Research:
The Hunt For The Hot Buttons To Make Good Ads
(With A Profitable Side Benefit As Well) 

 Last time we discussed

· The Marketing Equation: Interrupt, Engage, Educate, and Offer.
· Hot Buttons: Making sure you are talking about something the prospect cares about.

Understanding these is foundational. Hot buttons must interrupt, but they also have to engage. For example, they say “sex sells”, but that’s not accurate. A “babe in a bikini” may make you stop and look, but she doesn’t convince you that one product is better than another, so you ultimately move on. But if she held a sign that said “Joe The Sweep Cleans the White House Chimneys and He Has Never Been Late For An Appointment” you’d have something (albeit an inappropriate interrupt).

Why? Because she both interrupted you and held your attention (engaged) with information that was pertinent. The engage is the part that hits the hot button then. So how do you know what matters to your prospects?

In a word, RESEARCH. You have to ask. It’s a not a difficult process, and while it does take a little time, the payoff is forever.

Now some of your “discoveries” will only confirm the obvious, such as “punctuality matters”, or “are you going to make a mess?” But some of it’s less obvious; even after 20 years in the trade there might be a surprise, and that’s why you’re doing research in the first place. Also, what if your research does not confirm the obvious? What if you found out that something you assume is important in fact turns out to be unimportant to the prospect? Wouldn’t that be nice to know?

It happens. I have done this research and there were such surprises. Since these articles are to “teach you to fish” rather than “give you the fish”, I won’t tell you all I learned. But I will tell you how you can do the research yourself.

Here’s What You Want To Know

· You want to know the reasons people buy,
· What problems / frustrations they have when they buy,
· What concerns they have about buying.
· While you’re at it, find out why they buy from you.
· And make sure you find out what they wish you’d change, add, etc.

Here’s How You Find Out

I suggest you gather information :

· While you’re dealing with current customers
· And from former customers.

Divide those into groups. Sweep versus masonry customers for example may have different sets of concerns. Former customers you might divide into “happy customers” and “ones who left you”. Then you design a questionnaire for each group. While some questions may be the same, others will differ considering the group they’re given to.

If you spend $1 per piece sent out, including a self-addressed envelope with return postage, at 50% return you’d have a final cost of about $2 each. I suggest you want about 150 returns, so send out about 300 surveys. The project will cost you around $300.

The letter should

· Thank people for their business
· Tell them you are trying to improve your business
· Explain what you want from them, and that you want their frank comments
· Make an offer if you want to, though I do not believe it’s necessary. If you do though, make it an inexpensive offer (free bottle of glass cleaner when we come next time; and be sure to have a system that makes sure you actually follow through)
· Include the questionnaire and a postage paid return envelope

Resist the temptation to use this mailing to gather testimonials, but be thinking about it. In a future article I’ll be telling you to get testimonials, but don’t try to mix it with this mailing.

Be careful to keep the questions easy. In particular, don’t ask questions that require the people to rank things in comparison to other things on the list. As nice as it might be, it requires too much though, and they abandon the project. I learned that from sad and disappointing experience. Ask easy questions.

In your questionnaire, ask some questions to confirm what seems obvious to you. This is best done in a chart to rate various values. Perhaps “On a scale of 1-10, please rate each as to its importance to you.” Then list your values: not making a mess, punctuality, whatever.

But just as importantly, ask open-ended questions.

· What are your concerns when trying to hire a sweep company?
· What frustrations do you have dealing with sweep companies?
· What concerns do you have when you hire a sweep company?
· Can you make three suggestions of how our business could be better?
· Are we the sort of company you feel comfortable recommending to your friends? Please explain why.

This sort of thing… keeping the questions slightly vague so people can interpret them how they like, making it OK for them to tell you what they want to say instead of being tied to only what you thought you were asking.

This is important because though it will always be clear to you what you’re asking, even under even the best circumstances you will get some off-the-wall answers for almost any question you ask. Best to be just loose enough that any answer makes sense if you can guess its context.

There’s A Ton Of Information To Get From Disgruntled Customers.
And An Opportunity.

Especially from the ones you don’t know were disgruntled. Asking for this information can be delicate business, but as long as the business relationship didn’t end in a fight, it should be possible.

Where you know you messed up or jerked the customer around, a[nother] personal letter that admits that you should have done better and that you understand why they’d change companies (and that you would like to make it right) will go a long way. Then you ask for the information.

Let’s say you had a job that went bad; one of those jobs where you wish you had never taken it or wish you could start over. But maybe they’re really most unhappy about how poorly you kept in touch. Or maybe the “big problem” really just gave them excuse to be angry because they were actually bugged that your breath stinks (this can actually happen; I had such a man work for me once. He was almost perfect except his breath was chronically bad and I had customers react to that)

No kidding! When you query disgruntled customers you will get back info that you wouldn’t get otherwise because their anger or annoyance gives them freedom of speech they don’t usually have. Asking “What areas or our business do you think we need to improve?” someone might respond “Hygiene; the man who worked here had very poor dental hygiene.” If they bother to report it, after they’ve fired you, it’s a real problem.

If they just drifted (last time you called them they said “No thanks. We’re using a different company now.”) you’ll obviously learn more from this person than any other. “What could we have done to keep your business” might be a useful way to frame the question to this person.

Of all the people you might interview, the “departed” are the most useful. The Bible says “A kind word turns away wrath” and your letter may even win the customer back. The least it’ll do is quench bad word of mouth. You’ll get your $300 back many-fold.

NOTE THIS HOWEVER: If you know you run a sloppy business, don’t get back to people, don’t follow through on your commitments, do poor work, etc. you have to fix those things first. Good marketing isn’t to polish bad apples; it’s to make sure people buy good apples.  And from you. 

So Now You Did Your Research

You got back a few lost customers and you got a pile of information. For now, get to work doing your research; this is a good time of the year for it because you have the time and you’ll be ready when the season comes back around. Next time we’ll discuss how to use that information to make good headlines and body copy in ads.

God bless you, make money, and have fun,

Dale

How To Tell If Your Marketing Is Any Good: Apply These Tests

First: Tactics vs. Strategy. The strategy is your plan; complete with the nuances you build into the marketing pieces. But tactics are the things you actually do: Advertising in the Yellow Pages is a tactic, but designing the ad is part of your strategy. Displaying at a home show is a tactic, but which show, at what time, and how or if you do “pre-show marketing”, are strategic decisions. You get the idea.

In coming months we’ll discuss How-To on various tactics. But let’s start with strategy. In a battle, deploying the wrong troops, or at the wrong time, or at the wrong place would all result in lost battles. Good strategy is obviously very important.

Strategy is a broad subject; there are lots of decisions to make. For now we’ll assume you make good decisions about how you’ll get your message in front of the customer. We’ll focus here on designing the message. We’ll talk about The Marketing Equation.

The Marketing Equation

There is a format, which has always worked, and will always work. In our life times we haven’t seen it so much as in the past. There’s a reason for that; suffice to say the increased competition makes TV time scarce and expensive, so new models emerged in our lifetimes; but ones that small business can never compete with. You need to stick to the model that has worked for the eons before television.

Here it is: The Marketing Equation. Interrupt, Engage, Educate, Offer. And keep this rule in mind too: each word you write or say has one purpose only: to get people to read or hear what comes next. Everything builds on what came before it.

#1 Interrupt

Any message needs an interrupt. Headlines are a prime way that’s done. Think of the headline on this article. Makes you want to find out what I have to say. It interrupted you. What if I’d said “Good Marketing Is Better Than Bad Marketing”? Lame, yawn, who cares, skip this…

The purpose of the Interrupt is to stop you and see if you want to read the ad at all. The headline could have said “Hey Moron: I Want To Kick Your Butt”? While there are problems with that headline: it has nothing to do with the article for one J, it does in fact interrupt. Or I could have said “Kittens Are Sweet”. If you like kittens you’d have stopped.

An interrupt is anything unusual, familiar, or problematic. The Moron headline is unusual, so it would stop you. The Kitten headline stops people who like kittens because it’s familiar. The real headline stopped you because marketing is a concern of yours. You get the idea.  

#2 Engage

So a good interrupt needs to be appropriate. But a good interrupt alone is not enough. Next you must engage. An Engage makes a promise, draws the prospect in. You need to make people want to find out what’s next. Again thes article headline did that; it promised you a way to evaluate your marketing.

How To… The Only Way To… Why So and So… are a few examples of how you might draw people in. The engage can be rolled up in the headline, one with the interrupt, as it were. (did you hear about the Buddhist who ordered a hotdog? He said “Make me one with everything”) You can also engage with a sub-headline.

So let’s say the Moron headline was used. You’d be interrupted, so you would check the next statement to see if you should go on. If it said “Here’s How My Kicking Your Butt Can Improve Your Sex Life, Plus I’ll Send You $1,000” you might read on. But if the sub-headline read “Memories Of Sunny Days When I Was A Kid”, It’s doubtful you’d be engaged.

In actuality I interrupted you with something you care about - marketing, and made a promise. You stopped at the article, you determined that the promise was pertinent, and you decided to read on. Is this happening to your ads? Or is your ad just another mealy-mouthed menu list of services lost in the yellow pages. Is there any reason your ad stops ‘em dead and makes them call you- rather than the next ad that’s no better or worse?

Hot Buttons

Between interrupting and engaging, they combine to push a hot button. A hot button is something the prospect cares about, or is having trouble with. Punctuality is an example. Your headline could emphasize that you’re never late, thereby hitting a hot button (I know from research that the public cares about punctuality; my research confirmed the obvious.)

How about

“Imagine: A Chimney Company That’s On Time 98.3% Of The Time”

But if your headline is your company name… think about it. The public couldn’t care less- what’s in it for them? Use headline space to push hot buttons. Promise to solve a problem or deliver something they want.

#3 Educate

Education is the third element, self-explanatory I think. Here you tell people what you promised in the engagement. I promised to give you a test, and I most surely will. When we get to the test you’ll know how to take it, because of the education you’re getting now.

Relate that to your marketing. Does your body copy make a case for your company? Or does it just say that you

·           Sweep Fireplaces, woodstoves, gas and oil flues

·           Install chimney covers

·           Line or reline chimneys

·           Since 1982

…just like everyone else. Perhaps there’s a real reason why you’re the best choice, but I can’t tell from that list. The schlep down the road may well say exactly the same things. There’s no differentiation between you.

Use the moment you have the prospect’s attention to be sure he understands why he wants to buy from you, rather than someone else. For example, if you’ve never been late for an appointment, say so. In fact, something like that might be good in your headline. Then you explain how you accomplish that feat: “We don’t over schedule and we allow three hours between appointments”. When you support a claim with details, it’s real. Compare that to “You tried the rest, now try the best!” I’d ignore anything that unsupported foolishness on general principles. Always give details.

#4 Offer 

Finally, make an offer if you want someone to do something. Offer a bonus (Free Cre-Away treatment with every cleaning), a price reduction ($40 off sweeping), or maybe preferential treatment (April/May customers get four hour emergency service in the busy season). Perhaps your offer is for a limited time (offer expires April 30); perhaps you have scarcity, (only 50 opportunities available). Regardless, your offer should be generous enough and valuable enough to make the prospect care. Don’t make lame offers. 

The idea is to get people to do something now, or at all. FWIW, I favor value-added offers. While many people are very successful with discounting, there’s good argument that bonuses are worth more and they may keep you out of price competitions. Whatever suits your overall strategy, have some sort of offer.

Now Here Are The Tests

One is the “Who else can say that?” test. The menu board add is a good example of this; mostly everybody can say that stuff. And even if it’s not true, common stuff is said by lots of people. CSIA Certified is a good example of that. I’m not saying you don’t put it in an ad, but I am saying don’t hang your hopes on it, because everybody says it whether it’s true or not.

Or the “Cross out and write in” test. If all you have to do is scratch your name off an ad and replace it with a competitor’s name, and the ad is still valid (or pretty much so), your ad flunks the test.

Then there’s the “Well I’d hope so!” test. Back to the menu board ad that says you sweep chimneys. Big whoop-di-doo. Imagine that: a chimney sweep who sweeps chimneys. I am embarrassed to remember that this is exactly what my ad used to look like. But there are other less subtle ways to fail this test too. “Bonded and Insured.” Unless the public is well aware that most sweeps aren’t, and care, that’s a waste. They expect you to be insured. Advertising is expensive; use the space more profitably. You get the idea.

If your ad flunks the test, and about 99% do, change it NOW.  There’s your call to action.  God bless you, have fun, and make money.

Dale