3 Examples of Thoughtful Marketing

November 13, 2017 by Ann Barr

The process of marketing, when you think about it, first involves emotion.

Think about the new car you purchased and how excited you were the first time you drove the car. There was the “new car smell” and how good you felt driving your new vehicle.

Even the anticipation of buying something you really want is enough to start picturing yourself owning the thing that will fill you with positive emotions.

Successful marketing focuses on how the buyer feels about what is being sold.

Because you care – and you believe your products and services are the best available – think about how you can successfully communicate to prospects the feeling of the excellent quality and benefits you provide. Because:

“If you have a great offering, weak marketing actually does everyone a disservice.”
– Stefanie Flaxman, Rainmaker Digital

Three Examples of Thoughtful Marketing

1.) This attention-getting email I received last week from a website designer was very different from messages sent by other website designers:

Subject line: “I have some exciting ideas for your website.”

The two positive power words in the message: “exciting” and “your” immediately caught my attention. I felt the writer actually read my website and knew how to improve it. I opened and read the email and saved it for future use and action.

2.) Feeling Good After the Sale

Just as important as feeling good before the sale, the after-sale feeling is critical.

After I placed an order on the Zulily website, a confirmation of the order arrived by email with these words:

“You have such good taste!”

Even though I realize these words are most likely sent to all buyers after a sale, still it was a “feel good” message.

3.) These are the words on a small brochure included with something I ordered from Amazon and received 2 days later:

“You have in your hands the World’s Best ___________.”

The wording in this brochure made me feel more confident about the quality of this product and happy that I ordered it. Nice!

Both of these after-the-sale messages began with the word “you,” one of the top positive power words.

Thanks for reading – here’s wishing you a safe and healthy day day!

– Ann

PS – The next one-to-one e-Course begins on Wednesday.

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PPPS – Questions about the course? Phone me at 757.463.0924 or Email to annbarr@annbarr.com and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Creative Marketing Wins Skeptics

August 13, 2017 by Ann Barr

Kathryn is a tenured professor at a university in Maryland.

She is a runner, a talented writer and a lover of dogs and Yoga.

(This is not actually a photo of Kathryn, but it IS a Yoga pose.)

Kathryn wants to bring Yoga to everybody, especially to people who believe they are not the “Yoga type.”

To draw more folks to her Sunday Yoga classes, she spreads the word through friends, neighbors, students and email.

Her email is a creative attention getter.

“I am again leading Good Karma Yoga on Sunday, 4 pm, for EVERYBODY!

“We especially welcome skeptics, doubters, newbies, anxious people, un-flexible people, not-stretchy people, old people, broke people, broke-down people, thick people, intimidated people.

“We have mats and everything you need.

“We ask a donation of $5, more if you can afford to share.

“All money goes to yoga for those who cannot afford to access yoga.

“Good for you; good for others; good karma.

“Bring your kids for the Good Karma Yoga if they are over 11.

“I promise you will be glad you did.

“Wear comfortable clothes.

“Every Sunday at 4 pm.”

SUCCESS

Kathryn’s first Yoga class – after spreading the word – was filled with 40 new Yoga students
PS – Update: the “skeptics” who were part of Kathryn’s first Good Karma Yoga class have been back Sunday after Sunday.

Thanks for reading – here’s wishing you a day with good Karma!

– Ann

This Will Make You Think Twice About How You Are Perceived

July 30, 2017 by Ann Barr

Okay. I’ll admit it: I was taken in by the low price advertising of discount super stores.

* “Deep Discounts” and

* “Lowest Prices!”

Like many consumers, I had the impression – the perception – that most products were lower in price at the discount warehouse.

Reality

When shopping for a camera, I compared prices at several different sources:

(1.) A discount super store,

(2.) The Internet

(3.) A small, locally-owned camera store.

Surprise

Not only was there a price difference, but a pretty good-sized price difference.

The camera was the same price in the discount store as on the Internet.

But the price at the small local camera store was $20.00 less!

Two different accessories for the camera were also less expensive at the local camera store.

My price perception was very different than the reality.

Added Value

In addition, the clerks in the discount store knew very little about the features of the camera.

But the person in the local camera store not only told me everything I needed to know about it, he gave me a demonstration and showed me how to use the camera.

Even if the price had been the same or higher, I felt there was a lot more value attached to buying the camera at the local store.

How Are You Perceived?

How do your customers feel about your company?

What is their perception?

Do they really understand the value you offer?

When buyers compare your products and services to discount stores, are they comparing apples to oranges?

Do they know that when they do business with your company, they will be getting much more than just good products?

In the camera-shopping situation, I could have shopped only at the discount store.

But because of the lack of product knowledge available in the discount store, I looked for value and found it at the locally-owned camera store.

The local store does not advertise the extra benefits they offer: locally-owned business, personal service, product knowledge, competitive pricing.

Getting the Word Out

If your customers are not aware that you offer much more than just products, they may shop elsewhere.

If they think price is the only difference between you and your competitors, there may not be much incentive to buy from you.

Using telephone, email, face-to-face and direct-mail marketing that focuses on value, benefits and solutions, will increase customers’ perception that they will gain something more important than just products when they do business with you.

Would This Radical Form of Marketing Work for You?

May 1, 2017 by Ann Barr

out-of-the-ordinary-tn It was a hot, humid day on August 23rd, 2011 when suddenly the empty rocking chair in my home office began rocking back and forth.

Eerie.

Was the ghost of my grandmother visiting? Not likely.

I turned on the TV and saw that an earthquake had struck Washington, D.C. – and Virginia Beach, where I live.

So THAT was the reason the rocking chair rocked!

Earthquakes in D.C. and Virginia Beach are rare. I don’t remember one – ever.

We have occasional hurricanes here but not earthquakes.

What does this have to do with marketing?

Well . . .

. . . not being a frequent TV watcher, I began – after the earthquake – keeping the TV on – on mute…just in case.

Every now and then I looked up at the TV to see if anything unusual was happening.

That was when I became aware of the quirky Duluth Trading television advertising . . .

. . . focusing on the negative stuff you can avoid if you buy their products.

At first, I smiled because of the unusual wording and graphics.

But, then I had to turn the volume up because…

… did that Duluth commercial say what I thought it said?

“Crouch without the ouch.”

And

“How to fix plumber’s butt.” What?

“Buck-naked underwear” with a “no-bull guarantee.”

The commercial that sold me was “the no-yank-tank” because it is two inches longer than most women’s tanks.

You don’t have to yank it down when you’re crouching or bending over.

I bought one and liked it so much I bought two more when they were on sale.

It helps that Duluth sells high quality products that live up to its advertising.

Results

Duluth Trading has nearly doubled its sales in just two years, thanks to its quirky ads, including an animated “buck-naked” underwear guy.

I love this quote from Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times:

“Duluth Trading practices a radical form of marketing known as honesty.”

Could radical, quirky advertising work for your business?

Would “no-jam copiers” get attention? I don’t know, but Duluth ads get the attention of millions and have dramatically increased sales.

You can see a creative and unusual form of marketing on this page,

Want to Brighten Someone’s Day?

There is an example of an award-winning funny and attention-getting voice mail message in this e-book.

Thanks for reading – here’s wishing you a beautiful day!

Ann

One Question Gets the Attention of Frazzled Prospects

August 7, 2014 by Ann Barr

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get your foot in the door with your first call to a busy prospect?

Nice, but rarely ever happens.

Your prospects are getting phone calls from everyone else who sells the same products and services.

Let’s face it:

Your prospects and customers are crazy busy and they don’t have time to listen to everyone who tries to pitch to them.

To get some of our prospects’ precious time, we need to spread multiple contacts out over time – sometimes 10 or 12 contacts before we get the opportunity to make a presentation and ask the right questions.

And when we DO get their attention, we need to demonstrate that we know what we’re talking about and can provide the solutions that will solve their problems.

There is one specific question you can ask that will let your prospect know that:

You have the experience and knowledge they need.

You have provided solutions to companies similar to their own

You are different (in a good way) from your competitors

The attention-getting question below is included in the book “Snap Selling,” written by best-selling author Jill Konrath.

“You already know that if you ask questions, your prospects will see you as more competent and caring, but you may not realize that some questions are better than others.

“Plain vanilla questions such as ‘What are your objectives for the coming year?’ or ‘What are your primary problems’ can be asked by any reasonably trained seller without much knowledge or experience.

“However, if you want to get to the Go Zone, you need to take your questioning skills to a whole new level. More specific questions demonstrate your expertise.”

The Intelligent, Specific Question

To start a real conversation with prospects, ask this one brilliant question (customize for your specific products):

“Mr. Prospect, in working with other companies who were making copier decisions, I find that they’re typically concerned with 4 very basic criteria: ease of operation, flexibility, reliability and quality. Can you tell me which of these factors is most important to you and why?”

“See how you can bring in your experience? This question leverages your expertise and will be more likely to start a conversation than “plain vanilla questions.”

_ _ _ _ _

Dear Reader: You CAN get attention plus build trust and credibility with prospects during your first call. When they know you, like you and trust you, prospects are more likely to buy from you. My one-to-one private e-course is designed specifically for your situation to get the results you want. Take a look at what my favorite clients say about working with me then contact me and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours. I look forward to helping you achieve your sales goals!

– Ann

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