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Are You Making These Two Massive Marketing Mistakes?
At first, trying to market to your target market may seem as confusing and confounding as trying to understand the opposite sex
. What you think will work turns them off. What you like may not be what they want. Embarrassing and costly mistakes are common. But savvy and successful entrepreneurs know the seductive secrets that produce results (and a bulging bank account!)The sad truth is most rookie entrepreneurs aren't in on the secret. Even long-time entrepreneurs who struggle are still confused why making money the fast, fun and easy way seems to flow only towards a select few.
If marketing makes you cringe and feel inauthentic, I understand. At first it may feel unnatural and uncomfortable pitching yourself or your product. That's why it's easy to slip into these two most common marketing blunders. But, not to worry - there's a solution! I'm about to show you how to become one of the wealthy entrepreneurs "in the know."
Massive Mistake #1 - I, Me, Mine Marketing
In order to motivate people to buy from you, you have to get out of your head and into their world. The secret is to tell your compelling marketing message from their point of view - not yours.
The big mistake is trapping yourself in "I, me, mine" thinking. Have you ever been on a first date and the other person yapped on and on about themselves the whole time? You get that fake, plastered smile on your face as you politely nod but all the while your head is screaming, "Get me the hell out of here!"
But if your website headline says "Welcome" or you hog your header with your logo and company name...you're doing the same thing to your visitors. Not cool.
There's a sneaky variation of this mistake coaches and consultants slip into...talking about their process, not the end result. Coaches love to talk about things like: core values, awakening, abundance, inner peace, etc. But this is abstract language relevant to the insular world of other coaches.
The mistake is going on and on about the PROCESS of coaching - not what you get as an end result of the coaching, which is what the target market really cares about.
It's equivalent to a bunch of computer geeks standing around a vending machine relishing in their techno babble while waiting for their Twinkie to pop out.
Here's an analogy I share with my clients that will help you avoid this mistake...
Imagine you have a "Magic Room." It's about twenty feet long with an entrance at one end and an exit at the other. Your target market approaches the entrance - as they reach for the doorknob you see how burdened they are. It's like they're dragging a ball and chain with heavy bricks on their backs.
They slowly open the door and walk inside...
As they walk through your Magic Room, step-by-step, they experience a miraculous transformation. The ball and chain disintegrate. The bricks turn to dust. They start to stand up straight.
By the time they reach the exit, they're skipping and singing.
Now...think of this Magic Room when you market your business. There are three parts: before your market walks in the door (their problem), as they're walking through the room (your process), and after they walk out (the end result.)
Here's the deal...nobody else cares about the methods you use as they walk through your Magic Room. So don't focus your marketing message on your process. (I understand the temptation because this is the fun part for you.) All your market cares about is who they'll be when they walk out complete... what they'll have.
Bottom Line Solution: Stop telling us what your product is. Tell us what it does - the end result we'll receive when we use your product or service.
Massive Mistake #2 - Madison Avenue Marketing
On the other extreme of the scale is trying to be so hip with your marketing that you end up leaving the audience going, "Huh?" I know you've seen those chic (very expensive) perfume ads in Vogue that don't show a perfume bottle. Or the flashy colorful commercial, and at the end, you don't even remember what they were selling.
It would be like if you sold drill bits and spent tens of thousands of dollars on a billboard ad that was all white, except for a big black dot in the center. And underneath the ominous spot you put the word "HOLE." And that's it. No call to action - just a super-small, illegible website in the bottom right corner.
Ad agencies on Madison Avenue strive to be clever, coy and ber-cool. (Read: abstract and confusing.) This is the realm of big companies with lots of money to waste (um...I mean "invest"). It's embarrassing when amateurs try to play the same, pointless game.
Beginning entrepreneurs love trying to be clever at the expense of being clear. I call it getting lost in "Cleverland" - a dense, deceptively dangerous foreign place. If you're splitting hairs over the font color of your logo, you're lost in Cleverland. If your tag line has a hidden meaning known only to you, you're lost in Cleverland. If you're obsessed to get an acronym to define your business, you're lost in Cleverland.
I believe branding is important...but ONLY after you're clear on what you sell, who it's for and how you can compel them to buy because your offer is compelling, with proven benefits. Trying to position you as an expert with only cool graphics is weak...and unnecessary.
Bottom Line Solution: Stop worrying about font and design. Get results first in your business and then think about making things pretty. If you want to impress your prospects, give them a clean, clear offer they can't refuse, that solves their immediate problem in plain English - and back it up with proof from testimonials and case studies.
The Secret "Sweet Spot" Solution - Direct Response Marketing
Like a successful lover, savvy entrepreneurs are "in the know" because they:
Market from the point of view of their target market - not their own. (They listen to what the other wants.) Focus on the long-term value of the client. (They make a sale so they get a customer - not get a customer so they make a sale.) Test over and over how best to get a direct response from their market - not try to impress them with slick graphics. (They find the "sweet spot" of their audience that gets them to take action.) Emphasize the benefits more than the process (They share the emotions the other will feel after they have the product or service.) Talk in straightforward, authentic language (They seduce because they are real and approachable.)
Copyright (c) 2009 James Roche
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