Know Where You're Going
Every good marketing message has an end goal: to, to educate, to promote, to get a buying decision, to get someone to ask for information, or take a next step. Know what outcome you desire from any piece, write everything to build to it and then ask for that outcome. Be sure you have a clear call to action. Ask your audience to do the thing you want them to do. Make it concise and easy to understand. There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to take a next step but having no idea what that is or how to do it.
So tell them. In plain language. Say things directly. For example: Go to my website and sign up for my free report and get insider information only available to people on my list. Or: Decide to remodel your house by the end on the year and save 50% on all the carpet or tiles you buy. Or stop in today and tell us you read this on our website and we’ll give you a complementary set of Xrays when you become a new patient of our dental practice.
Offering something of value gets people to take action. People want to act and when they are motivated by an offer, they act more quickly, more decisively and that can only be good for you. [click to continue…]
Yes. You bet it does. If you’ve ever used a search engine (google, bing, yahoo, etc.) think about your behavior. Say you type in: dentists in ‘my town’. What happens? Pages pop up – sometimes LOTS of them. Typing in dentists in my small city of 100,000 people pulled up 76,000 results. Sound crazy? I don’t know how many pages that equates to, but like most people, I’ll NEVER get beyond the first page.
In fact, in all likelihood, I won’t get past the first half dozen listings and probably won’t look any further than my screen is deep – on my laptop that’s about 7-8 listings. I’ll scan them all, but I’m inclined towards the ones at the top. Have you had this experience? Probably you have. What does it tell us? [click to continue…]
Listen to What THEY Want
It’s so easy to do – think that everyone likes what we do, is interested in what we’re interested in and is motivated to make decisions for the same reasons we are. Stands to reason – we can only live inside our own heads, see through our own eyes…
Good marketing however, requires that we see things through other eyes and minds – those of the intended end-user of whatever product or service we market. As I am fond of reminding people – every message needs to incorporate your USP (unique selling proposition) and what sets you apart. What does this all mean? [click to continue…]
I was talking to a good friend of mine in Sweden a couple of weeks ago – he’s a savvy marketer and a sharp businessman. We’ve often talked about the difference in technology in the US vs. Europe. When I visited him a few summers ago, I was fascinated when he paid for a parking meter and purchased items from a vending machine using his cell phone. They’ve expanded that technology to include SO many things – it’s convenient, easy, smart and I’m still waiting for it to hit stateside. [click to continue…]
Tell Your Clients They're Important
Can you think of a company, private practice or business that you deal with that you feel really good about? Why? What makes it stand out?
How do you choose who you do business with?
General wisdom has it that bad news spreads ten times as fast as good news does. When people are dissatisfied they tell the immediate world. When they’re happy, they tend to be a bit quieter. That’s human nature, but as business owners, we need to work with that.
Call me old-fashioned, (or a geek – hey I DVR Jeopardy) but I think having customers, clients and patients that feel thrilled about the conscientious and quality service they get is really important. I value it with the people I do business with and I aim to provide that for my clients. What can you do to set yourself apart? To really provide great service and be sure that the people who do business with you know you value them? Here are a couple of simple suggestions: Click Here: Quick Reading Tips
