GOT BUSINESS? (Are you selling BENEFITS?)
Bite-The-Apple Time!
An Amazon 5-star selection book that I wrote (DOCTOR BUSINESS…How To Boost Your Practice And Build Long-Term Relationships, for physicians) presents an example of a dentist who was running an expensive series of totally ineffective newspaper sports section ads headlined: “Yes, now we have mucosal blade inserts!” (Well, at least he used the magic number of seven words you always hear me harp on!)
When I asked him about the message, he explained that the mucosal blade inserts were mushroom-shaped devices that he surgically implanted in the jaw to anchor dentures more securely than with the use of adhesives. He said patients would have much stronger use of their teeth.
I redirected his ad into a major senior citizen news publication (at a much lower rate than he had been paying), and revised his ad to say, “Now you can bite an apple again!” My seven words outperformed his seven words by an astronomical amount. In fact, his phones wouldn’t stop ringing. Denture-wearers were lining up to be evaluated for the procedure.
So, yes, choosing the right audience and the right vehicle to reach that audience is half the battle, so to speak, and simplifying the message to sell the benefit is the other half.
What are your sales messages saying right now? Are they focused on product features or customer benefits? Are they running in inappropriate print environments or inappropriate broadcast environments? Are you making the best possible use of the Internet? Website(s)? Links? Blog(s)? Emails? Webinars? Podcasts? Social networks? Business networks?
Did you know that most of these suggested Internet vehicles can be free, and can actually have more impact than pricey traditional advertising approaches? If you’re not at least actively exploring these options, you either have very deep pockets, an influential relative in traditional media sales, no budget, or (hopefully not) you’re invested in growing yourself a reputation for reckless spending!
If you are exploring all this, but having trouble with the confusion crunch, or with sorting out the high-priced smoke and mirror SEO specialists from the outdated email database suppliers, who are looking to rent you their email lists that include prisoners, newly-born infants and 27,000 dead people… or you’re simply not sure that your message is the best it can be… send me an email Hal@TheWriterWorks.com with “Confusion Crunch” in the subject line. I’ll respond promptly.
Good Night and God Bless You! halalpiar
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