My son Gabe plays club soccer for Augusta Arsenal. He is wrapping up his second year and is doing really well. Towards the end of his first season his coach began pushing the boys to juggle (keeping the ball in air using their feet, knees, and head), record their personal best, and then try to beat it. Gabe’s first PB was 7. Little by little he moved higher. 20, 47, 63, then 123. The more time he put in the bigger jumps. He got to 240, 369, and then 634!
He couldn’t believe it. He also didn’t think he could get much higher. Looking at some video of him juggling, the blocker to bigger gains was clear. It was the big touches. They made him stretch, reach, and were harder to get back under control. A week later he set an unbelievable PB of 1,055!
There are three big touches to avoid in marketing. They will make difference for your business are:
- Stop putting the right message in the wrong place.
- Make sure your team knows what you are promising future customers.
- Know where your leads are going.
Stop putting the right message in the wrong place.
All too often I see time put into crafting a decent message for customers only to then see it in the wrong place. This is problematic. You are expecting customers to react to something you’ve invested time and money into, yet they are in no place to do so.
For example, you create a TV commercial highlighting all the features and benefits of your product ending with your call to action, “Call Now”.
Ask yourself, when was the last time you or someone you know took notes watching a TV commercial? If customers don’t take notes like the rest of us, stop filling your message with things they are going to forget before the end of the commercial break. Focus on what will last, emotional connection. Used correctly, video made for TV can make a tremendous impact.
Where does the features and benefits message go? They go where your customers do their research to rationalize the decision they’ve made to satisfy their needs. Place these messages on your website, Google My Business, and other places your customers are looking to help make their final buying decision.
Make sure your team knows what you are promising future customers.
Want to really let your customers down? Make grand promises in your advertising and then have them interact with clueless members of your team. You have to meet the expectations you broadcast to your customers.
One area I see this in over and over is the experience promised or 100% satisfaction guaranteed. It is sad how many times I walk away from an interaction as a customer, shaking my head at how miserable it was to deal with the person “helping” me.
A smile doesn’t cost anything, but making me feel like I’m inconveniencing the business I’m giving money to has a tremendous cost to it. There are too many businesses I no longer choose to deal with as a customer after expecting a delightful experience and receiving the exact opposite.
Know where your leads are going.
In a recent marketing diagnostic, we discovered over 40% of their leads were going to the wrong place. When I say going to the wrong place, I mean they were not being followed up on! Talk about missed revenue opportunities.
Digging deeper into the review we identified where the leads were going, but the recipient had no idea they needed action taken. I know what you are thinking, “This is utterly ridiculous”. I don’t disagree and neither did the client.
Before you write this off as “it’ll never happen to me”, when was the last time you reviewed your entire lead process? Are they all being worked all the way through? Are you defining what that means so you can measure and track their success? This may be a big touch you need to get under control immediately.
We are all looking to improve and grow. You may have a number of things going for you and plenty of potential to be one of the best in your market. Take some time to identify and work on eliminating these three big touches to avoid in your marketing. I hope you continue to work hard just like Gabe and keep knocking down those PBs.
When you find them, I’d love to hear which ones you find and how you got them under control.
I own White Hart Insight, we specialize in marketing for small to medium sized businesses in Georgia and the Carolinas. Hit reply if you’d like to connect or email me at paul.sterett@whitehartinsight.com.