Thursday, September 6, 2007
Copyright 2006 Mary Eule
The first question every potential customer, client, patient, etc. should ask when shopping for products or services is, "Why should I chose to do business with you over one of your competitors?" This question is so basic, so reasonable, so simple… a complete "no-brainer" for anyone in business, right? Wrong.
Very few business owners and entrepreneurs can articulate this, even if they "know" the answer intuitively! And although some don't come right out and say it, they probably think, "You should do business with us because even though we do the same thing as company X, Y, or Z, we do it better." Is this a good reason? I think not. Consumers are bombarded daily with advertisements for just about everything and have had to tune things out just to stay sane. As customer loyalty becomes a thing of the past companies are scrambling to invent new ways of acquiring that ever-elusive buyer, exacerbated by the vast number of new choices available on the internet and the relative ease of purchase. Therefore, it is even more important for businesses to "stand out from the herd"… to avoid being lumped in the commodity bin.
What is a commodity? Simply put: Products and services that are viewed identically and as a result, must compete solely on price. Companies are forced into this undesirable place primarily because their inside reality does not match outside perception or they fail to articulate what really makes them different! This leaves consumers no other choice but to choose companies based on price or convenience.
And while some companies can operate in this arena for a while, it ultimately moves them closer to extinction and means they'll never be able to command a healthy price for their products or services. And businesses will continue to compete in this way until they do something to alter their prospects' perceptions! Remember, perception is reality, even if it's not factual! Don't Become Another Commodity!
The greatest challenge for any business today is learning how to create and articulate their unique benefits. However, this can be accomplished relatively easy using a step-by step approach.
The first step is finding out where your company stands. Do your prospects view you the same as everyone else in your industry? If so, it's time to differentiate yourself by communicating your unique value and/or creating a unique value and then communicating it! Next, you must identify the specifics area where your "inside reality" doesn't match "outside perceptions" by asking current, prospective and former customers to help you identify gaps. These can be skewed in several different ways.
For instance, let's assume that you're the most knowledgeable, educated and competent financial advisor in your area, having earned and saved your clients much more than your competitors. At a networking event you give your business card to a qualified prospect in need of your services and you schedule an initial meeting in your office. However, when the prospect arrives the waiting room is bland and the sofa upholstery is threadbare; the rest rooms are in desperate need of cleaning; your receptionist is curt; your office is a mess and you can't find the forms you need. Then you spend the next hour reiterating the professional qualities you posses – careful attention to details, reliable service, thoroughly researched advice, etc. You're convinced that you have the know-how and abilities to provide the very best financial advice to him or her, but they choose another company. Why? Because there was a huge gap between what you said and what they experienced. Your words said, "quality and professionalism" and your environment and staff said exactly the opposite! As the saying goes, "If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck."
What does a dirty bathroom have to do with sound financial advice? In this case, everything. So you can either argue the point (i.e. one has nothing to do with the other) all the way to the poor house or do whatever is necessary to create an office environment that reflects your level of professionalism.
Alternatively, your customers may continue to choose you over a competitor because you consistently deliver more product or service value that you're not even aware of! And again, the only way to find this out for certain is to ask your repeat customers! For example, women may choose one comparable hair salon over the other because they are more careful schedulers and they never have a long wait. Presto! Instant differentiation handed to you on a silver platter!
The third, and possibly the worst, perception gap brings us back to the commodity "nowhere land". In order to transcend this place you'll need to force an "apples and oranges" comparison between your company and the competition. You must design, execute and communicate such significant differences between you, that it customers would be foolish to take their business anywhere else, regardless of price.
Caution! Do not confuse think that you can accomplish "differentiation" by drumming up false, but clever, promises. You should never underestimate consumer, they are not stupid. One of the quickest ways to destroy your business is to communicate value you cannot deliver.
For instance, I recently went to a local retailer that advertised their open hours as Monday through Friday for 8 am-5pm. When I arrived at 2pm the door was locked, the lights were out … no one home. Annoyed, I grabbed my cell phone and dialed the telephone posted on their sign. Instead of reaching a real, live human being my call was "answered" by a machine, with the greeting, "Hello and thank you for calling company X where customer service is our # 1 priority." (If customer service is there #1 priority, I'd hate to experience numbers 2 and 3!) And the bottom line is that it does not matter whether they really believe and/or deliver exceptional customer service most of the time… because my total, albeit brief, experience with this business was unsatisfactory.
Bottom Line: If you're going to tell the public you're great, make sure you really are great.
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Mary Eule, president of Strategic Marketing Advisors, is an experienced marketer and entrepreneur who uses her expertise to help small, medium and large businesses achieve profitable growth by understanding and using solid, well-thought-out marketing methods, systems and strategies.
Ms. Eule is a credible award-winning speaker and certified Guerrilla marketing coach, who weaves humor throughout her engaging seminars, e-books and teleclasses. She draws on her 'real-life' experiences as an owner of a small giftware company; corporate executive; co-founder of a successful telecom start-up; and a marketing consultant for businesses of all sizes. Along with partner, David A. Scarborough, she recently co-authored the much-touted, soup-to-nuts marketing book, Mandatory Marketing: Building Your Business with Loyal and Profitable Customers.
She received her undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and earned her master's degree in marketing from The Johns Hopkins University. Visit her website at: http://www.StrategicMarketingAdvisors.com to learn more.
Business Ph. 843-851-2118
The Importance of Attention Grabbing Headlines.
It doesn't matter if you have a professional looking website, with a superb product or service. Nor does it matter if your sales copy is the best there is. Without the right wording in your headline, you will not make many sales. Do you know how to create the perfect headline?
A very good friend of mine, Mavis, made the fatal mistake of ignoring the importance of killer headlines. This mistake nearly lost her her business. She had a great niche product, hand-crafted jewellery. She was able to sell loads of beautiful items through her stall at a local market, but she wanted to start selling her wares to a wider market and saw the internet as the perfect medium.
With only basic computer skills, she managed to put a pretty impressive website together. Her sales copy was good, she put in the essential call to action, everything was just perfect, or so she thought.
So what did Mavis do wrong?
Simply, it was the headline. It just didn't work. It didn't have the power to grab the attention of the potential customer. The headline does 90% of the work when it comes to sales copy. Unless you can catch the interest of a customer, you have no customers. Not a plan if you are trying to make a living through the internet.
Did Mavis know how important the headlines where?
She did plenty of research before she set up her website. She read everything that she could get her hands on. Covering all the topics from web hosting to marketing, sales copy to advertising. But nothing on the importance of headline wording.
Everything she read she put into practice. Considering she knew very little before she started, she did an amazing job. Thinking that she had covered it all and with everything in place, she launched her site and generated lots of targeted traffic to it. She only made 2 sales in 4 months. Not looking good for Mavis is it.
She rang me up one day and asked me what was she doing wrong. She told me that she was at her wits end and didn't know what to do. She said that the website was getting lots of visitors, but they weren't staying there long enough to become customers. I went straight to view her website and as soon as the page loaded I could clearly see what the problem was. You guessed it, the headline. The powerful and hypnotic wording was just not there in her headline. That one, singular oversight was costing her dearly. The website was beautifully designed and easy to navigate. The sales copy was very professional, she used all the right calls to action and offered an excellent refund policy. But the fact is, no-one ever saw any of this because they never got past the headline.
I told her to come around to see me and I would show her how she could turn things around. Mavis and I sat at the computer and I showed her the good, the bad and the ugly of headlines on websites. Within a few minutes, she could see where she was going wrong. She just hadn't been using the right words to get the effect that is needed. You have to GRAB the attention of browsing customers, by using powerful, emotional and hypnotic words. So I made us another cup of coffee before we sat down and I showed Mavis how simple it is to make sizzling headlines.
You need to start by creating a 'benefit statement'. This is what will make your reader want to know about what you are selling. Then you sandwich the benefit statement with action words and phrases. These are the true ingredients of attention-grabbing headline writing.
Okay, so what is a benefit statement?
This is simply the end 'result' of what your customer will experience when purchasing or using your product.
In mavis's case we came up with the benefit statement of "own unique hand-crafted jewellery.' Then we decided to sandwich this with 'the perfect way to' and 'delivered straight to your door.' The result:- "The Perfect Way To Own Unique Hand-Crafted Jewellery, Delivered Straight To Your Door." We played around with a few more, but decided to give this one a go.
What happened to Mavis's business?
Mavis went home and immediately set about changing her home page. She removed the old headline and replaced it with the new one. Within 24 hours of Mavis uploading her updated website, 5 orders where placed. By the end of the month she had made sales of $1564. She hadn't made any other changes to her website, just the headline and it completely turned her business around. She did have the advantage of already having targeted traffic visiting her site. Before the change of headlines, that traffic just clicked away from her page, but with the new headline, they became drawn in, taking time to have a look at the exquisite goods that Mavis had to offer. Some people staying long enough to make a purchase. Goal accomplished.
In conclusion, the headline is THE most important thing to take into consideration when writing your sales copy. Getting it wrong can have devastating results. Getting it right can have positively profound affects.
Never, ever underestimate the power of headlines. Unless you want your business to suffer dismally low sales and never really make it off the ground.
If you are having problems writing your winning headlines, you could always pay someone else to write them for you. Or you can get a software program that will do it for you. The first option could be a bit expensive, but there are some fairly cheap software programs that you will be able to use every time you need new headlines, so I would recommend this.
Jane Harper, Webmaster
Author and founder member of Success Creates Money.
11 Ways To Find Products To Sell On eBay
I was part of an eBay Roundtable discussion recently with six
other experts and we all agreed that the number one question most
new (and even old) eBay sellers ask is:
"Where do I find things to sell on eBay??"
To help answer that question I have compiled 10 ways that anyone
can use to find products to sell on eBay. This is by no means a definitive list and depending on your
situation, some of the ways may not apply to you. However, if you're a beginner and don't know where to start, this
list should help you get on track.
1. Look Around The House:
We all have items lying around the house that we no longer use or
need. Have you grown or shrunk in size? If so, you have clothes
you can no longer wear and can sell. Did you get a gift for
Christmas or your birthday that you will never use? If so, slap
it on eBay (just don't let the person who gave you the gift find
out). Do your kids have toys they no longer play with? Just
looking around your house and garage should give you plenty of
things to get your eBay ball rolling.
2. Garage Sales and Flea Markets:
When it comes to eBay, remember this old adage: One man's junk is
another man's treasure. Now this is not to say that you should
sell junk on eBay. You should only sell products in good
condition. The point is you can find items in good condition at
garage sales and flea markets that you can pick up cheap and
resell for a profit. Remember, nobody wants to buy your old
Beanie Babies that no longer have eyes and noses, but they may
buy "gently used" items if they're in good shape and offered at a
good price.
3. Talk To Your Friends and Relatives:
After you've gone through your own in-house inventory, contact
your friends and relatives and tell them you have started an eBay
business and will sell their items for a piece of the sales
price. Chances are they have as much excess stuff lying around
their house as you did. Offer to list the items for them and if
they sell, take half the profits. You will probably have to pay
the eBay fees out of your pocket up front, but you can then
deduct the eBay fees from the sales price before slicing up the
pie.
4. Consignment Sales:
Consignment sales are a great way to find a wide range of
products to sell on eBay. Consignment selling means that you
offer to sell an item that belongs to a company. In exchange for
your trouble you get a percentage of the sales price. You can
charge up to 50% plus fees for smaller items like clothing,
lamps, jewelry, etc. and around 15% for larger items like cars,
boats, and bulldozers (yes, I said bulldozers).
Contact every business in town and offer to list their excess
goods on eBay for a piece of the action. Most businesses have
returned items, liquidated products, used equipment, etc. that
they would love to get rid of, but don't have the time to do so.
Many will see you as their hero if you can help them get rid of
this merchandise and you'll make a pretty profit for your
efforts. For business customers you should have them pay the eBay
fees on the front end, not you.
5. Thrift Stores:
Thrift stores are an excellent place to look for things to sell
online. Stores maintained by the Salvation Army and non-profit
organizations are best. Many church thrift stores price their
goods at almost retail level, so you may not find too many
bargains there.
Much of the merchandise you will find at thrift stores has been
donated by middle to upper income families, so many times you can
find high quality merchandise in excellent condition. And don't
be afraid to make them an offer, especially if you are buying in
bulk. Nobody pays sticker price at thrift stores.
6. Mini Storage Unit Sales:
Mini storage companies are everywhere and most of them are filled
with stuff that people no longer want, but have no other place to
store. Did you know that if someone who is renting a mini
storage unit fails to pay the rent the owner can confiscate their
stuff and sell it? This is bad news for the renter, but great
news for you. Call every mini storage company in your area and
ask that they notify you if they ever have items to sell. Many
will put you on a notification list for their upcoming sales.
Some may even say, "Sure, come on over!"
7. Local Auctions And Estate Sales:
I'm a live auction nut. I'm not talking about the hooty snooty
art auctions. I'm talking about the good old fashioned auctions
with hard benches and hot dogs and cheap, good stuff. I love
going to auctions and digging through boxes and bidding on
things. My problem is I don't know when to quit buying. It's just
so dang much fun holding up that little paddle and winning a
sale, even if it's something you don't really need.
Check your area for auctions and sales you can attend. Just make
sure you don't pay more for something than you should. Your goal
is to buy low and sell high. Don't get so caught up in the
bidding that you pay more than a product is worth (voice of
experience here).
8. Closeout Stores:
You can find some great bargains at the big warehouse closeout
stores. Look for liquidated items or items you can buy in bulk.
And don't be afraid to make them an offer. I never pay sticker
price at closeout stores and neither should you. Call the manager
over and ask him what he'll take for the entire box of something
you're interested in. You may be surprised to find him more than
willing to deal.
9. eBay And Other Online Auctions:
Did you know that you can find great deals on products you can
buy and resell on eBay and other online auctions? If a seller
does a lousy job on his ad chances are he will get very few bids
and you can snap up the item at a deal, then create a great ad
and sell it for a profit.
You can also find wholesale bulk lots on eBay that you can buy
and piece out for sale one at a time. This requires the cash to
buy the inventory and a place to store it, but this is the best
way to get the lowest price on most wholesale goods.
You should also visit the other online auction like Yahoo and
Ubid.com to look for bargains. These sites do not have the
traffic and customer base that eBay has, which means auctions
there get fewer visitors and lower bids. Do a Google search for
"online auctions" to hunt for treasure there.
10. Wholesalers and Dropshippers:
Once your eBay business is rolling you can move it up a notch by
establishing relationships with wholesalers and dropshippers who
can provide you with merchandise to sell. You will get the lowest
price by buying in bulk from wholesalers, but that is a level you
should build up to. Don't buy a truckload of liquidated products
until you are sure you can sell them.
11. Contact The Manufacturer:
If you find a product that you think would be a good seller just
pick up the phone can call the company that manufactures. Tell
them you are interested in the product and were wondering if they
had a distributor in your area. If they do, contact the
distributor and inquire about buying the product wholesale. If
the company does not have a distributor in your area simply say,
"How do I go about becoming your distributor."
There may be costs involved that makes if prohibitive for you to
become a distributor, but you never know until you try. Again,
research the market thoroughly to make sure there are customers
who will buy the product and if you do have to invest money to
get started, only invest the minimum allowed and consult an
attorney if there are legal forms you're asked to sign.
