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Clearly Unclear Old cars are like young children. Highly dependent, often naggy, hard to predict. Okay in that light, they're like older children too. Yet one of my strange old vehicles needed a windshield because it failed to avoid a 70 mph rock. Silly car. Since it was already having some other mechanical needs tended, I figured I'd get it all done at once. So, I did what any modern consumer does, I opened the Yellow Pages. HA! Good one. I went to Google, clicked the top couple of names, and actually found one that listed my glass and at a reasonable price. "Wow, I thought. This is so easy." Any time you make a statement like that to yourself, you have doomed the outcome to sheer bedlam. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Proceeding ignorantly - my favorite way - I place the order online. It totals my order, and even politely mentions, "This price includes the windshield, gasket, and all labor. If we find you don't need a new gasket, this amount will be deducted." Soooo easy, said the Titanic's most oblivious passenger. Afterward, it asks me to pick a "convenient" time. I scan for the option that says, "Never" but then notice THEY can go to the CAR while it's in the mechanical repair shop. "Now that IS convenient!" I say to myself, like getting a ride to a Vampire's blood drive, with much the same outcome. So, I have the part, the installation price, the date, the place... it's all set! Whoohoo. The internet makes things SO EASY. Soon after the "confirmation" email (translation: "a wild guess with legal language attached") things went weird. Their CSR (translation: Customer Service Repellant) called. From there, all online promises were off, chuckled at in their dismissal. Just goes to show two things: a) Your marketing and your service had better be consistent, and b) The internet's 'ease' of commerce is commensurate relative to the 'ease' of any customer's communication with the world. Case in point... |
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Yes, me, Mr. Chatty has been reduced to "wow". The call with Bob Bly on "What's Working in Email Marketing Today" was 1 hour and 4 minutes of craziness.
He covered 36 slides, full of examples, trends, WARNINGS, and pure response-driven delight in the world of email marketing. The workbook alone was 20 pages. If you can't extract your entire year's value out of this one call, something is messed up!
Here's a link to the replay and the workbook - get it here.
Thanks for being a member of the only monthly marketing program for contactors in the United States. We're happy to serve you.
Tell your friends, colleagues, and discussion boards to go here so they can see how you're getting so smart!
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| Your Marketing Message Isn't About You |
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Your marketing message is one leg of a three-legged stool that also includes market and media, and it's a fundamental building block for a successful marketing program. Do you know your message? Sadly, many contractors don't.
We critique thousands of ads and letters here and find the most glaringly poor examples all focus the message on themselves. It's "we" this and "our" that and it all comes off as a brag-master to one's own perceived greatness. Good copywriting puts your points about experience, reliability, standards and services in a way that serves the prospect.
By placing the customer in the center of the ad or salesperson's dialogue, you'll find your message begins to answer the only real question on their mind, which is: "What's in it for me?" Make your message about your benefits, not features.
Listen to the difference even in discussing just one part of a Maintenance Agreement program...
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| So, Why Do I Need A Summer Postcard? |
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A high quality postcard with a well-placed retention message (not a hard-driving 'sales' message) gains credibility, sales, referrals and great TOMA (top of mind awareness). Plus, postcards require no envelope, can be metered, and are very inexpensive to print. They can be out to your entire database almost immediately. When developing your postcard, follow these guidelines:
- Focus on a singular summer-themed headline. This is simple since you can refer to the "heat" of summer versus the "cool" of your service and systems. You can also use a July 4th theme since that is a powerful and popular tie-in. ( See samples on our website.)
- Tie the headline to an appealing photo. Not equipment or trucks! Royalty-free photos are available at many websites and can have thousands of photos. (Caution: the discs can be $2500, but this beats a professional photographer at $300 per photo.) We sift through 300-400 to find the "right" ones, but this process is what draws the reader or turns them away. Best bet: Children in summer activities rank #1 in female-oriented focus groups, which account for nearly 70% of the readership.
- "Sell" them on your relationship with a soft call to action. This means to draw the reader into the copy, then remind them of your service and that you can "fix" many of the ills connected with the hot weather or plumbing related issues.
- Two extra "lead bumps" for smart marketers. You can include a request for referrals such as, "We'd be delighted to hear from you or your friends anytime." Also you can turn the postcard into a $10 off coupon (or whatever amount) with one sentence at the end or on the front.
Remember, the summer sales season can make or break your business. Don't wait on the weather or "hope" your customers remember you. Make sure it happens by driving your name farther into the market to get more leads, sales, and profits. The calls are out there. Make sure they're coming to you. Review the samples on our website for reference
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George Washington always did look a little sketchy...
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