Tag Archives: product

Is Your Marketing Believable? Ask Yourself These Questions

by Peter Geisheker

One of the big problems I see in advertising today, particularly on the Internet, is the believability factor. When I see an advertisement, email, or sales letter that sounds too good to be true, I instantly ignore it. There is so much snake oil being sold in the world today, especially on the Internet, that when I see big claims made for anything, I ignore them as being junk.

For example, today I received an email with the subject line saying, “How to double your business.” My instant response was, “yeah sure, BS” and I hit the delete key. Then I received another email with the subject line saying, “FREE CHEAT SHEET: My 10 Most Important Business Insights This Decade.” My response was, “yeah right, if you are such a business genius, why are you sending out spam emails like this instead of having a cover story done on you in the Wall Street Journal?” Delete.

Many marketers seem to think that for their advertising to get a person’s attention, they have to make huge claims about their product/service being the best thing since the invention of the automobile and that it will change the world. The problem with that type of marketing is, NOBODY BELIEVES YOU! People are becoming so desensitized to big claims that they ignore them.

So, as a marketer what do you do? How do you mark your marketing and advertising more believable? Well, first of all, stop saying what you have is the best the world has ever seen. It’s not. And even if it was, people would not believe you. Every company says what they are selling is the best, so there is no believability any more. It is just corporate hype and goes in one ear and out the other.

The second thing you can do is tone it down a bit. Saying you can increase a company’s manufacturing output by 6% over 10 months is far more believable than saying you will increase a company’s manufacturing output by 50% in a week. The first claim sounds like it could possibly be true. The second claim sounds too good to be true, so it will in all likelihood be ignored. Do not use whole numbers. An increase in profits of 6.2% sounds far more believable than 10%, 15% or 20%.

Another marketing tactic you can use is to include testimonials where your customers state how your product or service helped them. For example, “I bought the XYZ Widget from ABC Company and now my zipzopadoodler is not breaking down anymore and it is producing 3.8% more zibblyboos each month. Thank you ABC Company for making a great product I can rely on. Joe Doe, COO, Zibblyboo, Inc.” And finally, use brief case studies that prove quantitatively how your product or service has helped a customer. It does not have to be long; 3-4 paragraphs is fine. The key is that your case study is believable and not over-hyped so your prospects can put themselves in the shoes of your clients and say, “I have that same problem and it sounds like this product/service is exactly what I need.”

About the Author

Peter Geisheker is the CEO of The Geisheker Group Marketing Firm. Peter develops and implements strategic marketing programs for businesses of all sizes with a specialty in law firm marketing. For a no-obligation quote, contact The Geisheker Group marketing firm today. www.geisheker.com (920) 471-1638.

Using Promotional Products to Capture New Clients

Crayons for the Kids

by Roberto Bell

Starting a new business presents a wealth of marketing opportunities. But getting new clients is a costly and time-consuming undertaking.  Even if you have a large marketing budget, you need to evaluate the most efficient use of it. You could splash out on mass media advertising, or you could do something more personal like using promotional products to get customer buying from you.

Why Promotional Products are an Effective Marketing Tool

There is such a wide variety of promotional products that no matter what your budget, there is certain to be something that fits within it. Sometimes the simplest and most inexpensive promotional items are the most effective. People love receiving gifts, and promotional products are essentially gifts that you give to potential customers. A gift sends a message that the recipient is important to you and when people feel valued, they are more inclined to give you their attention. Once you have someone’s attention, you can sell your product by explaining the benefits to them. Some people may feel obligated to buy your product after receiving a gift. While it is never a good idea to resort to bribery techniques, this can be a subtle way to introduce your products to customers who may otherwise be a little resistant to trying something new. The promotional product can be a way of capturing their interest, getting them to consider your product and possibly try it out.  Promotional products can also be gimmicky. If you make people laugh or give them something pleasant to remember you by, they will be more likely to buy from you again in the future.

How to Choose Promotional Products that Will Capture New Customers

Since you started a new business, you should have researched your target market and have an idea as to your customer profile. This should include your customers’ buying behavior, personal interests, social status and so on. Look for promotional products that fit your client profile. For example, if your profile is young working mothers, think of a promotional product that will help them organize their busy lives. This could be something like a pocket notebook and pen set that they can fit into their hand bag. It could be a shopping tote, or a fridge magnet that doubles as a shopping list.  Think of a product that will be useful to your customer. Every time they use the product, they will see your branding and think of your company and products.  If your target market has different segments, use a range of products to match the profiles of each segment. A businessman will most likely have little use for a notebook as he probably carries an electronic device but a protective cell phone pouch may be useful to him. It is also important to choose products that represent your company well. Use colors that match your company logo and branding. Go for quality products that reflect your company’s level of professionalism.

Use Promotional Products to get new Customers’ Attention

As a new business, you have a great opportunity to be creative in your marketing efforts. An effective promotional product campaign can stick in customers minds for months. Small things that may even be gimmicky can capture a customer’s attention, and that is all your need in order to be able to sell to them. Know what you want to achieve with your promotion. Know how you want to approach clients, what role the promotional product will play in helping you sell your products, and how you will pitch your customers in a non-threatening way once you have their attention. You can even flaunt convention a bit and do something unusual. In this way, you can make customers come to you by arousing their curiosity. Using promotional products as clues to the launch of a new product creates a treasure hunt effect that gets potential customers involved in the sale. By the time they discover what the product is, you have them so intrigued that they usually do not resist too much when an offer is made for them to purchase it.

Promotional products are valuable marketing tools that can be used as stand-alone campaigns or in conjunction with a broader advertising strategy. Promotional products have proven very effective as a tool for getting customers’ attention so that you can communicate your marketing message to them. Promotional products also reinforce the marketing message and provide valuable branding opportunities for a new business. Effective use of them can help a new business to capture good quantities of new customers.

AdLeap.com is your online promotions specialists. Their skilled experts have endless resources that can assist you with the promotional products for your next event. Visit online today.

Article Source: http://www.article-buzz.com

Keep Old Customers Coming Back

42-16614137It is always going to be faster, easier, and cheaper to get your existing customers to buy than to lure in new customers.

Give your customers a new reason to buy again. Offer the service or product they have bought before, but this time with an added incentive. You not only design the web site, but also promote it for the first month.

Big discount stores like Kmart and Walmart have discovered the truth in this system. You’ll notice they go wide but not very deep. Instead of selling six different styles of can openers, they sell just one or two types of 60 different kitchen utensils.

Use this same principle to maintain your business’ niche focus while bringing existing customers more and more related products.

Each time you add a new related product to your line, blast out another email to your customer base announcing your addition .

Kevin Nunley provides marketing and copy writing. Read all his free tips at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at kevin@drnunley.com or (801)328-9006.