Marketing, no matter what channel or platform you chose, is all noise. Unless you take the "Me2You" approach.
Imagine that your marketing efforts are the same as making a presentation to a packed auditorium of hundreds of your highest potential prospects. You look the part, you dress the part and you have practiced for this day over and over. The audience is quiet, and it appears to hang on your every word. You are an expert on all levels, and when the presentation is over, you ask for the sale and you get -- NOTHING.
What went wrong? The simple answer is that you weren't talking to the individuals in the audience. You were talking to the group, and just adding to the noise. Clearly, it is not possible to craft hundreds or thousands of different messages, but the closer you get to having a "personal," "one-to-one" conversation with each member of the audience, the more effective you will be. I call it the "Me2You" approach.
Even the biggest pool of prospects -- which is made up of people with similarities, including demographics and psychographics -- consists of individuals with differences. You need to touch upon their different pain points and challenges, and do it in very specific ways. Your visuals need to evoke emotion and capture attention on a very deep level. Too many times, in an effort to craft messages that appeal to an entire audience, we use a broad brush and miss out on putting the finer points in front of our prospects. It is the finer brush strokes that will reach different individuals, at different times and in different ways, so build them in or you will lose a good many of otherwise potential sales.
Use the "Me2You" approach of engaging in a one-on-one conversation, and you will achieve much better results. So many times you have heard that direct marketing is supposed to be an intimate, personalized effort, and yet even seasoned practitioners need to be taken to the woodshed periodically. They try to be too cute, too subtle and too smart for their own good.
Imagery, copy, offer, audience and timing are the powerful tools of our trade. You need to combine them to your best advantage:
- Images should evoke emotional responses at first glance.
- Copy needs to be a printed version of real spoken words. Speak plainly.
- Tie the offer in a bow, making it a gift. Everybody likes a gift.
- Research the different subtleties of you audience. They are not all the same.
- Aim at timing your efforts for maximum effect.
- Make the engagement a "Me2You" moment.
As you envision your prospect pool, imagine sending a hand written note to each one. Your tone will change, the words will be different and the style will be so much more engaging and personal. The closer you get to from "Me2You," the better your results will be.
The author of this article graduated from Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses program (NYC Cohort 6) and is the CEO of Lorraine Gregory Communications. For more articles visit LorraineGregory.com