turn your website into a marketing machine
DESCRIPTION
Practical guidelines and examples to market effectively on your website. Three key themes: be strategic, use a marketing lens, and target the old part of the brain.TRANSCRIPT
Turn your website into a marke1ng machine!
Marsha Sanders Principal, Koi Marke1ng Solu1ons February 6, 2014
How can you turn your website into a marketing machine? Be strategic. Use a marketing lens. Target the old brain.
Searching for help on the web?
You find a long list of professionals You give each site about 4 seconds to spark your
interest
One of two things happen You are engaged with the site and want to know more You are not interested in anything you see, and move on to
the next site
You find a site called “Phoenix Healing Arts”
Impressions?
Search for “pain relief specialist boston”
1
2
3
4
Phoenix Healing Arts A"er applying strategy and using a marke3ng lens
View your site through a marketing lens. Close your eyes. Imagine your website home page. Apply the 4 second rule (no cheating).
The importance of branding
Be strategic.
Tac1cs Strategy
Building blocks for your marke1ng strategy
Customer definition Demographics Psychographics Critical needs
Defining services Features Benefits Differentiators
Competitors Competitive position Competitive differentiation
Building blocks: The posi1oning grid
Audience
Cri1cal need
Need
Want
Benefits Differen1ators
Your compe11ve posi1on
compe1tors
compe1tors compe1tors
Services
Building blocks: Messaging
Audience
Cri1cal need
Need
Want
Benefits Differen1ators
Your compe11ve posi1on
compe1tors
compe1tors compe1tors
Services
Messaging is driven by your compe11ve posi1on: • Key message • Tag line • Headline • Elevator speech
Building blocks: Target clients
You will probably have more than one client group in your market
Know as much as you can about each client group: Demographics – age, sex, geography, college education,
profession, etc. Psychographics – interests, fears, preferences, etc. Degree of need for your services – wants, needs, and
critical needs (pain) “If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, � feel my feelings, and speak my words.”
Cicero, Roman orator and statesman
Landscape design clients – Kathleen Coss Primary audience: Affluent home owners
Demographics Local to Carmel Middle-aged and older Well-educated
professionals Wealthy – can afford
high-end landscaping Mostly internet-savvy
Psychographics Appreciate beauty Proud of their
achievements Want to impress others Want to enjoy their
outdoor space Do not want to do the
work themselves
Landscape design clients – Kathleen Coss Primary audience: Affluent home owners
Critical needs Trust Just make it happen for
me (“I don’t want the headaches)
Someone to manage the process and crew
They want to love the results
Where do they get their information? Garden tours Signs in front of gardens Other vendors
(architects, builders) Magazines – like Sunset
or Architectural Digest
Landscape design clients – Kathleen Coss Secondary audiences
Realtors Homeowners needing “curb appeal” before selling New homeowners wanting to make improvements
Contractors Architects/designers/builders
Make recommendations as they plan their property development
Generally like to partner with one landscaper They often need landscapers for city and county inspections
Cri1cal needs and compelling events
Learning about your prospects Interview your customers – why did they choose you? Develop a composite of your ideal customer – with as
much detail as possible – give a name, photo
Many critical needs follow a compelling event Knowing what the compelling event is provides insight into
customer motivation, timing, and pricing This knowledge can help you close the sale
Building blocks: Your services
Features List all the details of what you will offer clients
Benefits What benefits will your clients experience as a result of using your services
Differentiators How can you stand out from the competition?
Tie a benefit or differentiator to each feature
Don’t expect prospects to connect the dots
Building Blocks: Benefits and differentiators
Benefits A benefit is something of real or perceived value to the
audience A benefit is usually not unique to one organization or
service, but is offered by many groups in the same category
Differentiators A benefit that is unique to the service or organization is a
differentiator What makes you different from others in your group? All differentiators are also benefits
Differentiators can be tangible (location) or intangible (friendliness)
View your site through a marketing lens. Differentiation.
Differen1a1ng a landscape design prac1ce
Differentiate on strengths that relate to client needs Impressive client base Process – how you work Established partnerships Specialized landscape design Your office location
Sometimes the differentiator is simply you – what you are passionate about, your own stories
Thought leadership – speak at conferences, submit articles to relevant publications
View your site through a marketing lens. Positioning.
Building blocks: Compe11ve posi1on
For each audience in your marketing plan, match up: The audience critical need or pain, with Your differentiated offerings Audience
Cri1cal need
Need
Want
Benefits Differen1ators
Your compe11ve posi1on
compe1tors
compe1tors compe1tors
Services
Why is positioning important? Every organization or service has a de facto
position in the mind of their audience Positioning drives consistent, effective messages Positioning must be honest and credible to your
prospects
Positioning means standing for one thing which means you must sacrifice A narrow focus often creates more opportunities The narrow focus could mean
Focusing on just one market Tailoring a giveaway that appeals to your key audience
segment
How to create your posi1oning statement
A positioning statement describes what you want the world to think – you want to control your position in your prospect’s mind.
It is an internal statement. Messages derived from it are external Who: John’s Driveways in Malden What: A small driveway sealer company For whom: that serves smaller clients - homeowners - who want pretty
good quality but do not want to pay, for the services of a larger company Against whom – Bigger and better known competitors with broader
geographic range Where is the difference : John Doe is smaller, does a good job for less
money than the big guys because he stays local
“John’s Driveways is a small driveway sealer company working with homeowners in the Malden area who want the job done well for a reasonable price.”
When your prospects are your compe11on
Most small companies are not battling real competitors, their competitors are their potential clients
Your prospect faces 4 options – using your service, using a competitor’s services, doing it themselves, or doing nothing at all
View your site through a marketing lens. Content – Messages and Copy. Provide proof to build trust.
View your site through a marketing lens. Content Messages Written copy
Why do we create messages?
Focus attention
A succinct way to summarize large, complex ideas in one or two sentences
Gain awareness and mindshare
Targeted messages cut through the noise Set client expectations Establish your expertise Messages must be
honest�
Messages must be clear and consistent
Disconnects can occur between The encoding and
decoding process Between your
intention and audience understanding
Test with Colleagues Family and friends Focus groups
Speaker
Audience
Message
Messages must be tested
Copywri1ng: The 1-‐2-‐3-‐4 Formula
A compelling headline – address a strong benefit, or even better, client pain
Followed by 1. What I’ve got for you
Address the client pain (headline) with your solution
2. What it is going to do for you What is the benefit for the client
3. Who am I? Build trust
4. What you need to do next Tell prospects what action to take
Web wri1ng basics
Good writing is simple writing: a relevant idea delivered clearly and directly
Choose simple words (“use” instead of “utilize”) Write short sentences – don’t add extra words unless
they are needed for meaning Write short paragraphs Use bullets – they attract the eye and can be skimmed quickly Use the active voice: subject – verb – object;
passive voice is boring
Web wri1ng basics, con1nued
Be specific I grow lots of flowers in my back yard. I grow 34 varieties of flowers in my back yard, including pink
coneflowers, purple asters, yellow daylilies, Shasta daisies, and climbing clematis.
Which is more interesting? Which helps you envision my back yard?
Edit out fluff words that don’t add meaning Teasers are effective
“The three most damaging and expensive mistakes new homeowners make with their yards”
Your elevator speech
An elevator pitch communicates the unique services you deliver to your target audience succinctly and memorable I am a <job title> working with <key audience> to deliver/
help/provide <benefits> with <differentiators>(through <delivery method>).
I am a marketing consultant working with small businesses to help them grow their business with strategic communications tools through my company, Koi Marketing Solutions
Your compelling headline
The power of a good headline – print ad tests have shown that 75% of sales are based on the headline alone (Gerber, eMyth)
Turn the headline into a promise – supported by proof later in the text Base it on your successful clients who have realized the
benefits of your offerings Proof can be in the form of simple tools available for
download Research reports Seven steps to a great fire pit in your backyard
Your tagline or descriptor
Build your tagline with benefits – or ideally differentiators – for your primary client group
You can use a descriptor (a phrase that describes your services) instead of, or in addition to, a tag line
View your site through a marketing lens. Provide proof to build trust.
Different types of proof
Customer stories – 80-100% proof Stories, testimonials, and case studies all demonstrate that you understand your client needs and have met them to your clients satisfaction Portfolios – these demonstrate how your solutions provided
benefits to your clients Before and after comparisons Videos of happy customers
Demos – 60-100% proof Data – 20-60% proof
Customer stories
Landscape design proof – your work!
Data
A note on videos and building trust
Videos establish credibility, establish you as an expert Videos help web visitors engage with you quickly:
Focus on the face – we are hardwired to pay attention to faces Your voice – Our minds are more stimulated by hearing a
person tell a story rather than reading it ourselves When we watch people express emotion, we have a greater
connection with them Movement – We are drawn to things that move; cave men
survived by watching things move (hunters versus gatherers).
Target the decision-maker in the prospect’s brain. The old brain or lizard brain
Only seven s1muli reach the old brain
1. Be visual 2. Create contrast 3. Use beginnings and endings 4. Keep it simple 5. Make it concrete 6. Make it personal 7. Use emotion
Be visual
Of the five senses, the Old Brain responds most strongly to the visual sense
Processing things that you see takes up about half of the resources of your brain at any one time
Impact for marketing Use graphics, visual symbols, photos, videos Use in addition to, or instead of, lists and lots of text
Create contrast
Clear contrasts speak to the old brain Fast/slow, before/after, risky/safe, simple/complicated
Contrast allows the old brain to make quick, risk-free decisions – otherwise it can be confused and slow
Impact for marketing Try not to use statements such as “we are one of the leader
providers of….” without adding contrast Neutral statements not lead to a quick sorting of
information, and do not trigger a quick decision Try to contrast where prospects are now, with how great
things could be if they use your services
Use beginnings and ends
The Old Brain is also strongly influenced by firsts and lasts, beginnings and endings
It is always looking for the unexpected – things that break the pattern that it’s used to
Impact for marketing Put your most important messages at the beginning and
repeat at the end of every prospect communication If you have a choice, be the first presenter because the old
brain is more attentive when in a state of anticipation
Be simple
Too much information may make prospects Unable to respond quickly Get irritated or bored Start to develop a “why are you telling me this? Response Suffer information overload leading to indecision
Impact for marketing – simplify your content Focus on critical needs and your differentiators Use metaphors and analogies
Be concrete
The Old Brain prefers concrete language to abstract ideas The old brain cannot process concepts like “a flexible
solution,” “an integrated approach,” or “scalable architecture”
It does react to simple and easy to grasp concepts like “more money,” “unbreakable,” “24-hour service”
Impact for marketing – use familiar, simple wording and lots of graphics
Make it personal
The old brain is only concerned with its own well-being and survival
Lesson for your marketing 100% of all your message as a business owner needs to
focus on the prospect and customer, not you Use the second person, i.e., “you” not “we” or “I” Content should not be first about you, your business, your
services The old brain will not listen until you tell prospects what is
in it for them
Use emo1on
The old brain is only triggered by emotion Emotions create electrochemical responses in the
brain – this impacts the way we process and memorize information
We remember events better when we experience them with strong emotion
Summary -‐ Marke1ng to the old brain Diagnose the client pain
Listen to prospects; their pain is often below the conscious level
Differentiate your claim Use clear contrasts in differentiating your services. Don’t say “we are one
of the leading…,” say “we are the only….” Your prospect is thinking, how does this compare to other options, and
how does this compare to doing nothing
Demonstrate the gain The old brain needs tangible information, needs proof that your solution will address their need or pain
Deliver to the old brain Keep the seven stimuli top of mind
Marke1ng services versus products Make your services visible and tangible.
Make your prospects comfortable.
“It is harder to market services than products because they are intangible.
Communications for services make them more tangible, and give prospects something firm to evaluate.
Unlike communicating about products,
communicating about services must make the service more tangible and real,
and must soothe the worried prospect.”
Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible
A final note on marketing. Give it attention. What you pay attention to GROWS!
When paying a^en1on to your marke1ng:
Be strategic.
View from a marke1ng lens.
Target the old part of the brain.
Resources.
Some of my favorite marke1ng books
Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith, 1997 A classic on services marketing
Unthinking, Harry Beckwith, 2013 Neuromarketing, Patrick Renvoise and Christophe
Morin, 2007 Positioning, Reis and Trout The eMyth Revisited, Michael E Gerber, 1995
Online marke1ng resources, con1nued
Data: Pew Research – www.pewresearch.org Demographics of social media users, 2/14/13 Social networking, 2012
Developing content – www.copyblogger.com How to develop content when you don’t have a clue
How to blog – www.blogtyrant.com/how-to-blog A guide to quickly start blogging
Marketing – www.marketingprofs.com Web marketing – www.marketo.com
THANK YOU! Contact me at: [email protected]
View your site through a marketing lens. Branding All of the above, plus visual identity
Fit by June brand Authen3c, athle3c, healthy, informal, clean brand Messaging is simple and memorable: Work out. Be fit.
Resolu1ons brand
• Professional, established, helpful, energe1c • Communicates emo1onal benefits of service well • Messaging: The Link to your Organized Future
Ask about our guaranteed results! • Reduced stress from clu^er
• Empty next downsizing
• Estate cleanouts
• Reduced 1me spent looking for
lost items Before Acer
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Search for “financial advisor boston”
Music metaphor has no real meaning
Li^le informa1on about services, quality
Rota1ng images show different types of clients
Boston Magazine – Top five financial planners, 2 years
Good posi1oning of his services, great key message, differen1ators
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Eric’s services: Graphics and lists Graphics are more impacEul and interes3ng than lists