1. A clearly identified target market You need to know who your best prospects are. And it’s not “anyone who will pull out a credit card and buy my product or service.” Without this understanding, you’re setting yourself up for map-wide marketing efforts that keep failing.
Why? Because “beige” marketing won’t grab your prospect’s attention.
Take a chiropractor as an example. There are tons of chiropractors out there. Now, you can hang out as a chiropractor and take on any other chiropractor who hasn’t clearly identified an ideal potential target.
Or, for example, you can focus your marketing on helping people who love going to spin classes maintain a healthy spine. THAT is your target market. Their web copy, ads, emails, and other marketing efforts are focused on alerting people who engage in this type of activity to the potential long-term damage they could incur without proper chiropractic maintenance.
And, along the way, you’ll pick up additional patients who have other chiropractic needs.
2. Appropriate means to reach them Continuing with the chiropractor example above, the best way to reach your target might be direct mail. Or, it could be advertising in fitness magazines or the local suburban newspaper. You may find that one of the dealer coupon books (with a properly written coupon, of course) is the answer.
There are no good or bad means.
What you’re trying to do is figure out which ones give you the best chance of cutting out all the noise and getting the attention of your best prospects. And avoid unique marketing. You need to use sequential marketing and a mix of media.
3. A compelling message By this I mean, stay away from the blah blah one size fits all marketing you see everywhere. That’s a generalization I’m not qualified to use because most marketing messages are weak. Without a message that stands out, you’ll get lost in a sea of ”see all my great products and services” nonsense that will make your target’s eyes roll over.
4. An “irresistible” offer 20% discount is NOT an irresistible offer. It’s also not ‘hey, if you give us your business, we’ll get it to you on time.’ Really? Am I not supposed to get that?
Still, for new prospects to step up and express some interest, give you permission to sell to them, you need a little romance. First and second base stuff.
For example, our chiropractor friend might offer a free report titled 10 Ways Spin Cyclists Can Avoid Long-Term Spinal Damage along with an audio CD of “Interviews with Top Physiologists, Doctors, and Personal Trainers on How to Make Your Spin spin cycling is safe.
5. A means of response and “catch” This, as they say, is a biggee. It never ceases to amaze me how many marketers drop the ball on this. And, make no mistake, this is a VERY expensive mistake.
Your interested ‘high probability leads’ need easy, non-threatening ways to respond. Very few are buying the first time.
That means you need a way to open a line of communication so you can continue to market to them. Some will be happy to call a recorded message. Fill out a response card. Send a coupon by mail.
And if you’re directing people to your website, make sure you have a way to “capture” at least the prospect’s name and email address. Otherwise, how will you keep that sales opportunity alive?
I know there’s someone out there thinking, ‘Hey Gerry, I’ve been added to your Favorites tab.’ Seriously, outside of her website, online banking and Google Analytics, when was the last time she ran to the bookmarks bar to highlight a website she visited 3 months ago? Next.
6. Short-Term Multi-Step Tracking Well, our chiropractor friend offers the free report on his website. Your offer should carry with it a second “irresistible” offer, tied to the next step you want the prospect to take, like calling to schedule a checkup or coming into the office for a free consultation.
Then, a series of email, phone, and fax follow-up “keys” are tied to the expiration date of the second offer.
This activity involves the prospect who, don’t forget, first raised his or her hand in responding to the report and identified himself or herself as a qualified prospect for the chiropractor’s services.
7. Ongoing tracking of unconverted leads There are many reasons why people don’t respond immediately. That doesn’t mean they won’t eventually. You need to stay in touch with them in a way that is meaningful (to them) so that when they DO decide to move on, they see you as someone who has helped them on their journey to finding a solution.
So, there you have it: basic marketing system.
Now, you may be thinking…those damn “gurus” are right: creating a marketing system is complicated or too much work or not right for your business.
But stop and think for a minute.
Shouldn’t there be SOME sophistication in a system that will free you from the random acts and erratic results of mind-numbing cold calling and wasteful advertising FOREVER?
You don’t have to do it all at once. And you don’t have to do it all by yourself.
But, if you want to circle around your competition and leave them wondering what hit them, you might want to give it some serious thought.
