Marketing Strategy #2
Use the testimonials of other satisfied customers to help pre-sell your prospects.
Testimonials are one of the most powerful tools any business owner can use, but also one of the most under-utilized.
Testimonials are not limited to any one type of advertising or promotional media. Websites, Television ads, radio announcements, newspaper layouts and infomercials all make use of testimonials.
Your own clients are some of the best sources of endorsement you could possibly want. Especially if they are known to those you are marketing to, or if they have something else in common… perhaps they live in the same town, have similar businesses, belong to the same organization or association, etc.
There are really only three reasons people don’t buy from you.
1. They have no use for your product or service.
2. They can’t afford your product or service.
3. You haven’t developed the level of trust, credibility, and believability they need in you to do business with you.
There’s not much you can do if a prospect can’t use or pay for your services. But there is a lot you can do to help wipe away the underlying layers of skepticism they bring to the relationship and establish the trust level they need to say “Okay” to your offer.
People don’t like to be the first to do anything… especially if it involves parting with their hard-earned money. And, they don’t like to be manipulated. The sales world is full of hype and promotion, and oftentimes, false and misleading promotion.
If your customer or prospect can see that others have done what they are being asked to do, or that others are currently doing it, they tend to feel more safe, and will be more likely to participate. But you first have to relieve any nervousness they may have of being “taken.”
Testimonials are not difficult to get. One of the most effective ways is to send users of your products or services a questionnaire or evaluation form that asks for their feedback on how they’ve benefited from using the product or service.
The questions should be in “open-ended” form, and ask for them to write their feelings about their experience with your product or the service they received from you, and not just for “yes” or “no” answers.
Another effective method is to call your clients on the telephone and record the conversation (with their permission, of course).
Then you can transcribe the parts you want to use, and send a copy to them for their approval and authorization.
Often, after a brief warm up conversation, people will forget the tape is running, open up and give you all kinds of good, useable information that can be edited for use as a testimonial.
Using testimonials is one of the most effective ways you can eliminate fear, increase the believability and credibility of your offer, and add to the number of sales or inquiries to your advertisements or promotions. Whatever you do, don’t overlook this important and valuable tool!
The process of getting people to do business with you is called “marketing.” Unfortunately for many businesses, this process, as critical as it is to the success of the business, is one of the tools business owner’s least understands.
Marketing… effective marketing… the kind that produces inquiries about your offer, adds customers and increases your profits, is not just a matter of placing a online banners, pay per click advertisement, couple of ads in the newspaper or sending out some mailings.
And it’s not creating a beautiful brochure that describes the company, the president and the products and services offered by your business.
Results-producing marketing… the kind you want for your business… is a combined and coordinated effort of a number of factors.
But what about the economy? Doesn’t that have something to do with how a business approaches marketing?
It certainly does, there’s no question about it. The economy, and how it’s performing, does have a real impact on businesses and how they should approach their marketing efforts. And here’s where a lot of businesses get in trouble.
When the economy is down, most businesses stop, or drastically slow down their marketing efforts.
Then, without new customers coming on board, existing customers making repeat or additional purchases, and past customers returning, the company’s business drops off even further.
Fewer customers making purchases automatically translates into less profits. Less profits, of course, means less available funds for marketing, and before you know it, a vicious cycle develops with a downward trend.
When times are tough, is not the time to cut back on your marketing efforts. Sure other businesses do it. But people still have the need or the want for your products and services.
So, when other businesses are cutting back, that’s the ideal time for you to forge ahead, and increase your marketing efforts. It’s the one time you will have the least competition for your customer’s attention.
On the other hand, when times are good… when the economy is booming, good marketing… effective marketing can blow the socks off your competition.
Why?
Because your competition doesn’t understand the difference between the marketing they’ve always used, and high-impact marketing that’s accountable and that produces results. And if they keep on doing the kind of marketing they’ve always done, and you move on to more effective types of marketing, they don’t stand a chance.
Marketing can consist of many forms. Some involve money, some involve personnel and some involve a certain commitment of time. Some work well in good economic times, and others work better in a down economy.
Here are four usable marketing efforts that work well in any economic climate. These strategies can be put to work in your business today, and help move your business forward regardless of the economy or your available financial resources.
Marketing Strategy #1
“Do what you do so well, that when others see you do it, they want to see you do it again, and will bring others to see you do it.”
That quote comes from Walt Disney. It was the strategy he used for marketing Disneyland, and he said it could apply to any business, regardless of what that business sold or offered.
Broken down to its individual components, it means this:
“Do what you do….” That’s what you do… not what anyone else does. It’s important that you do the things you (or your business) does the best. While it’s okay to emulate other successful businesses and copy some of the traits that made them successful, you should adopt those traits, add your own personality and adapt them to your business.
Do what you do… “so well….” That means excellence…not mediocrity. If you’re going to do something in business, do it with excellence. No longer is it possible to maintain…long-term, a competitive advantage because of your product or the price you charge. We live in a “me-too” world, where your customers can buy the same or very similar products to what you offer from any number of other suppliers for the same or less money. You must do what you do very well.
“…when others see you do it….” “Others” means your customers…the people who buy your products and/or services. When they see you do what you do (or buy what you sell, or deal with your company)… they,
“…want to see you do it again….” We call that, “repeat business.” Your offer was so good, or the way you dealt with your customers was so unique, that they want to come back for more… to see you do it again. Not only that, but they will…
“…bring others to see you do it.” That’s called “referral business.” When your customers like what you do and bring others to experience it, that business costs you nothing in hard marketing costs. It’s a result of word-of-mouth. It’s a personal endorsement of your products or services from a satisfied user. That’s the sincerest form of flattery, and the best form of advertising you can get.
You’re not trying to “meet” your customer’s expectations… you want to “exceed” them… to give them more than what they expected. Similar products and services can all be expected to perform in similar fashion. But when it comes to the attention, care and service we receive, we all have our perceptions of what “good” means.
Keep in your mind a balance scale. On one side of the scale mentally put the dollar amount you charge for your products and services.
On the other side of the scale, your service. Make sure that the “service” of the scale always outweighs the “price” side. Be sure you always give more service than the customer perceives they should be getting from their transaction with you.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself that will help you determine how well you’re doing:
• Do I offer the best quality product or service I possibly can?
• What can I do to improve it?
• What is the best benefit to my customers that each of my products or services have to offer?
• How can I better convey that to my customers?
• What can I offer my customer above and beyond the product or service they purchased?
• Do my customers trust the advice and suggestions they get from my staff, and do they feel comfortable dealing with us?
• Why should they do business with my establishment instead of any and all options they have, including doing nothing?
• Would I purchase this product or service if I were in the market for it?
• Would I purchase it from my company if I didn’t own, or work for the company?
• Would I feel comfortable referring my friends, relatives and associates to this company?
The answers to these questions can help you determine where you need to make changes that will benefit both you and your customers, and add substantially to your bottom line.
Four Hot Marketing Strategies, No Matter What Condition The Economy Is In
The bottom line of all businesses is to make a profit. That’s why a business exists in the first place. It sounds nice for someone to say that the reason they’re in business is to help other people, or to provide some needed service, but in the end the real bottom line is that the business owner wants and needs to realize a profit on his or her investment.
Profits are what drive businesses and allow them to provide more goods and services, create more jobs and expand the economy. Profits are what allow the philanthropist to continue giving and providing relief and humanitarian service to others.
There are many factors that affect profits, not the least of which is customers purchasing goods and services provided by the business. Without customers making purchases, there simply would not be a business.
If a business expects to remain in business for any length of time, or to grow, the business owner must master the skill of getting customers to do business with them.
That includes new customers… those with whom they have never done business before; current or existing customers… those who patronize the business regularly; and past customers…those who have done business before, but may have taken their business elsewhere.
