Is Your Marketing Penny-Wise Pound-Foolish?

Is Your Marketing Penny-Wise Pound-Foolish?

A colleague of mine and I were having a conversation the other day about a marketing mystery. Isn’t it odd that we spend so much time, money and energy trying to make a difference in the lives of our customers so we can earn a reasonable profit and yet, often, we’re our own worst enemies when it comes to doing the things that will help us achieve that objective?

Even though many of us become knowledgeable about effective marketing strategies, somehow, some of what we learn never makes it to the front line – the point where our sales proposition is laid bare in front of our prospect for consideration.

Here are three things that could be hurting your marketing results along with some suggestions on what you can do to correct them.

1. Thinking your web site is ready for prime-time because it was created by a “web site designer”. This can be a costly misconception. Many web designers rely on their clients to supply content.They have no idea how to write compelling copy. Nor should they. That’s why they’re designers.

But here’s the problem: Many have no basic understanding of how to create a home page that presents a client’s selling message effectively. Unless a web site designer is getting content from someone who knows how to write and present a sales argument or has the understanding to coach the client on how to do it, chances are the site will do very little other than occupy a spot in cyber-space for which the client pays a monthly hosting fee. Much of the content on web sites today has been cobbled together from brochures, competitors web sites and presentations that are equally as weak.

Don’t believe me? The next time you’re in surf mode, check out how many home pages – where the all important first impression occurs – are missing the most fundamental selling element of all – an attention getting headline that offers a clear benefit to the reader.  Happy hunting. Many home pages don’t even mention the word “you” in the copy. It’s all about me. Them. You know what I mean.

So, why would companies lay out all kinds of dough to have a web site designed and then cram the home page with copy the reader won’t respond to? Many simply don’t understand that the best design in the world can’t make a web site with dull “me too” copy perform. If you think your home page copy falls into this category, it may be time to have it reviewed by a marketing writer. Otherwise, you may be spending valuable marketing dollars driving customers to your web site only to have them click away in search of a competitor who has a better answer to the question they arrived with, ‘What’s in this for me?’

2. Not marketing to existing customers. It’s amazing how many businesses will spend money trying to get new customers while leaving one of the greatest incremental revenue streams sitting untapped right in their own backyard in the form of their current customer list. To win a new customer, you have to somehow find a way to make your sales message stand out in a sea of marketing messages. Meanwhile, our existing customers, the people who have already done business with us, represent a prime audience predisposed to hearing about other ways we can help them solve problems. We may have added a number of new services or products since they first became customers. If we don’t let them know about how we can continue to add value to their lives, they’ll probably find what they need from a competitor.

Worse yet, the customer will probably end up being the new provider of what the customer originally bought from us. Keep your customers informed. Treat your customer list like the goose that laid the golden egg. By staying in touch, you’ll learn about new needs and wants and you’ll be able to minimize your cost of sales. If you have a list but you’re not sure how to go about creating a customer contact program, drop me an email and I’ll give you some ideas. If you don’t have a customer list with email addresses, it’s never too late to start developing one. For a little bit of effort, you’ll be well rewarded.

3. Not creating “pull” marketing material. None of us likes to be sold. But we love to buy. Your marketing material should be carefully crafted so it grabs the reader by the lapels and creates the feeling that doing business with anybody else would be a huge mistake. Every day, our eyes glaze over as we are hammered by ads, home pages, sales letters and brochures that just blah, blah blah us to death. And guess what? Millions of dollars go into creating these messages that don’t attract attention or create desire. You see this all the time on the internet. Web sites pushing products and services instead of working to develop a “know like and trust factor’ – the magical trio that usually forms the foundation of every sale.

You can’t push people into buying today any more than you could 20 years ago. But you can make sure you create the type of environment that gives you a chance to allow them to buy what you’re offering.

Start getting into the habit of analyzing the sales and marketing messages that come at you during the day. Try to distinguish between those that just bounce off your sales resistance armor and those that make it past and create a desire within to learn more.

To be successful in today’s marketing and selling arena, you need every edge you can find. Especially those over which you have full control.

Gerry Black is a marketing writer based in Toronto, Canada who works with clients in the U.S. and Canada.