by Jaco Grobbelaar, owner of BroadVision Marketing and Robert Middleton, owner of Action Plan MarketingWhat's persuasive? Many think of overly exaggerated hyperbole. But that's not the case. Good marketing information educates your prospect about how your services will benefit them.
Marketing materials are what come after your main marketing message. Once you have someone's attention and interest, you need to provide enough information so that they will know if you can help them or not.
Marketing materials, such as a Web site, brochure or presentation also employ marketing syntax. They open with a discussion of the target market, continue with an overview of the prospect's situation and challenges and then discuss desired outcomes and solutions.
Marketing syntax continues with the following elements:
- Stories or case studies of clients you've succeeded with.
- Benefits, advantages and features of your services.
- Background on you and your firm for credibility.
- A call to action to let the prospect know what to do next.
Let's look at all of these in a little more detail. The purpose of this information is to answer the unasked questions lurking in the back of your prospects' minds.
Stories or case studies
These answer the question, "Have you worked successfully with clients like me?" This is a very valid question. And you don't answer such a question conceptually, you simply outline a number of case studies that explain what you did for your clients and what results you produced. This is very persuasive and gets prospects thinking about how they could get similar results.
Benefits, advantages, features of service
This answers the question, "How exactly do your services work?" Prospects want a snapshot of what it will be like when they are clients. What will happen, how long will it take, how will they be involved and exactly what process or methods will be employed?
Background on you and your firm
This answers the question "Who are you, and are you credible?" Interestingly enough, this is not the biggest question most prospects have. So it doesn't need to be the first page of your Web site. But many are interested in your background, experience, education and even some personal information so they can get a sense of what it would be like working with you.
Call to action
This answers the question, "What do I do next to find out more?" People are hesitant to pick up the phone or even send an email until they know more about how you start working with clients. Tell them what will transpire once they contact you. Show that you are accessible and easy to work with. And give them a reason to contact you now (not someday).
The great thing is that all of this information can be communicated efficiently and effectively on a Web site. It's a powerful marketing vehicle that is often under-used by professional service businesses.
Now you are ready to take your marketing message and materials and get them in front of prospects through a variety of marketing strategies.
What do you think would be the first marketing strategy you want to use?
For more information:
Jaco Grobbelaar is the owner of BroadVision Marketing. BroadVision Marketing works with business owners to put in place inbound and outbound marketing strategies that consistently secure new clients. The BroadVision Marketing Training Center is located in Petaluma, CA and primarily serves companies in the San Francisco Bay area.
Jaco can be reached at jaco@broadvisionmarketing.com or 707.766.9778 or connect with Jaco on Facebook - www.facebook.com/broadvisionmarketing - and LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/JacoGrobbelaar.
Robert Middleton has been the owner of Action Plan Marketing since 1984. He specializes in helping Independent Professionals be better marketers and attract more clients. He has two main services - the Fast Track to More Clients Program and the Marketing Mastery Group. He lives and runs his business from Northern California in the redwoods near Santa Cruz. You can reach Robert through his website: http://actionplan.com, by email at apm @ actionplan.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=731554912, and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/robertmiddleton
