The objective of marketing is getting the attention of people who are interested in learning more about doing business with you. Using also ran marketing techniques that tell the prospect about you and your products is a complete waste of both time and money. If you want to connect with the people you’re marketing to you have to get their attention and provide value.
Why do you respond to a marketing message? Whether it’s something you get in the mail, something you hear on the radio or TV, or something someone says to you in person you respond to a marketing message because it got your attention. It got your attention because the message told you something that you thought might be of value to you or for you. Once they had your attention you wanted to know more. Smart marketers provide you with a way to know more.
Give your prospects a low risk way to get more information. Have you ever called an 800 number to get a free brochure, or send an email requesting a free guide, or faxed a completed form to get a report, or visited a website to sign-up for an alert? These are all low risk calls to action. You weren’t ready to meet with someone or to have someone call you. You just wanted to know more so you could decide if you wanted to take it a step further. Because there was a low risk way for you to do it, you did it.
The reason you took the time to respond was because whatever was offered in the call to action held perceived value for you. For example, you wanted to know how to compare refrigerators for energy efficiency without going to the store and looking at all the models. Your prospects might want to have a quick guide for understanding the differences between LTC policies. The item offered doesn’t have to be unique or closely held information. Your prospects just want something that quickly helps them to understand differences, or that helps them to understand what they really need to know to make a good decision about something. Would you want to read a free report about the 7 biggest mistakes to avoid when leasing a car? Apply that concept in your marketing.
When you responded to those messages you were actively looking for something, you were thinking about something related to the offer, or you were thinking you should be thinking about whatever was related to the offer. With your offer you’ve now made a good starting connection with three different types of prospects. You have caught the attention of the ready buyer, the soon to be ready buyer, and the some day ready buyer. Now all you have to do is move them from education to buying deepening your relationship all along the way.