Today is the final day of a two-week Hawaiian vacation. I've tried
not to think about marketing too much, but believe, me,
marketing is alive and well here in paradise.
Every tourist-oriented business is doing everything possible to
compete for one's dollars. Activities such as whale watching,
snorkeling and helicopter rides partner with the timeshare
industry to give the visitor even better deals.
Deals like this are promoted in every magazine, booklet,
pamphlet, flyer and street vendor the moment your plane lands.
Although it can be somewhat wearing, it clearly works.
I've noticed that the best Hawaiian marketing contains all the
elements of any good client-attracting promotion. Below I've
summarized the most important five:
Element 1 - Clearly defined products or services
Element 2 - Clearly targeted ideal buyers
Element 3 - Clear, benefit-oriented messages
Element 4 - Clearly written/designed marketing materials
Element 5 - Clearly communicated offers
Obviously, clarity is an essential component of each of these
marketing elements. Communicate with lack of clarity and the
marketing connection isn't made.
I believe that the biggest overall problem with any business's
marketing is the absence of clarity. Whether this is because of
ignorance or laziness, the result is the same: the inability to
reliably attract more of the right clients
Where is your marketing falling short?
You may be looking for "silver bullet marketing solutions" when
you're missing the basics - consistently communicating clearly
about your business.
How well do you do on the "Marketing Clarity Test"? Score
yourself five points for excellent, four for good, three for fair, two
for poor and one for abysmal. Highest possible score is 25.
1. Your service (or product) is so clearly defined that you can
explain what it is and the need for it, in one or two sentences,
when someone asks you what you do.
2. You can clearly define who your ideal clients are, both
demographically and psychographically. You know who they are
and how you can reach them.
3. Your marketing messages (such as an Audio Logo, headlines on
your web site, titles of articles, names of talks, etc,) all clearly
communicate what your service is and who it is for.
4. All of your marketing materials, from your business card to
your web site, expand on your marketing message and explain in
more detail the benefits and advantages of your services.
5. Through your marketing messages and materials, you make a
"call-to-action" or offer that clearly directs a prospect to take an
action that will lead them to purchasing your services.
Interpreting your score:
25 - 21 - Excellent - You have clients on a waiting list
20 - 16 - Good - You are attracting good clients consistently
15 - 11 - Fair - Getting clients is somewhat of a struggle
10 - 6 - Poor - You find it very hard to attract clients
1 - 5 - Abysmal - Clients are running away from you
How do you score and what are you going to do about it?
*
The More Clients Bottom Line: To a great degree, your success in
attracting clients is correlated to how clearly and consistently you
communicate about your business.
By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit
Robert's web site at www.actionplan.com for additional
marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional
service businesses.
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