How Important is Your Marketing?

Bob called last week from Phoenix, Arizona with some stunning news about his web site. He first contacted me in the fall of 2003. He had a web site that was helping him generate a healthy income but he sensed he could be doing even better. He wanted to get more visitors to his web site and get more of them to contact him about his retail liquidation services.

Are you interested in getting more prospects to your web site and prompting more of them to contact you?

Over the two months I worked with Bob to help him clearly define his target market, identify the problem he solves, and clarify his marketing message. We improved the copy on his web site and the structure of his web pages to prompt more people to contact him. I showed him how to write articles and use them to generate a steady stream of visitors to his site.

Bob was happy with the results of these changes, but I wasn't. He was getting more visitors to his site and more inquiries, but I thought there was potential for even more growth. I knew that Bob could be doing better if he would just change his marketing message. Despite my best efforts to persuade, cajole and prompt him to rethink how he talked about what he did, Bob was happy with his existing marketing message.

Prior to working with me, Bob had spent ten years regularly experimenting with his marketing message and had found a sentence that generated the best response he'd ever had. It was working; he was keeping busy, making money and didn't want to mess with success.

We finished our work together almost a year ago, so I was surprised when Bob called last week. It turns out that he hadn't stopped experimenting. He had taken my advice to heart after all and been fine-tuning his marketing message so that it described the problem he solves for his clients clearly and concisely.

With this new marketing message at the top of his web page, Bob is getting 3 times the number of inquiries about his services. That's 300% more people who know the problem he solves and who are contacting him about his services.

How much more could you be making if you had 3 times as many people contact you about your products and services?

When your prospects are considering a purchase, they are looking to solve a problem. They might want to eliminate back pain, fund their child's college tuition, sell off their excess inventory quickly so they have more operating cash on hand, as in Bob's case. In every case your prospect has a problem or need that prompted their purchase.

Your prospects are hoping you can help them. They're hoping you have the solution to making them happier, smarter and richer. They are buying the result you provide.

When a prospect meets you or visits your web site, the first item they should see is a statement of the problem you solve. Your prospects then immediately know whether you can help them.

Why is your marketing message ? your elevator speech ? and the way you talk about what you do so important?

At ten to twelve words long, your marketing message won't cover all the problems you solve, establish your credibility or the value you provide. But if the first thing you say to a prospect doesn't get their attention, they won't stay at your web site, read the rest of your marketing materials or listen to the rest of what you have to say.

Bob spent over a decade experimenting to find a marketing message that helped him generate a steady income and then in a few months discovered he could improve on it by three hundred percent. Don't wait ten years to do the same with your marketing. Write, test and use a problem solving marketing message and more people will contact you about your products and services.

2005 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. - The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

---

The Future of Marketing Part 1

It used to be if you were a small business,... Read More

Direct Mail Strategy - Brand Identity Guru

1. Know your purpose: What do you want your direct... Read More

The Real Path To Big Bucks On The Internet!

"Instead Of Wasting Time Trying To Hit The Lottery Of... Read More

The 7 Commandments of Marketing

Marketing is the key to success with any business, online... Read More

Attracting Clients With Ease

Whether you are already running your own business, or still... Read More

Successful Non-for-Profit Fundraising Letters Share Eight Qualities

You'll be encouraged to know that the art of writing... Read More

Lessons From a Six Year Old

My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she... Read More

Commercial Collections By Telephone

The telephone enables a credit manager to make many contacts... Read More

A Forgotten Marketing Tool ? The Postcard

The postcard can be a very powerful marketing tool. Many... Read More

10 Tips For Packaging That Sells Products To Boomers

Boomers are a prime and growing target audience. Does your... Read More

Comprehensive Marketing Details Not Found in Beginner Books

If this is the first marketing article you are reading,... Read More

Trade Show Promotional Products ? Boosting Booth Traffic

I was about seven or eight years old when I... Read More

Writing To Overpower Your Competition

"We don't have any competition. We're a truly a one-of-a-kind... Read More

The M-Word (Marketing) Phase 2

Last month we looked at what you need to do... Read More

Most Wanted Response... How To Make It Work

"When I walked into the grocery store last Saturday, I... Read More

15-Minute Marketing: Lots of Results in Little Time

Do you think you don't have enough time to market?... Read More

Financial Services Marketing Insights: A Marketing Compass

What we now call "marketing" began long before the name... Read More

Supply And Demand And Marketing

According to Dough McCormick, Chariman and CEO of iVillage, Inc,... Read More

Should You Clap For Your Customers?

Does it make sense to clap for your customers? It... Read More

The Value of a Good Sales Letter!

Regardless of how many forms of promotional material you create,... Read More

The Power of because...

"Do it!", "Do it now!", or "Do it because..."Which of... Read More

Corporate Cleavage

I enjoy cleavage as much or even more than the... Read More

Lead Generation: What Is It worth?

Our business environment has changed dramatically. Companies must now be... Read More

Does The Market Really Want It?

At the very heart of any successful marketing strategy is... Read More

Buzz Word

Offline, it's called word-of-mouth advertising. Online, it's known as viral... Read More

Keep Costs Down and Keep the Marketing Strategy Simple

One of the biggest mistakes we could make as business... Read More

25 Ways To Make Your Next Direct Mail Campaign Work

This list contains 25 powerful strategies to improve your direct... Read More

When Business Cards Arent Enough: Unusual, Unexpected, and Uncommon Networking Tips

There comes a time in every small businessperson's life when... Read More

Reinventing The Wheel

Revolutionary ideas have always been the mark of mankind. It's... Read More

Why Pay for Online Press Release Distribution?

We've all heard that "free advice is worth what you... Read More

Pamphlets and the Money They?ll Put in Your Pocket

People are making a fortune on pamphlets. If you go... Read More

Like Brushing Your Teeth

What do the following things have in common: brushing your... Read More

Knowing Your Customer Is The Key

Without doubt, understanding what a customer's wants and needs are... Read More