I just found this gem of a blog called Yellow Pages Power by Steve Yankee.  Almost all of his posts have a great little nugget of information about designing or writing ad copy for yellow pages.

In “Extras” Help Your Ad Outperform Others, I just learned this…

And here’s a little known fact for you: yellow pages aren’t really printed on yellow paper. It’s far more economical to print phone directories on white paper stock, and then use yellow ink to print the background color, and black ink to print the ads themselves. For years, having a yellow ad background was your only available choice but lately, most phone books have offered “white reverse” ad backgrounds, where your ad can feature a non-yellow background. This is another inexpensive trick to improving your ad readership.

I had actually wondered about that a few times.
Look Steve’s blog over.  It’s definitely worth the read.

Want to brand yourself? Focus. Pick one thing great thing about yourself and focus on communicating it clearly.

Getting yourself branded into the minds of your market could be as simple as 1-2-3. It isn’t but it could be:

1. Determine the most valuable and differentiating benefit your company offers your target market.
2. Create one simple message that communicates your company’s value and difference to your customers.
3. Focus on communicating that message to your market constantly and with everything you do. After you communicated it, remind them again. Focus.

There! All done. Now you’re branded. Of course it is not as easy as 1-2-3 but those are very important steps and if you were only to pick one way, that might be the way to go. Focus on repeatedly clearly communicating your most valuable differentiating feature to your market.

The Importance of Branding

Two of the biggest intangible benefits branding creates are confidence and value. Branding helps potential customers feel confident that by purchasing your brand they are working with someone they can trust. They know your product will taste a certain way, drive a certain way, or even make people envy you in a certain way.

The value perception is also improved in successfully branded products. In an almost illogical way, customers perceive more value in products that have been effectively branded. Energizer brand batteries last longer, right? I really don’t know but there’s a little bunny that has been swinging a drumstick since forever and I think about him as my eyes switch from Energizer to the other pack, to and from, little bunny, to and from, every time I buy, er, Energizers.

The biggest tangible benefit of branding is bigger margins. Energizer batteries cost more. So do Diesel jeans, Cross pens, and branded cereals.

There a thousand ways to communicate your brand to your market. Use freebies, testimonials, postcards, celebrity message telemarketing, banner ads, or bumper stickers. Whatever you do make your message clear and focus on communicating it in everything you do.

Crossing the Line with Online Marketing Techniques

In a world over-filled with products and services that must be viewed as unique to get attention and sales it is, well, mediocre, to follow standard marketing formulas. Being different and daring is encouraged in the business world and often hugely rewarded but where do you draw the line. 

There is a fine line between ethical and unethical practices in online marketing. Here are a few examples of tactics that might be considered unethical. What do you think?

Questionable Marketing Tactics

Realize that your marketing strategy might be negatively questioned – and your business could suffer the repercussions - if you misuse one of these tactics. Of course, there may be value in shocking your customers, so this in not necessarily a “Do Not Use” list, but more of a “Think Twice” list:

• Fluffing up the truth to be more than what it really is
• Being misleading, or involved in something that could be perceived as a bait-and-switch or trick
• Fake testimonials
• Marketing to children with any type of hard sell or unhealthy products
• Encourage credit purchases to those that cannot afford to pay, then making a profit on interest
• Selling with sex
• Using health scare tactics

Attracting Customers on False Pretenses Equals Unethical Marketing

The first stage of your marketing plan may be to drive more traffic to your site. Potential customers will feel burned if they think they are coming to your site for one thing (e.g., free plans) only to find a big sales pitch. Here are just a few examples of questionable techniques used to draw website traffic:

1. Using article-spinning software to change the words of existing articles enough to pass them as unique content and avoid web spiders that look for duplicate content for search engines.
2. Frivolously posting on other people’s blogs with meaningless content just to drive people back to your site. Using poorly engineered software that will post on other blogs and forums.
3. Including irrelevant reciprocal or affiliate links in your content or asking other irrelevant pages to list your link(s).
4. Creating trick banners that say that you have won a prize, or look identical to your operating system alerts.

Create a Clear Hook to Set Yourself Apart

Set yourself apart with out-of-the-box techniques that are not blatantly unethical. One good way is with a few great buzz words and a hook. Buzz words do not always have a clearly defined meaning, but by using what is hot in the moment and tying that to your industry, you can pull in people looking for something that is new, unique, and related to what’s going on.

Using a hook will help establish yourself as an industry leader. People will remember you based on your hook, and they will repeat it. Here are a few tips for creating a killer hook for your business:

1. Keep it short and focused.
2. Be positive. Enthusiasm is contagious.
3. Consider humor. People like to know that a business has a good sense of humor.
4. Rhyme it, if you can do it tactfully.

Stand Out Amongst the Clutter

Controversial marketing techniques will never end and I am not even recommending that you use them. This is simply a discussion. What I can recommend is that you do your best to stand out amongst the clutter like the guys who set up the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Marketing Stunt in January of ‘07, which, for some ridiculous reason sent the Boston police into a frenzy. I believe the network had to pay a hefty fine but there are a million other ads and marketing efforts I don’t remember at all. 

Here’s more academic view (pdf) of ethical and regulatory responsibility in advertising.

Why are many of your qualified sales leads not converting into sales?

Why Leads Do Not Turn Into Customers

Perhaps you are trying to convert the person on the other end of the phone into a customer. Or maybe you run an online business and are trying to turn your browsers into buyers. No matter where your business is conducted – online or offline – the following six points might be some of the hidden reasons why you are not selling as much as you can.

1. You did not ask for the sale

Many sites do not ask for the sale regularly throughout the sales process. People (site visitors) should not have to dig around your site to find out how to buy. Salespeople should understand this concept.  I personally do not like direct methods of asking for the sale (e.g., “Are you ready to sign up?”) and prefer more subtle methods - guiding methods - with suggestions such as, “I only need a credit card to get your order into production.”

2. The leads feel like they are being sold

Many customers turn off as soon as they sense a sales pitch so focus on what you can do to solve each customer’s problem. It sounds “canned” but helping people get what they want is truly, as Zig Ziglar put it, the way to get what you want. Sell benefits over features don’t be afraid to give your company’s qualifications and experience and provide examples of your services or product in action. This is especially true online. 

3. Working with you (or your salespeople or systems or whatever) is too difficult

For offline sales, you need to salespeople and systems that are ready to serve. Knowledgeable salespeople backed by systems and support that help them answer customer concerns, solve customers’ problems, and generally break down barriers are musts to maximize your conversions from leads to customers.

Along the same vein, your e-commerce site needs to lead visitors through the decision and buying process and right through the payment process. If your site does not accept payments online but is meant for generating sales leads, design it to support your salespeople and customers with information that will guide them through the buying process.

Map your online and offline sales processes – and run them by a third party for unbiased feedback. Cut fluff and add features that help make it easier for the potential customer to do business with you. 

4. Your inquiry response time stinks

You need to contact your sales leads as soon as possible (really - ASAP) after receiving an inquiry. The longer they wait to hear from you, the more likely they are to go elsewhere. I cannot stress this enough.  It difficult to reply to customers immediately but there are automated systems that will help you and you should take advantage of them. If nothing else, check your email often (without becoming a slave to it) and respond by phone or email to inquiries as soon as you get them.  You will be amazed at how much sales leads appreciate an exceptionally fast response. Sales leads show appreciate with money.

5. You have not convinced your lead that they need your product or service

That is, you may not have not showed them a solution to their problem. When you contact a lead, customize your response to show them how your business will meet their needs. Clear away the stuff that will not pertain to them and just give them what they need. Keep it short and succinct. If there is not enough information to do this, ask what you need to ask to find out how to help them best. Never be afraid to ask questions. that will help your clients.

6. The lead has a question that has not been answered

Some sales leads have hesitation(s) they may not not be able to put into words.  An example of such a hesitation might be based on a customer’s lack of industry-specific knowledge and his hesitance to display his weaknesses at the bargaining table. These unmentionable questions are tough to learn but through diligent questioning and your dedication to creating solutions for customers you will learn over time what these questions are so listen carefully and respond to them.  Provide information on your website to alleviate concerns as you uncover them and make sure your salespeople are aware of customer concerns and have the knowledge, training, and tools they need to respond to them.

If you have any questions about the above or would like to discuss your lead conversion rates email me at chris@leadoptimize.com.

Hello, Mr. Denny. How is Your Personalized Customer Service?

Have you ever bought something from a salesperson that not only remembered your name, but where you went to college, and that you are an avid hockey fan? This type of personalized customer service feels great and, if handled properly, will drive the repeat business you crave.

Existing Customers Getting More Attention

Personalized customer service occurs in all size companies across all industries. Many companies are now placing more emphasis on establishing a solid relationship with existing customers, rather than trying to get new ones.

Technology and Your Personalized Relationship with Customers

The internet has revolutionized the business/customer relationship. Businesses that are online are capable of providing excellent personalized customer service and building positive customer relationships through regular online communication and immediate responses to customer inquiries.  Salespeople can give regular updates on products that might be of interest to the customer based on their preferences. In addition to generating new business, company websites can also be used to update and inform customers on a regular basis and individual online accounts with passwords allow for personalized content.

Businesses can use technology to store customer preference information in electronic files for future reference and they can find new information through careful online research. Accessing detailed customer information is easy and valuable to companies wanting to build personalized customer relationships. Next to the old fashioned style of sales, which is every bit as important as it has always been, technology is the best means to “know your customers” in detail.

Who is a “Good” Customer?

Philip Harper has written an article called “How to Delight Your Customers: Get Personal”. In his explanation of how to delight your customers, he stresses the importance of identifying the “good” customers.

What makes a customer a “good” customer? Someone who loyally purchases from your company, and understands the benefits associated with your product or service. You do not want to pour expensive resources into disloyal customers that only buy your product when it is on sale, usually buy from your competitors, and when they do buy, consistently complain.

After you know who your good customers are, nurture their loyalty by giving them personalized customer service and paying attention to their requests. Customers appreciate one-on-one service that is not too in-your-face and makes them feel more like they have a friend within the company or “know a guy.”

Optimize Personalized Customer Service

What should a salesperson do to optimize his personalized service efforts?

1.      Maintain a file of customer activity including detailed transaction history, a record of customer contact points, and customer responses to marketing initiatives.

2.      Decide which customers to target based on the analysis of customer activity files.

3.      Use customer targeting tools and zero in on personalized direct marketing by finding ways to start conversations with customers.

4.      Build a personal relationship with customers and develop and maintained them through personal service and initiatives such as loyalty programs, rewards programs, and reactive or proactive customer service programs.

5.      Pay attention to privacy (always important online and off line).

6.      Measure outcomes to test effectiveness. Use profit margins and market share and other such as conversion rates, retention/churn rates, same customer share rates, and customer acquisition costs.

Personalized Purchases

Caring enough about your customers to remember the little details about them will begin to build a relationship. People often have a sense of obligation in a relationship and this business/customer relationship is no different. Be genuine and truly look out for your customers and they will return the favor by personalizing their purchases.

Ken Cook of Hartford Business.com just wrote a great article with 10 tips to build lead generation. What I appreciate most about the list is that it includes various methods to build lead generation for your business and could be used as a good guideline for integrating lead generation into your sales and marketing plans next year.

Tips to Build Lead Generation

1. Work with associations where your target customers are members.
2. Find partners whose services are complimentary to yours.
3. Ask existing customers for leads and referrals.
4. Create an education program that helps your customers with their businesses.
5. Attend very targeted trade shows.
6. Conduct surveys with clients and prospects that focus on their needs.
7. Build a system to prioritize sales leads.
8. Consider conducting a webinar.
9. Consider telemarketing - better for simple sales.
10. Be involved with your salespeople and train them more.

As you begin sales & marketing planning for next year, keep these lead generation tips in mind. To make your website more effective for building sales leads, give me a call. You can email me at chris@leadoptimize.com or call (832) 628-0987.

One of the most basic marketing strategies is the correct use of features and benefits to sell a product or service. Corporate sales training programs, online education programs, and business school curriculum always include this key selling technique. It is a fact that customers are more responsive to benefit-focused selling points, versus feature-based. While the words “benefit” and “feature” might sound like they mean the same thing, they do not.

Benefits and Features – Definitions

These two words cannot be used interchangeably. There is a very important difference that is subtle but distinct.

Features – What a product/service has. Your list of features should include all technical details, product specifications, and product descriptions. Answers: “What does it have?”

Benefits – what a feature means. Benefits solve a problem. Answers: “What will it do for me?”

Benefits Sell

It is vital to be able to recognize the difference between a feature and a benefit, because features tell and benefits sell.

By looking around at business advertising – e-commerce sites are often the worse offenders – you will see that many business owners missed the boat on the features vs. benefits lesson. A little bit of time spent focusing on your product and what it really offers (that is, how it really helps) can result in huge payouts.

Why Selling Features Does Not Work

To most customers, the first response to a salesperson or marketing approach selling features is to tune them out. Picture buying a riding lawnmower. What can I do with it? What problems is it going to solve for me? Perhaps later in the purchase decision process I might want to know about technical specs but first and foremost is “what’s in it for me?”

In other words, a buyer’s thought process is ordered something more like this:

1. How does it help me? (benefits)
2. How does it do this? (features)

Why Selling Benefits Works

People make purchasing decisions largely because of the positive emotions tied to product benefits. If I am buying that riding lawnmower, tell me about how the super-fast cutting action will save me hours each summer so that I can enjoy the pool with the family. I will surely be happier when I do not have to strain my body pushing a mower after a long week’s work. With this riding lawnmower I can just sit back and relax, and get the lawn mowed at the same time! That is selling benefits.

The Difference Between Benefits and Features: Another Example

Here is an example of selling a family car. Notice the difference between the two approaches below:

1. When selling a vehicle based on features, it might look something like this:

“The new 2008 model van has a V6 engine, antilock brakes, a LATCH child seat safety system, traction control, and front/side airbags.” This rambling list of features may interest some people, but 99% are lost at the word “van”.

2. People buy when the seller talks their language. Sell using benefits:

“The 2008 is loaded with top-of-the-line safety features to protect your family in the events of near-misses or accidents. The easy to use LATCH car seat system is actually bolted into the frame so you can rest assured your children are safely secured. This van has consistently earned one of the highest safety ratings available and, as with all of our cars and trucks, you will still be able to stop and go precisely as you command with a state of the art traction control system and powerful V6 engine.”

The Benefits of Benefits: Benefits Sell More Products

As with anything in business, a little bit of planning goes a long way when you are ready for action. The wonderful thing about planning for sales and marketing is that you can start it at anytime. After reading about the importance of focusing on the right perspective, set aside some time to sit down and make sure you are showcasing the most important benefits of your product and service. Follow up with the features.

Your company does important stuff. You have big things going on. You are about to change the world or, at least, introduce something that will change something for someone. Let “the press” help you tell the world about it with your press release.

Writing a press release to share your big news with the world is a great way to drum up attention, traffic, leads, and more business. Press releases are the communication strategy used to standardize how organizations alert the media to important news. The following industry secrets will help you master the art of writing and presenting powerful press releases that will get your story accepted by the media.

The Goal When Writing a Press Release

A press release is successful when the media picks up your story and makes it news. With that, your goal when writing a press release is to spin your news in a way that gives the editors what they want. You are essentially “pitching” your story to the editors and they want news people will read - stuff that attracts readers. To be used, your the press release needs to be:

1. Read by the editor or reporter (unique enough to be noticed among the masses)
2. Considered for publication and rewriting (Interesting enough to not get thrown away at first glance)
3. Selected for publishing (valuable enough to get people reading)
4. Fit into the content schedule and overall coverage plan (luck can play a role here)

Selling Your Press Release

With those nasty looking steps blocking your successful press release, writing a press release can seem futile but don’t get scared. There are ways to be better than the next press release so consider the above list with your mind set in solution mode.

For starters, press releases should not be dry in voice or presentation. For me, the phrase “press release” sounds dull and boring and I always imagine black and white news print or a stuffy looking woman in a suit and a glue-on smile at a podium reading a press release verbatim in front of microphones (not sure where that comes from but it’s there). On the contrary, press releases should be intriguing and incite action.

Writing a press release should be handled the same as any other marketing or ad copy. Make it short and sweet, present the facts and figures clearly and up front, use words that sell, and send it in a snappy envelope. In fact, overnight it as this indicates importance because it arrives in a special package and has to be signed for.

Either way, don’t expect your first submission to be accepted. You might have to submit 20 press releases (or 50 or 100) before your story is picked up. In case I am not being clear on this point, the lesson here is that persistence will be required when writing a press release.
Do’s & Don’t of Writing a Press Release

• DO cover the who, why, what, when, where, why, and how
• DO get to the point. Avoid flowery descriptions and unnecessary words
• DO add quotes – perhaps from yourself or a customer
• DO format professionally, and proof it for spelling and grammatical errors
• DO plan and prepare the message before writing a press release
• DO keep it to one page
• DO NOT write an advertisement. Write in an unbiased, conversational, and informative tone
• DO NOT write in the first person (“I”)
• DO NOT forget the headline. A great headline will get your press release read
• DO NOT issue press releases that are too light on content; the content should be newsworthy
• DO NOT be overly casual. When in doubt, refer to an AP style book

Press Release Strategy

You have to spin the message in a press release so that is appropriate. For example, the opening of a fish market is not necessarily worthy of a news story. But a story about how the owners invented an award-winning shellfish harvester that protects the other species of fish and wildlife when in use is news that a local newspaper might want to report.

When planning a press release ask yourself these questions:

• Who is the target audience of this information? Who do you WANT to target?
• Why is your news of interest to the public?
• What problem does your product or service solve?
• What are the keywords that your target audience uses when searching for your product/service?

Sample Press Release Outline

In the simplest form of a press release, state the problem, position yourself as the answer to the problem, and make a call to action. For a more detailed, longer release, consider this outline: