Monthly Archives: May 2014

What Is Your Value Proposition?

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Value proposition“Whether you market to consumers or businesses you gotta have one,” said Gail, our copy guru, over lunch.

“How’s that different from a position or a tagline?” said Chris.

“Usually it’s longer than either but may include elements of both. It is a promise. It tells the potential customer what expectations will be fulfilled when they buy from you. It is a clear statement, usually a paragraph in length.

It has to clearly answer these questions:

  1. What product or service is your company selling?
  2. What benefit do I (or my company) get out of using it?
  3. Am I the target customer/user it is intended for?
  4. Is it for specific need, use or occasion?
  5. How is yours unique from the alternatives?

Right about there I jumped in saying, “But what is the answer to Chris’s question?”

Gail looked over her glasses at me and said, “Let me give you the way I test a value proposition. I print it out and show it to someone that might have use for it and have them read it and wait for their reaction. If they want to know more I ask why. If they don’t understand it I go back to the keyboard. If they ask the price I know I’m on the right track.

Before I go that far though I make sure that:

  • It is easily understood
  • It tells me in concrete terms what I’m going to get when I buy and use it.
  • I know how it is different from competitor offerings
  • There’s no hype, no superlatives and no insider jargon
  • It takes only a few seconds to read.

Rick who had been watching and stuffing his face with a burger asked, “So where do I use this wonderful thing?”

All of us looked at Gail. She sniffed and said, “It should be on the home page or landing page of your web site and, incidentally should be tested before put it up there. It should, in some form, be on most pages of your website not to mention in just about every form of communications you use. The trick is to vary it just enough to make it fresh and interesting in all those places.

Jerry Fletcher has just switched to WordPress for his blog. Once he is over the frustration of working in a new software the blog will continue with new material. Find out more about Jerry at www.JerryFletcher.com

Need a speaker? Looking for someone that knows marketing from frustration to fabulous? Call Jerry at 800 533-2893 Toll free or learn more at www.NetworkingNinja.com

How To Get Inside A Prospect’s Head

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Inside a prospect head“Yup, I got some feedback after last week’s description blog,” I said as the troops found their way to the table.

“The best was something I had not considered… where the prospect is in the process and how they got here.”

“Wait a minute,” Rick said, “I think we’ve talked about that before”

“True,” I said, “But let me give you the five things that
I’ve mushed the comments into:

  • Map Their Journey

    • Shove The Statistics

      • Shine a Light on it

        • Keep Your Focus

          • Give ‘em what matters… to them

Let’s take those one at a time

Map their journey

“I’ve got this one” Rick said.  “There’s a lot about this in the Direct
marketing press these days. It’s another way to say you need to know the
process your buyer goes through to be able to address their needs at any point
they happen to be in the purchase cycle. The thing that is new is the emphasis
on sticking with folks once they appear to opt out. Those that are currently customers need to have their actions or requests for information or changes in their data seen as possible indicators of other significant changes. This is when you need to ask what is going on and provide solutions.”

“Shove the Statistics…
I like the sound of that,” said Gail.

“You would,” I replied. What that boils down to is using
empathy.”

“Got it,” she said. What you are really talking about is
instead of describing a single 68 year old woman who is a college graduate with
annual income of $100,000. You shift to something like: This is your aunt
Hattie who is living off Uncle Herbert’s pension since he died. She likes being
comfortable. She has maintained her interest in Europe and shopping and is
planning for one last adventure before she sells the house and moves into an
assisted living facility.”

“Yup”

“Shine a light on it… is mine,“  said Kate. “The easiest way to do that is to
realize we all have blind spots. Jim Grew did a great article on this
not long ago. The words that stuck in my mind were:

Review your latest customer ratings in a management

team meeting. Where the ratings are poor, make a note when you decide something is “an isolated instance.” Then dig into it.

The important thing is you need to look at every point of contact with a client or prospect—really look at it. Don’t just give it lip service.”

Keep your Focus…”tha’s mine.” said Rob, our Brand master. Y’all need to stay focused on building a relationship with prospects and customers. Do not think of them as a cash machine. You need to speak in their language and confront their concerns and objections in ways that are understandable to them. If you have a personality that shines through in your brand, keep it up. If you are known for a specific way of doing business, keep on keepin’ on. When y’all start changin’ things it makes folks uncomfortable anda lot easier for your competitors to step in and sell them something. In short, protect your brand.”

Give ‘em what matters…to them

“I’ll wrap it up,” I said. The easiest way to plug this into your organization is to have anyone that serves the customer write down what they think is going right and wrong in their contacts.  Sometimes it helps to know where in the buying process they are which a good CRM System can help with.

More importantly, regularly ask customers how you could do it better. Forget surveys and little boxes to check off. Ask them and then shut up and listen. Really listen. Sometimes the small change they suggest, when implemented, can have a huge impact.

Jerry and his luncheon companions will be back next week. It will probably
be a discussion about the digital marketing world. Chris will be back from a
well-earned break.

Jerry Fletcher calls himself a Contact Relationship Magician who starts
where the software stops to build automated marketing campaigns that build
business for “Little guys”  Learn more at www.JerryFletcher.com

Jerry is also a professional Keynote speaker. More at www.NetworkingNInja.com

Copyright 2014, Z-axis Marketing,Inc. All rights reserved.

How to Understand Your Ideal Client in 25 Questions.

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“Once again I heard someone asked to define their ideal
client.” I said.

 

Ideal client Questions“So, you bit your tongue and did not get involved in the
marketing conversation ,” said Gail.

“Not quite,” said Kate. “I was there and once I got over the
embarrassment I was proud of him.

Here are the questions he asked the new business owner:

  1. Male or female?
  2. Age—Under18, 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, 65 to 74, 75 Plus
  3. Income—Annual
  4. Disposable income
  5. Education Degree(s) Other
  6. Profession/What they do for a living
  7. Where they live
  8. Own or rent
  9. Transportation If car, what kind if other, what
  10. White Collar or Blue Collar
  11. Employed by self, government or company
  12. Size of employer (Number of employees)
  13. Employer annual sales
  14. Employer industry
  15. Ethnicity

And that was just the demographic stuff.

He went on to the psychographic stuff that really makes it possible to go find prospects:

Where do they fall on a scale from conservative to liberal when it comes to:

  • Financial matters
  • Religion
  • Politics
  • Education
  • And how does that play out in terms of their purchases and actions?
  1. What groups do they belong to?
  2. Who do they turn to for advice?
  3. Is there a group of those kinds of folks?
  4. What do they think, feel and believe about you and your product or service?
  5. What single problem you can help them solve that has made people like them buy from you in the past.
  6. What other problems (Two) do people mention that have worked with you in the past?
  7. Even when they admit they could use your product or service, what do they say is the reason to defer?
  8. If your best client, the one most like the kind you want were to describe you, what would they say?
  9. What would you want them to say?
  10. Have you looked at who is actually buying versus who you want to buy?

Are there other questions you could ask? Sure. But you have to admit those answers will give you a very clear picture.”

Jerry and the crew will return
next week. The topic will be marketing as usual. What question is on your mind?

Jerry Fletcher is a Marketing Rainmaker specializing in New Businesses, New Products and New Services. He is an expert at building professional practices, consulting and coaching businesses particularly as they productize their offerings. www.JerryFletcher.com

Jerry speaks professionally on three continents about Trust-based Marketing and how to use Networking and Contact Relationship Magic to build businesses, careers and lives of joy. Learn more at www.NetworkingNinja.com

Copyright 2012, Z-axis Marketing,Inc. All rights reserved.

How To Build A Webinar That Works

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HOw to Build a Webinar That Works
“I’ve asked Roger to join us today because he is a
nationally acclaimed expert on webinars. His company is the 1080 Group http://thevirtualpresenter.com.

Roger, what I had in mind was to ask my rowdy group of marketing advisors for their suggestions on how to build a webinar that works
and then get your take on the idea from the perspective of someone who has been
advising folks on how to do this since the 90’s. Does that work for you?” I said

“Sure.” He responded.

“Something I believe will really help is to shorten the
time commitment to 30 Minutes. Don Peppers of 1 to 1 Media and I had a
discussion about this years ago in cab hurtling down a mountain from the
airport to Medellin, Colombia for a speaking engagement. I notice that his
company has shifted to the shorter format. What’s your take?”

“Remember that webinars have a higher price than other
ways to get to prospects. The cost per lead for a webinar is higher than other
options for lead generation. The trick, regardless of length is to use the live
capabilities. Think about a few minutes of presentation and the rest of the time
on Q&A,” said Roger.

“What do you mean by live capabilities?” Kathy asked.

“You want to treat the webinar presentation as much like
if you were doing it live as you can. Shorten the intro. As soon as you can have
a dialog in the webinar. Ask a question and have them respond in the chat
panel. If you are using a technology that allows you to turn on a voice feed from
them turn it on for an individual and have a conversation.

I know you speak, Kathy. I’ve seen you. I know that you
work the room chatting with new arrivals and those that are entering before you
go on. You can do the same thing in a webinar, Roger said.

Kathy snorted and said, “How? You can’t see them. I guess
you could know they are there because people have to check in to get the
webinar on their screen. But, you still don’t know how to address them.”

Roger said, “You can tell who has checked in because it
is noted on the moderator screen. That means that both the video and audio
capabilities with them are live. All you have to do is welcome them and let them know you
are happy they are there. Notice others as they come into the virtual room. Say
hello. If the technology you are using allows switching on their audio do so
just for a moment or two. It’s easy to tell someone that you need to greet the
other newcomers to close out a conversation.”

Rick, a master networker and direct marketing icon asked,
“So how do you structure the presentation?”

I said, “How would you do it Rick?”

He said, “I would do it the same way as I would for a
live presentation but I would make sure there was something happening on the screen
and with my voice that held the audience. In fact, if I could, I would use a
presentation that had been tested that way.

One of the things that bugs me about webinars is guys
reading word slides. I tune out when that happens. I also tune out when it is
obvious they haven’t rehearsed.”

“Boy do I agree with that!” I said. “What really gets me
is that there is one slide up on screen as everyone assembles and the same
slide is there while they wait for a few stragglers and then the introduction
happens and finally a slide that has been there for ten minutes changes…to
words being read by the presenter!”

Roger smiled and said, “My work is done here. You understand
that all the things you do to make communications effective in a live format
apply here PLUS both the power and the restrictions of the technology. The key
is to think it through from the viewer’s viewpoint and then use both to your
benefit.”

The marketing mavens will return next week. As Bubba
would say, “Is there a question y’all would like to fling into the briar patch?”

Jerry Fletcher, your friendly reporter, is an
international keynote speaker. Learn more at www.NetworkingNinja.com

Jerry brings firsthand knowledge of product and business
development to professional practices, consultants, and service organizations.
He stopped counting successful new product introductions at 207. More
importantly, he knows why so many fail. Learn more at: www.JerryFletcher.com

Copyright 2012, Z-axis Marketing,Inc. All rights reserved.