10 Important Marketing Tips

Each of the following Ten Marketing Tips is based on a
highly effective but often overlooked marketing tactic.
How many are you using? How many have you overlooked?

Marketing Tip #1:

Insulate yourself against the impact of change by
increasing the number of products and services you offer
...and by using a variety of different marketing methods.
Only a small portion of your total business will be
affected if the sales of one product declines or the
response to one marketing method drops.

Marketing Tip #2:

Customers are prospects too. Stay in contact with them.
Find or develop other products or services you can offer
them. It's easier to make a sale to a previous customer
than to someone who never bought from you.

Marketing Tip #3:

Avoid making any claim that sounds exaggerated ...even if
it is true. A bold claim creates doubt in your prospect's
mind and jeopardizes the sale. Reduce any bold claims to a
more believable level.

Marketing Tip #4:

Express numerical claims as odd numbers with fractions or
decimals. For example, "Our clients save 17.7 percent"
sounds more believable than "Our clients save 20 percent"
...even if 20 percent is the accurate number.

Marketing Tip #5:

To create an absolutely irresistible offer, combine a
special discount price and a set of valuable bonuses in the
same offer.

Marketing Tip #6:

Develop a series of 4 or 5 different special offers. Use
them one at a time with an expiration deadline. When one
offer expires, replace it with the next offer and a new
deadline. Continuously recycle through the same series of
offers. This enables you to keep using special offers to
generate sales without taking time to develop new ones.

Marketing Tip #7:

If you're attracting many prospects who really don't have
(or can't get) the money to buy your product or service
...you need to change your market. Target a market where
prospects have an intense desire for the benefits produced
by your product or service AND the money to buy it.
Marketing Tip #8:
Set yourself apart from competitors by offering an
exclusive benefit your competitors cannot copy ...or one
they're not willing to copy. One business owner I know
includes his personal phone number on every order. His
competitors don't ...and they are not likely to start making
themselves that accessible to customers.

Marketing Tip #9:

Advertising copy produces the biggest response when each
reader can believe the message was written specifically for
him or her. As you write any sales message, visualize
you're writing to one person instead of to a large group of
people. This will help you write in a less formal and more
personal style.

Marketing Tip #10:

Most sales are not made on the first contact. Develop a
method to capture and save the names and contact
information of prospects who don't buy from you. Follow up
periodically. A little gentle coaching will eventually
convert many of them into buyers.
Each of these 10 marketing tips implements a simple but
highly effective marketing tactic. Take action now to apply
those you overlooked. You'll be surprised by how much
business it produces for you.

A Target Marketing / Unique Selling Proposition Article

Note from publisher: Targeting customers through a unique selling proposition (USP) is critical. Here, Steve Hill explains six ways to effectively "tell them what you do for them" with the USP.

"Don’t tell them what you do. Tell them what you do for them.” As a small business owner, service provider or medical professional, one of the biggest challenges you will face is telling others what you do. The challenge comes from the fact that most people are only interested if what you do fits what they need or want.
Otherwise they are not interested. You must tell the listener how your product or service can benefit him, and how you can do it better than others who do what you do.

This is your unique selling proposition (USP).
A great USP has these key elements:

1. Outward Focus.

Instead of talking about you, your offering or your credentials, your USP should focus outside, on the prospect or customer.

2. Targets a specific group or niche.

The best USP statements are personalized to the group or individual you are addressing. For example, when speaking to a doctor, I would say

“I help medical professionals find more profitable candidates for their elective procedures.”

When speaking to a diverse group (such as the chamber of commerce) I would be more general:

“hofcommunications designs hair-on- fire marketing programs that help you attract more clients and earn more money.”

3. Easily understood and retained.

Detailed discussion of process should be reserved for a sales presentation, and are not appropriate for an introduction.

Stating your USP clearly and quickly makes it easy for your prospect to remember you when you follow up. What you do should be self-explanatory.

4. Offers an obvious benefit.

Tell your prospect how you can ease his pain. This presupposes that you understand the problems of your target market, and have a solution.

Some people get this backward, and create a solution in search of a problem (or create a problem in search of more problems!).

5. Avoids jargon.

Engineers and purveyors of technical services love to talk the talk. Here’s one I heard recently:

“We create enterprise software for core competency implementation.” (Huh?)

Even if your target market is highly specialized, you should assume that you share only one common language – English.

6. Integrates easily with your marketing materials.

Your USP should become of your branding efforts, and should appear on all your marketing materials, including your business cards, stationary, and website and brochures. In some instances, your USP becomes your brand:

“Have it your way. At Burger King.”

Ultimately, your USP becomes your primary marketing message, your elevator speech.

Much like scriptwriters who are coached to sum up the plot in one sentence, your unique selling proposition provides a clear, concise benefit statement that positively represents you and your company, and leaves a memorable and favorable impression in the mind of your prospect.