Epiphany Marketing's Strategic Marketing Blog

You’re on your way to getting better results with the 1st of 5 Ways to Increase Your Response just by changing the words you use! (You may want to take a moment and read that introductory post if you haven’t already.)

1. Use a Headline

Without question, this is the single most important place to focus your efforts first. Some people estimate that as many as 70% or more buying decisions are made from the headline.

What? You’re not using one?

Hmmmmm… could be a clue. Get started. And do it today.

In our work with clients and students, we routinely analyze marketing efforts that aren’t performing up to par. And it’s very common for us to run across great marketing copy that’s absolutely bombing.

The simple fact is: no one will care about (or even read) the rest of the brilliant stuff you write about if you don’t get their attention and pull them in right up front.

• In your e-mails, the headline is the subject line.
• In radio and TV spots, it’s the first phase or sentence the audiences hears or sees.
• In print (and on the web), it’s the 1st, boldest, biggest element of your copy.

It’s your job to sell the reader/viewer/listener on why they should pay attention. And this means that you need to know what’s going on in their world. You need to understand their needs… and more importantly, their wants. You need to understand how what you have to offer them — regardless of what it is — addresses those needs and wants.

And then you need to find a way to use the most compelling, attention-getting words you can muster in order to stop them in their tracks.

If you’re already using a headline and you’re not happy with the results, then it’s time to implement one of the cardinal rules of effective marketing: test everything.

This means write a new headline and test it. In fact, I write dozens… sometimes hundreds of different headlines before deciding which one to test first. And then… even if I’m getting great response, I will test another one. If the response goes up, then guess which one I keep? If it goes down, we go back to the other one. Either way, I’m always testing. Just remember to only change one thing at a time (don’t test a new headline and a different color scheme, for example).

Devote some time to your headlines today. And watch this space for more ways to get more effectiveness out of your marketing!

Today is actually the Feast of Epiphany, which gives me a great excuse to talk about why our company happens to share its name with the 12th Day of Christmas.  (If you, like the McKenzie Brothers, ever wondered, the 12 days run from Christmas Eve to Epiphany.)

First, a little background on the Greek word:

epiphaneia – lit. “upon appearing,” used to mean “manifestation”

We use it in English when we say, “I had an epiphany!” to mean, “the lights came on!”

In the early Eastern Church, they used the term to refer to the “manifestation” of the infant Jesus to the Magi when they visited from the Orient. He “appeared” to the Gentiles in that moment. Church tradition uses the word “epiphany” to refer to a manifestation or appearance of supernatural beings — in particular Jesus Himself.

From the start of this journey, I wanted to create “epiphanies” for people. Moments when the work that we do would cause information and circumstances to come together in just the right combination to cause people to suddenly “see” what they needed to see.

Have an Epiphany

This has dual meanings for us as it relates to what we do:

1. It is our mission to provide top-notch training and coaching to small businesses, to salespeople, and to anyone who needs to attract new customers and prospects. In that process, we want them to have moments where they suddenly “see” (sometimes for the first time) themselves and their businesses in the correct light. It’s a beautiful thing when this happens — it sparks life, creativity and energy. They get fired up about their own businesses in fresh ways… and they do a fantastic job of communicating once this happens. This results in their future customers and clients finding out about them! That is a thrill!
2. Secondarily, when we provide consulting services and do other strategic marketing work (such as corporate vision, strategy, onsite training, copywriting, web architecture, social media innovation, etc.), we want to produce work that creates “epiphanies” for the past, present and future customers of our clients. In other words, the work that we do should cause the lights to go on for the people that our clients are reaching out to…  so that they suddenly “see” and become raving lunatic evangelists for our clients.

Having been in this business for over 10 years now, I can tell you that there is absolutely nothing like watching somebody “get it.” It’s thrilling to be involved in helping to make it happen.

So… no matter what you’re celebrating today (I hope you’re celebrating something… after all, it’s a wonderful, brand-new day!), I hope you have an “epiphany” today.

And if you’re in business or in sales and you need to do a better job of attracting the people you want to do business with you, then keep your eyes on this space. It’s my mission in life to help you suddenly have that moment where you say, “Aha! That’s what I’ve been missing!”

P.S. If you’re starting a business or considering changing your name, I can’t recommend highly enough having a name that carries some personal significance to you. However… I can recommend that you name it something easy to spell!

We discussed previously that the last thing you want to trim out of your budget during a recession is your marketing.

Here’s some actual data (Hat tip: Rod Alan Richardson via Twitter @rodalan) on previous recessions that reveals some very interesting facts:

• maintaining your marketing budget helps not only during a recession, but afterward
• your ROI may not be as high during a recession, but your actual profits in other years may not be as high as you think
• market share is as important right now as profitability (more so, if you ask me)
• the idea that you can cut back “because everyone else is” is foolhardy

There’s quite a bit more data out there, but you can read the article to get it.

My point is this: cut anything… heck, cut everything, but don’t cut your marketing budget.

The Big Key

That being said: spend it more effectively. Gain the know-how to utilize and leverage 21st-Century technologies to get better results. Here are some tips:

1. Fix your website.  Look at 2 things: is it showing up when your actual prospects are searching Google and those other search engines (I’m sure there must be others).  And secondly: is it starting and furthering relationships?  (Hint: measure!)
2. Drop your print yellow pages ad.  With certain very specific exceptions (highly-niched specialty books that have actual users), you don’t need this.  Keep a listing, yes.  Don’t waste your money on display ads.
3. Buy internet yellow pages listings.  And other online local business search listings. Here’s how to not screw up: be sure you can track everything. Know which listing is getting you what results. Do not do this if you haven’t done #1 above.
4. Email. If you don’t yet have a database, start one.  Today.  Put a strategy in place to deliver value to your prospects and customers (hint: don’t be boring) on a consistent basis.  Then execute that strategy. Divert internal resources as necessary to accomplish this.
5. Manage your time with a hatchet. Figure out where your energies are being wasted and cut the stuff out of your schedule. Do it now.  You can’t be effective if you’re floundering around.

Want more?  Let me know.

By the way… if you couldn’t make it to our recent “Results Now Marketing” seminar, the DVDs are coming soon. They’re worth their weight in gold. Sign up to be notified over here.

Don’t miss the info on all 3 bonuses in this video… plus, I show you exactly where we’re going to meet this Saturday at the end… and you’ll also hear 2 quick stories about businesses getting results now!

Bonus #1 (valued at $297) was added a couple of days ago — it’s the 2.5-hour downloadable video training on the subject of e-mail. It includes step-by-step instructions for how to manage your e-mail database as well as how to avoid blacklisting and SPAM accusations.  You’ll come back to this training session again and again!

Bonuses 2 & 3 have just been added today!  In fact, the Results Now Marketing website doesn’t even mention any of these bonuses…

Bonus #2: Advanced Keyword Training (valued at $297).  This is another downloadable video that teaches you in detail (including step-by-step instructions) how to discover the exact nuances of keywords that your future customers are using to search Google and other search engines.  Many businesses that obtain just one new client would already have earned enough to more than pay for this video at its full retail price.  But… it’s not available for sale anywhere!  Only our members have access to it, and you’ll receive 60-day download access to it absolutely FREE when you register for Results Now Marketing.

Bonus #3: Our Resources List (priceless!) You know, if I were to tell you that I had a piece of paper that was worth thousands upon thousands of dollars, you might be interested to find out why.  Am I right?

You see, it’s not the paper itself… it’s what’s written on the paper that makes it valuable.  And… what’s written on the paper isn’t just a collection of words.  This list of resources has taken years to put together… years of trial and error.  Investment of thousands upon thousands of dollars in both cash and in my time.  I have never before offered this list to anyone. You will receive it absolutely FREE as part of your training in the Results Now Marketing seminar this Saturday.

These bonuses are worth $594 at a very minimum… and thousands (or even tens of thousands) at most.

As I’ve already mentioned… those of you who have already paid for your registration for this weekend’s event are receiving these bonuses too!  This is just our surprise way of over-delivering.  But if you haven’t yet registered, then these bonuses add significant value to the investment you’re about to make.

Reserve your spot right now.

One marketing question that I get asked about small businesses is:

Do search engines really matter where local businesses are concerned?

The answer may surprise you. According to a 2007 study by comScore Networks, even when looking for local business information, 3 out of 5 people will search online. When you consider that only 1 in 3 check the yellow pages, this represents an enormous shift.

It’s a no-brainer that we look online today when locating solutions that are less localized, but I wouldn’t have guessed that the trend had shifted that far yet where local business is concerned. And, given that the study is a little over a year old, it’s likely that the actual numbers for today are even higher.

What does this mean? Well… it means that if your company’s website isn’t ranking well on the right search terms, then you could actually be missing 60% of your best customers.  After all, when people are actively looking for your product or service, they’re probably a sooner buyer than the person who is passively shown an advertisement you placed.

The search engine game is one that is constantly evolving and changing. Unless you’ve managed to hire a marketer instead of a web designer (or participated in small business marketing training), chances are good that your site won’t show up when it really needs to.

Check out this video clip for some additional insight:

Consider this my personal invitation for you to participate in our Results Now Marketing seminar in Sarasota on September 27th.  When it’s over, you’ll know exactly how to get to the top!

(With apologies for the insulting quote in the title of today’s post… and also for bringing up memories of an election year gone by…)

What do we do in a down economy?

It happens.  Sometimes your business is affected by an economic downturn.  Whether you’ve got a local business like the ones that serve our local Sarasota community — an economy that has previously been unfortunately based upon housing and construction — or one that exports products or services outside of your region, sometimes business slumps and it has nothing to do with what you did “right” or “wrong.”

So… inevitably the belt-tightening begins.  Trim here, cut there.  Perhaps we are forced to reduce staffing levels, perhaps we improvise and begin to try to creatively respond to new market conditions.

But… whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of killing your marketing.

I’ve seen this again and again. Advertising budgets are sometimes the first to go. And… while I’m the first person to agree that much of the advertising going on in the small business world should be replaced with much more effective marketing efforts, the underlying philosophy here is deadly.

If you’re not marketing, it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable occurs.

Changing Your Investment Strategy

In the 21st Century, there’s no excuse for not getting results. Even if your advertising budget is non-existent, there are myriad tools that are free or low in cost that leverage technology to facilitate connecting your future customers with your business. This is where we need to invest — most significantly, time and energy.  But certainly financial resources must be committed to these high-ROI methods.

Watch this space for some tips you can implement right away.

In Part 1, we talked about getting clear on your identity. Knowing who you are is absolutely fundamental to marketing – no matter what business you’re in. So… what business are you really in?

The Starbucks example is a fun one. They definitely sell coffee. They make a variety of beverages. Legal addictive stimulants are in virtually every beverage they make (does anyone really buy decaf?). And they truly create an experience designed to bring pleasure to the senses… to truly entertain. Of course, this is the factor that adds the most value to the commodity they sell and… yes, it’s why people pay more than they have to pay every single day. Starbucks customers are not buying just a commodity. Are yours?

Given that they could key off of any of those options (there isn’t a “wrong” one in the list), do you see the far-reaching implications of their choice? That simple, critical decision will determine virtually everything about the marketing decisions they make. And yet, simple as it is, when you’re working on this for your own business, this step can be one of the most difficult. Why? Because most of us are dealing with some degree of fuzziness about our identity.

If you are fuzzy about your identity… how can your customers and future customers possibly be clear that you are the right choice to meet their needs? Fuzzy logic may be great in mathematics, but in marketing it’s deadly. It’s the difference between nailing the bullseye and missing the target entirely.

Don’t make another marketing decision until you settle this essential question. You’ll get your best results on this work when you pair up with someone outside your business who can serve as a “sounding board.” As my clients and trainees have all heard me say, you can’t read the label from inside the bottle.

Tomorrow: who are your customers?

In my work with clients over the years, one thing I’ve observed is that most marketing mistakes made by businesses both small and large come from a fundamentally poor understanding of the real identity of the business. If you don’t know who you are, how can you properly introduce yourself to your future customers? In truth, how can you have any real clear idea about who your future customers are if you aren’t crystal clear on who you are? It’s an extension of a personal identity crisis that gets carried over into the business world, and it’s much more common than I ever would have imagined had I not observed it first-hand again and again.

To illustrate this phenomenon, I’ll let you in on one of the processes that I take nearly every client through to help them better understand who they are. It’s actually a very simple process, but is typically overlooked. It begins by asking the very simple question:

What is your true product or service?

Before you respond with the most obvious answer, let me ask it a different way. What business are you really in?

Most companies (and this is particularly true of small businesses) define themselves too specifically and do not think about the answer behind their answer.

To illustrate this, let’s use a well-known company as an example. Starbucks roasts coffee beans purchased from growers all over the world and sells them primarily by making drinks out of them in their local retail stores. What business is Starbucks in?

a. Coffee
b. Beverages
c. Legal Addictive Stimulants
d. Entertainment

Give it some thought. We’ll pick this thought up in Part 2…