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

---

Secrets of Trade Show Success

The ropers at Annie Oakley's Real Western Dudette Ranch were... Read More

How Gratitude Works

Want to know what the highest-impact, lowest-cost tool is in... Read More

10 Powerful Marketing Tips

1. Print your best small ad on a postcard and... Read More

Using Business Cards as Invitations

Business card size works well for invitations to special events.What... Read More

The 5 Musts of Marketing

For most of the small business owners I work with,... Read More

Loyalty Cards ? Tips To Consider Before Committing To One

Loyalty marketing has been around for as long as retailing... Read More

Design, Design, Design

You need only one card, but make it noticeable. Make... Read More

The Fundraising Letter PS: 25 Powerful Things To Say There (Includes Examples & Samples)

Donors read postscripts. This is a sad but important reality... Read More

Niche Marketing: The Affiliate Angle

If you're just dipping your toes into the waters of... Read More

Boost Your Business With Testimonials

When used correctly, testimonials can boost your response dramatically. They... Read More

Standing Above The Crowd

In today's highly competitive business environment it is critical to... Read More

Features vs. Benefits vs. End Results

If you've been in the copywriting realm for very long... Read More

Learn How to Market Your eBusiness in Real Time: Dissect, Study, Emulate

Everything you will ever need to know about internet marketing... Read More

Postcard Direct Mail Marketing Tips And Ideas

Postcards are perhaps the least expensive way of reaching a... Read More

Is It Time To Revisit Your Marketing Strategy?

Small & Mid Sized Business owners, have you revisited your... Read More

Direct Mail Leads - Brand Identity Guru

Direct mail can be one of the most effective tactics... Read More

The Marshall Plan -- Or, Customer Aftercare: How To Spend Less & Sell More

My wife likes to shop at the local Safeway. Is... Read More

10 Important Marketing Tips

Each of the following Ten Marketing Tips is based on... Read More

The Forgotten Market

There are a great many online business people who are... Read More

20 Tricks to Help Get That Envelope Opened

When your envelopes aren't opened, you can't make money! Beforeyou... Read More

Ten Crucial Questions

Ten Crucial Questions for Your Business Future I'm... Read More

Your Marketing Plan - Prerequisite to Success

Marketing is a vital aspect of a business' operations. It... Read More

12 Lessons I Picked Up from Attending Seminars

So you just dropped a tidy sum to attend a... Read More

The Biggest Needle In The Haystack

Hello everyone! Have you ever been curious about something, and... Read More

8 Secrets to Marketing Success

The profits of a business are totally dependent on marketing.... Read More

Want To Impress Customers, Win Clients and Influence People?

Remember the baseball cards kids traded while... Read More

Promotional Lanyards to Market Your Products and Services

It has become fairly common place to see Id badges... Read More

7 Cheap & Easy Ways To Get Prospects

Here are some quick techniques you can put into place... Read More

Like Brushing Your Teeth

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

Testimonials - FREE Quality Advertising FOR YOU!

Every business person who has any kind of product or... Read More

The Advantage to Buying Promotional Products Online

Buying your promotional products and corporate apparel online provides five... Read More

7 Ways to Evaluate Your Marketing Plan

Business owners often find it difficult to know whether their... Read More

Effective Marketing for Small Businesses

Effective marketing for the small business begins with market researchIf... Read More