Nearing the home straight now, so stick with me.
To date we have focused on sorting the 3 key fundamental foundation stones of your BRAND and then looked at selecting the appropriate TACTICS that will help you attract the right type of client to your business. It is important to do things in this order and not rush straight to the printer and order 10,000 fliers for a mass mail out. Not only will you potentially waste your money, you may do irreparable damage to your image in the market.
That said, what should the message in your marketing communications say and are there any “secret sauce” ways to capture people’s attention? Especially in these days of spam filters, “NO JUNK MAIL” signs, low uptake of newspapers and magazines and general resistance to traditional advertising. Step 6 is all about making sure your message is as memorable and effective as possible. A formula I use quite often in writing marketing copy (home web page, advertisement, flier, letter) is I.E.E.O.
What these letters stand for are:
I – Interrupt. What is a REALLY eye catching headline that will stop someone in their tracks
E – Engage. One or two supporting headlines that push a particular “hot button” of your target client
E – Educate. Some interesting facts that indicate how you can help the prospect. Possibly a bullet point list
O – Offer. What is your clear call-to-cation? How can you move the prospect to the next lowest risk step.
This basic format can be used for many different marketing media and is also very good when selling services, which many trades based businesses are mostly composed of. Give it a go and monitor the results! I am sure that with a few tweaks and variations, you will produce a more compelling message.
The finishing line in this little marketing journey is approaching. That finishing line (Step 7) is to put all these steps we have been talking about into some sort of PLAN. Not a 50 page document that never sees the light of day, but a few pages of the key strategies and tactics, and perhaps a spreadsheet to map out your actual tactical activities on a month-by-month basis. It will serve as a reminder about what makes your company special, the types of clients you want to focus on and what their fears, frustrations, wants and desires are. It will also encourage you to think ahead and not wait until the well is dry before you start to dig another. Oh, and have fun! This is supposed to be the fun part of business.
Drop me an email at andy@tradescoach.co.nz if you want a hand to put this plan together. I have a simple template that may help.
Andy Burrows – The Trades Coach
PS. I was kidding about the finish line! This was only lap #1 of a marathon. Go around again and make some improvements and changes on your marketing plan next year, and the year after that. Once you get your second wind, it will seem a lot easier.