Continuing from last month’s article “Do Your Marketing Pieces Win or Lose?,” I’m going to go a little deeper into the psychology of making your print ads work. This is stuff my team at Window Washing Wealth™ work on all of the time. And is one reason why we win the lion’s share of leads despite my 75+ competitors in my marketplace.
Provided you want to hire, scale, and get out of the truck, you must learn how to be a marketing maven. Easier said than done!
So, before I answer the question, “What Style Of Print Ads Work?” let me first ask…
What Is Marketing Supposed To Do?
It should do three very important things…
- Capture the attention of the target market. For example, who is your residential target market? It is the upper middle class, the affluent, and the super affluent.
- Facilitate the prospect’s information gathering and decision-making processes in your marketing pieces.
- Lower the prospect’s risk of taking the next step in the sales cycle. Give them a reason to call you.
So, it doesn’t matter if you’re doing Postcard Campaigns, Flyers, Facebook, EDDM, Mailed Letters, Home Advisor, Google, etc., if you are using the printed word, everything I’m about to share with you applies…
Even A Dead Fish Can Float DownStream
Just because your ads might be done wrong and violate the Marketing Equation (below), it doesn’t mean they absolutely won’t work. In fact, oftentimes they work just fine. Why? Because none of your competitors are doing anything better!
After all, most of our target market needs to buy the services we sell, and they’re going to buy from somebody. If you have any ad out there you’re going to get some business. It’s called “situational results,” meaning the momentum of the marketplace will bring you some customers. Here’s a better idea: implement the following into your print ads.
Evaluate & See For Yourself
First, grab an advertisement or marketing piece from your company (maybe it’s a flyer, postcard or Valpak) and run it through these three “Platitude Evaluations”:
1. Well I Would Hope So!
Most print ads say things like Satisfaction Guaranteed, Insured & Bonded, On Time, etc. in their advertisements? Try this exercise. Now say the words “Well I Would Hope So!” after each. Doesn’t sound so great now, does it? This is what your potential customer is saying to themselves when they read your ad! There’s nothing here that separates you from the competitor. That’s Rule #1.
2. Who Else Can Say That?
Could your competitors say the same things you’ve said? Not do what you do, but SAY what you say? If so, you’ve again violated Rule #1 by not separating yourself from them.
3. Cross-Out/Write-In Test:
Cross your name off your ad and write in the name of your competitor. If the ad is still valid, you failed the test and again violated Rule #1 – Differentiation.
Pretty interesting isn’t it? See how they all say the same thing? Which company would you choose? Why? Nothing separates one from the other!!!!! Is this how YOUR ads look too???
Like I have mentioned in earlier articles, marketing is a science and should not be done on a whim…ever. Put a lot of thought into your message, and if in front of the right market, via the right medium, you will generate more leads that you can convert into customers almost every time. I call it the Marketing Triangle.
Until next time
Jim DuBois is founder of Squeegee Pros, Inc. out of Mooresville, NC and is the creator of WindowWashingWealth.com. Visit the site for a FREE MARKETING REPORT, FREE BUSINESS CONSULT, and BUSINESS BUILDING MANUAL. Window Washing Wealth is a high-level business coaching program that specializes in aggressive marketing tactics, systems implementation, and growth trajectory execution – all leading to market domination on auto-pilot. I can be reached at [email protected] or call 704-451-0409. © Copyright 2021 Jim DuBois