Who doesn’t love a little red sports car?  
I recall how my ‘favorite car’ was exactly that — a 1987 red  Toyota MR2 . . . OMG I loved that car.  But, I digress . . .

“It’s a chick-magnet”
That’s how the salesperson (a woman no less!) described it to me.  Maybe she thought I was having a mid-life crisis and a ‘little red sports car’ was exactly what I needed.  Regardless, I bought that car for my own enjoyment and boy, did I love that car.

And truth be told, that’s what most people understand a ‘hot-looking’ car is going to do for the owner.  Of course, truth and fantasy blur easily and rarely does the latter influence the former.  But that’s what most people still believe a ‘little red sports car’ will do for the driver.

What Does a ‘Little Red Sportscar’ has to do with ‘standing out’
One part (1/3, actually) of your marketing strategy is to ‘differentiate’ your self, business, products and services from the ‘alternatives’ your prospective client may consider, right?  So how do you do that?

Leverage a Common Perception with An Uncommon Twist
Al Ries ad Jak Trout wrote a book called, “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind“.  In it, they suggest adopting “a competitive mental angle”.  That simply means you assume your prospect is aware of who your competition is and you use what people associate about them . . . to your advantage.

For example:Ad for mini-van

What if you wanted to promote your mini-van?  It’s no little red sportscar, right?  EXACTLY!

That’s why the common understanding of what a ‘little red sportscar’ is all about makes it ideal to use to make your reader relate to what your benefit really is:
” . . . BETTER at picking up women than an exotic and expensive sportscar!”

KEY POINT:
Differentiation is never done in a vacuum — always use a context your reader already understands and THEN . . . add an ‘angle’ . . . to make your benefit ‘stand out’ in their mind.

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Do Good, Feel Good . . . BEFORE Christmas!

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Occasionally, far too rarely actually, I come across a truly brilliant marketing campaign that benefits not only the marketer but everyone else involved.

Enter . . .  the Fourth Annual Holiday Feed It Forward™ campaign of Restaurant.com:

Here’s the Deal . . . 
Each year around the holidays, Restaurant.com enables anyone to ‘give away’ $10 Gift Certificates to anyone they like . . . as a gift . . . absolutely FREE!

How / Why It Works . . . 
Restaurant.com is a firm that helps roughly 18,000 restaurants generate customers. It does this by allowing people like you and me to buy its ‘gift certificates’ at a discount and these 18,000 restaurants honor the ‘face’ value of each certificate.  The restaurants get more traffic, consumers get a good value (and, hopefully a good meal) and Restaurant.com gets a nominal fee for each transaction

That’s smart.  Afterall, each participating restaurant only incurs a ‘cost’ of sales (the discount and fee) when this promotional tactic actually pays off.  I love anything that changes the ‘pay now and pray later’ marketing media into one you only need to pay for when it actually works!  That’s what Restaurant.com does — very nicely.

The 2012 Restaurant.com Holiday Gift-Away . . .
For the last four years, to help all the parties in the equation — restaurants and consumers — Cary Chessik, CEO of Restaurants.com has allowed anyone to give a ‘gift’ of $10 to people they know as a simple act of ‘feeding it forward’.

This is altruism and commercialism as it helps Cary’s restaurant clients by putting ‘butts in the seats’ for them.  At the same time, it provides people like you and me with an opportunity to say, “Thanks” to many people in our lives in what may find this is a time that’s more financially difficult for more people than we may ever know.

It’s 100% legit — I’ve used this myself already — and I hope you would use this opportunity to give a $10 Gift Card to up to 40 people each day between now and Christmas.

KEY POINT:
Marketing makes a difference in the lives of people by connecting us all.  Use this ‘Feed It Forward’ opportunity to do the same with people in your world . . . all you’ll feel is good . . . and appreciated! 

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Is Your Message … COMPELLING?

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The power of words . . . can move people to action.

You just have to say what you want to say . . . in a way that matters.

Like this:

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The Secret of a Great Review

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One of my Duct Tape Marketing colleagues, David Smith from Boise, ID and I were kicking around ideas on how to get and craft a good review — to support local marketing — a program David’s delivering to a group of Idaho business owners.

My input, while not the most academic, may be of some help to you as you consider the same issue:

Be Real . . . Be Counter-Intuitive . . . Start Off Negative
I find that ‘glowing’ reviews, i.e. overly positive are dismissed more quickly and easily than clients will like.  An idea I picked up from a friend and colleague, Sean D’Souza is:  “Lead with a negative”.  The CREDIBILITY of what follows is so much greater and it won’t seem like it was written by groupies on drugs stalking their favorite rock band.  e.g.
“When I first heard about ‘Duct Tape’ Marketing, I thought, “What The Heck?”  Then, I thought, “Oh boy, here we go again!  Just gonna be another BS way of saying what everyone else is saying we ought to do only they’ll charge a lot more for it.”

That’s real.  It’s what your prospects are probably thinking.  So JOIN the conversation in their heads and THEN . . . bring them to know something you know that they probably weren’t thinking about . . . eg. “Well, BOY, WAS I WRONG!  Dave Smith, the local Duct Tape Marketing consultant met with me and my team last week and I had to say, “Wow” . . .”  

See what a credible impact that makes vs. a sugar-coated, lop-sided but utterly bland compliment that doesn’t stand out in a meaningful way?

Be Specific!
The other thing I believe is important to include in a review is SPECIFICITY of a VALUED OUTCOME.  The luke-warm (i.e. ‘safe’) comments are useless because they sound like what everyone else is saying.  e.g. “ABC’s food tasted great and the service was good.” (Well, I’d sure hope so!)

You’d be better to focus on a specific ‘outcome’ enjoyed from using (consuming) your product or service –e.g.  “We used to have WWIII on our hands trying to get the kids up in the morning.  Now, thanks to Tasty Chew Cornflakes, our kids are waking US up to make sure we’re in the kitchen for breakfast!  Kind of refreshing, actually.”

Help People Give You a Great Review
It’s always helpful to end a review with a RATING and a CALL-TO-ACTION.  Let your reviewers be your promoters — e.g.  “Overall I’d give these guys a 9 out of 10 (and I never give anyone, anywhere a ’10’)  so the next time you’re hungry in the KC area and the family wants to go out for a bite, be sure and put Oklahoma Joe’s on your ‘short list’ of ‘must-know-gotta-go’ places and get yourself a REAL pulled pork sandwich for a change”.

NEVER ‘Write’ Someone’s Review  
You do, however, want to explain the ‘structure’ and provide an easy way to invite them to ‘bullet point’ their key points.

You may want to say, “Hey, can I write-up what I think you just said to me . . . and see if you approve the copy or would like to make some edits?”  That’ll work every time!

KEY POINT:
People love being editors vs. writers.  If you make their ‘job’ easier, you’ll make your reviews even better.

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