Marketing Dead Weight—5 Things to Purge from Your Home Page, Sales Letters and Other Marketing

Marketing Dead Weight—5 Things to Purge from Your Home Page, Sales Letters and Other Marketing

You see them every day—self serving marketing messages, clichй-riddled business cards, and sales letters that do little more than ramble on about a company that you couldn’t care less about. This marketing dead weight doesn’t compel you to respond or buy, but instead just bores you with meaningless babble.

Why is so much marketing so pointless? The short answer is time and effort. The easier it is for businesses to rely on filler, the less they have to actually think about what the customer really cares about. Unfortunately for them, Motorola RIZR Z6 the less they think about the customer, the less relevant their marketing becomes.

Your own marketing doesn’t make the same mistake, does it? Of course not! But just to be safe, here are some examples of marketing dead weight to keep an eye out for. If you find any of these in your own marketing, eliminate them without mercy.

1. Clichйs

The business clichй is the most popular form of dead weight thanks to lazy corporate marketers and the small business Samsung VP-DC165W owners and self-employed professionals who follow their poor examples of “professional” writing for their own material. Here are the worst offenders:

• “Premiere provider”, “Number 1”, “The Best”. It’s amazing how many businesses all happen to be the best in their industries. If you are going to claim to be the best in any particular area, back it up with measurable facts, preferably from a reputable 3rd party. Also keep in mind that being “the best” probably
means more to you than to a prospect who is simply looking for “good enough”.

• “Committed to Excellence”, “Customer Focused”, “Results Oriented”, “Win-Win”, “Integrity”, “Value-Add”. These clichйs attempt to take credit for basic business skills. Of course you’re customer focused, committed to excellence and results oriented! If you weren’t, you’d be out of business. These types of Sony DCR-DVD 810 E statements are simply empty promises of value. Instead, demonstrate your excellence with samples, case studies and testimonials that let others brag for you.

2. Focusing too much on the company, not the customer

No one cares about your company, how long you’ve been around, or how professional your staff photo looks. Your company info will only matter to your prospects as they compare you to alternatives, after you have already gotten their attention with a message that relates directly to them.

3. Weak calls to action

Imagine writing a PHILIPS HR 1366 brilliant sales letter, free of clichйs and puffery. From the first sentence your readers are captivated by your thorough understanding of their needs and your clear solutions to their problems. So how do you end it? With a weak “Give me a call any time to discuss your needs”. After all that build up, don’t go limp at the end when a strong call to action is needed to pull prospects through to the next step. Tell them what to do and why.

4. Silly микроволновки clip art

Here are 3 stock photos that are guaranteed to add excess tonnage of dead weight to your marketing, web site and business cards:

a. Two hands shaking (intended message: Done deal, let’s do business together, partnership. Real message: I needed a colorful picture on my web site and I had no idea what else to use.)

b. Skyscrapers (random or city specific, intended message: Big, strong, important. Actual message: We are a tiny business trying to look bigger and more important than we really are.)

c. 2-4 models/executives all huddled around a computer screen and smiling like they just had a group lobotomy. (intended message: ???)

If you want to dress up your website or brochure with pretty pictures, use photographs that are at least mildly original, differentiate you from your competition телевизоры Samsung and communicate something relevant to your market.

5. Too many words

Every part of your marketing arsenal has a word budget—the exact number of words that it will take to get your prospects to take action. The more unnecessary words you use, the fewer people will maintain interest and finish reading. Be brutal in your editing and get rid of every letter that doesn’t support your core message and offer.

The как устраивать разгрузочные дни sooner you rid your marketing of dead weight, the sooner you Кухонный комбайн can refocus on why you Viewsonic 2223 are in business and what will motivate prospects to hire you.

By Marcus Schaller, Managing Editor of Purple Dot Magazine (http://www.purpledotmag.com), a free online publication Panasonic NV-GS230EE-S covering marketing, sales and public relations for small businesses and self-employed professionals.

Survival On The Road! A Resource For The ‘On The Road’ Sales Professional

It makes no difference if you are a Saleswomen, a Salesman, a rookie or a seasoned pro, we all face challenges while on the road. You may set up your жк телевизоры samsung own flights, cars and lodging, you may have a travel department that does it all for you, or if you are like the vast majority of “rocket roadsters” you drive your own car.

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