Most marketing strategies go phooey, not so much because they're not good, but because the strategists don't drive their marketing strategy to Echo Point. Not sure what that means in marketing terms? And how it can affect your marketing plans?
Read the article to find where you could be going all wrong.
Here's how mums get their message across…
Tommy take out the garbage
Tommy take out the garbage
Tommy take out the garbage
Tommy take out the garbage
Tommy take out the garbage
Tommy take out the garbage
Tommy take out the garbage
Tommy take out the garbage
Tommy take out the garbage
When does Tommy get the message?
You guessed right. Sometimes it works on Tommy the first time. At other times, the threat of fire and brimstone won't get him from his state of inertia.
But Mum isn't some dummy, born yesterday. Oh no, her goal is to get Tommy to take out the garbage, and that's just what she'll get him to do. Tommy knows he can't be the victor. When her high pitched notes start shattering glass, even Tommy gets-a-movin' . Mission accomplished, mum settles in for a nice cup of steaming coffee and a tasty biscotti.
What if the flamingoes didn't follow through like Mum?
You've watched it all on Discovery Channel, haven't you?
As this lovely array of pink flamingoes do their little mating dance, aren't you entranced? The head bobs, the graceful movement, the flap of the wings.
So let's assume the female flamingo finally gives in to this cha-cha-cha. Does the male flamingo simply start dancing for another female? Wouldn't it be the most stupid thing to do? I mean what's the point of the whole song and dance routine?
Yeah, what's the point, Marcel?
Marcel takes orders on behalf of a CD Company. Jenny Lang needed to print, brand and distribute her marketing material on CDs. Marcel listened intently and studiously took notes, as Jenny outlined her needs. He then spent another thirty minutes writing up the quote and zapping it off to Jenny via email.
Then he died on her.
She didn't hear from him again. Every day, she wakes up and thinks about those CDs that are vital to her company's business growth. Yet Marcel just isn't around to follow through on the order.
And we're not even considering chaos…
In the case above, Jenny's credit card was itching to get zapped. But that's usually the exception instead of the rule. In most cases, Jenny isn't ready to buy when you're ready to sell.
The first time you sent her a mailing piece, the monsters under her bed ate it. The second time, her husband made aerodynamically perfect paper planes to amuse himself. The third time around, she took a big look at the taxbill from the IRS and kaboom, the carpeted floor caught her in its arms. And maybe the sixth or the eighth time you get across to her, she ends up doing a Tommy. She actually buys into what you're selling.
So when was the last time you bought something on impulse?
You might think it was impulse but instead it was just the constant follow up of marketing and advertising. When faced with a choice, you'd rather buy a Subway instead of a no-brand sandwich. You'd rather buy a Ford than a God-knows-where-that-brand-came-from-car. And your customers would rather buy from the known ‘devil' than the unknown.
Impulse is an unknown quantity in most of our seemingly rational buying patterns. Even when it seems we buy on impulse, that brand has been stamping their mark on our brains. It's the psychology of getting into a customer's brain and staying there till they're ready to make that *impulse purchase.*
Psychology makes us buy. Technology does the follow up.
Post-It stickies go astray. Paperwork gets buried in nice little piles under your desk. But your computer program remembers everything. A simple contact management software like ACT which costs an affordable $200 allows you to follow through with ruthless efficiency.
This merges the psychological power of follow up, with a byte driven system that just won't let you quit. If you had any excuse to not follow up, this was the second last one and then we're over and done with this article.
So what's the last snivelling excuse?
Will your customers be mad because you follow up like a dogged terrier? The answer is a big NOPE. People secretly admire persistence and your marketing doesn't really need to stop. Read: When do you stop marketing to customers?
You can keep following up with email, brochures and other forms of marketing material till you're ready to drop. Cause you'll be ready waaaaaaaaaay before your customer is.
How many times do you have to hear I love you?
I love you
I love you
I love you
I love you
I love you
Is a squillion times enough for your child? Or your partner? It usually isn't. And it's EXACTLY the same for your customer.
It ain't about persistence, it's about targeted persistence.
All the follow up in the world will take you nowhere if you don't get your target audience right.
Saying:
I love you
I love you
I love you
I love you
I love you
a squillion times to the wrong prospect is harrassment. And carries big fines and a sentence of 3 days worth of Sensitivity Training.
Knock on the wrong door and it will be slammed in your face. Knock on the right one, and it's a three-course dinner with some fun on the side.
The weakest chain in every marketing plan is always the same.
Most businesses don't quite follow up and follow through. If you want to get the Tommys and Jennys of the world to sit up googly eyed and take notice, you've got to go to the right audience and say it again, and again, and again.
The folks up at Echo Point know exactly what I mean. Do you?
Recommended Product: The Brain Audit: Most people are focused on attraction. They drive visitors to a sales page, or entice them to get to a presentation, and despite the obvious numbers the conversion stays extremely low. The Brain Audit instantly boosts your conversion rate because it helps you construct your message that helps customers to buy.
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