You recently hired a top notch marketing firm to put together a marketing piece for you and boy did it look good. It was full of color, presented beautifully, eye-catching, full of information, the works! However, it has been a few weeks now since you first sent it out and you haven't gotten any responses to it. Nothing. The reality is that you feel disappointed and discouraged.
Lots of marketing companies and people get caught up in the artistic side of marketing pieces that they don't realize the point of it all: to get customers. Throughout the process, many of them make deadly mistakes that end up costing their client big time in the end. Go through the following 5 common, but fatal, marketing mistakes and see if any of them have applied to your business; it could mean lots of money for you.
Mistake #1 " Your marketing piece talks about you or your company, not how your client can benefit from your product or services. When a prospect is going through their mail, they dont really want to know what you and your business have been doing (unless, perhaps, they are your competition). They glance at your marketing piece with one question in mind: Whats in it for me? And that determines whether your marketing piece gets kept or goes into the trash.
An effective marketing piece should be attractive, but it should also clearly tell the prospect how they will benefit if they use your product or services. Try bullet pointing the benefits so they really pop.
Mistake #2 - Being too cute or too clever. Your customers do not know you and therefore really don't appreciate cleverness or cuteness the way your family and friends do. Be professional and compelling in a marketing piece. This will ensure that your piece doesn't end up in the trash.
Remember that content is as important as clever and cutesy. Give the prospect a reason to keep your marketing mail. Make your marketing piece informative, helpful or a reminder"make it meaningful to your customers.
Mistake #3 " Your marketing piece contained no offer or reason to respond. This is one of the most common mistakes most marketers make. They dont give the customer any reason to take action.
A marketing piece should be developed to get a certain response within a certain amount of time. This is why some of the greatest marketing pieces, like the ones from Macy's or Best Buy, include coupons to receive special discounts or rates that always have an expiration date. Follow the leaders and do as they do and you will have their level of success.
Mistake #4 - There are no testimonials. Testimonials from real customers are powerful tools. They let prospects know that you are as good as you say you are, giving you more credibility. In addition, they make the customer want to join the club.
Mistake #5 - You make no promises. Customers don't like risk, and they don't like new. If they have never tried you, they are probably uncertain of what exactly they are going to get. So, give them a guarantee that they'll be satisfied or you will quickly resolve the issue in some way. This will make them feel more comfortable and will make them more willing to try you out. By the way, your product or service should deliver what it promises; otherwise you shouldn't be in business.
Hopefully all of this information was helpful in determining why a particular marketing piece has or has not worked for your business. Make adjustments to your marketing pieces if you aren't getting result, starting with the mistakes mentioned here, and then see where your business can go.
Lots of marketing companies and people get caught up in the artistic side of marketing pieces that they don't realize the point of it all: to get customers. Throughout the process, many of them make deadly mistakes that end up costing their client big time in the end. Go through the following 5 common, but fatal, marketing mistakes and see if any of them have applied to your business; it could mean lots of money for you.
Mistake #1 " Your marketing piece talks about you or your company, not how your client can benefit from your product or services. When a prospect is going through their mail, they dont really want to know what you and your business have been doing (unless, perhaps, they are your competition). They glance at your marketing piece with one question in mind: Whats in it for me? And that determines whether your marketing piece gets kept or goes into the trash.
An effective marketing piece should be attractive, but it should also clearly tell the prospect how they will benefit if they use your product or services. Try bullet pointing the benefits so they really pop.
Mistake #2 - Being too cute or too clever. Your customers do not know you and therefore really don't appreciate cleverness or cuteness the way your family and friends do. Be professional and compelling in a marketing piece. This will ensure that your piece doesn't end up in the trash.
Remember that content is as important as clever and cutesy. Give the prospect a reason to keep your marketing mail. Make your marketing piece informative, helpful or a reminder"make it meaningful to your customers.
Mistake #3 " Your marketing piece contained no offer or reason to respond. This is one of the most common mistakes most marketers make. They dont give the customer any reason to take action.
A marketing piece should be developed to get a certain response within a certain amount of time. This is why some of the greatest marketing pieces, like the ones from Macy's or Best Buy, include coupons to receive special discounts or rates that always have an expiration date. Follow the leaders and do as they do and you will have their level of success.
Mistake #4 - There are no testimonials. Testimonials from real customers are powerful tools. They let prospects know that you are as good as you say you are, giving you more credibility. In addition, they make the customer want to join the club.
Mistake #5 - You make no promises. Customers don't like risk, and they don't like new. If they have never tried you, they are probably uncertain of what exactly they are going to get. So, give them a guarantee that they'll be satisfied or you will quickly resolve the issue in some way. This will make them feel more comfortable and will make them more willing to try you out. By the way, your product or service should deliver what it promises; otherwise you shouldn't be in business.
Hopefully all of this information was helpful in determining why a particular marketing piece has or has not worked for your business. Make adjustments to your marketing pieces if you aren't getting result, starting with the mistakes mentioned here, and then see where your business can go.
About the Author:
Riche Goldmann is a marketing guru and has consulted numerous firms, helping them to grow their businesses from small to large. He has utilized VistaPrint for alot of the marketing materials that he has put together. While he doesn't always use VistaPrint, he admits that they are a great buy when you don't have a large budget to work with.
