Watch Your Mouth!
Or, 3 Lessons on How Your Language Matters
Okay, so maybe that headline was a bit over the top. Not to mention a bit tongue in cheek.
But behind a statement we can all recognize (and probably more than once heard while growing up) is a powerful business idea lurking just beneath the all too familiar surface. And a point absolutely critical to your business success, both on and offline.
This lesson involves YOUR use of language.
More specifically, how you talk TO your prospective clients and/or customers about your goods and services.
1. It had better be about them…
Let’s start at the beginning. What you are saying and why your saying it in the first place had better capture your readers attention. Also it had better be content wise to what they are looking for, or they’re outta here!
2. If at first you don’t succeed, you better change what you are saying…
Or at least who you send it to…
Be careful of sending the same old marketing that didn’t get you anywhere back when you first sent it, isn’t going to change results the next dozen times you send it. In fact, if the marketing piece sends back 0.0%, then you REALLY need to examine what your sending as a message and who you’re sending it to.
3. Recent, Relevant, and Right what they were looking for!
If they are talking about it, searching for signs of it, YOU had better be talking about it yourself. You must keep up with the way your prospects are communicating a need for what you have.
However, if the WAY your talking in your marketing is stuffy business speak, your going to miss out on a large segment of the population because you aren’t speaking their language.
Next Steps…
Any questions? Comments? Did we hit a nerve?
Drop us a line by leaving a comment. We will reply (here, and by email if you’d like) as soon as we’re able. And if there’s a topic you want us to discuss, let us know.
To receive monthly emails with summaries of all our latest content, sign up for our “Monthly Web Tips” above. Does that sound fair enough to you?
To discover how our web marketing firm can help you with your online presence, traffic, leads and sales, kindly follow the link. You can also review our web marketing services to better understand how we work with clients just like you.
Do You OWN Your Website…
Or are you merely renting? What do we mean by that?
Well, for instance, here’s a quick list that would indicate if you are simply “renting” your site.
- Your site is hosted by your web developer
- You cannot EASILY add, change, edit or modify content on your site
- You do not OWN your site’s URL (i.e. the http://blahblahblah.com stuff)
- Your blog is hosted on a service like blogger.com, etc.
If any of the above describes your situation, your website really owns you!
Let me explain…
When you start out in a new business – most anyone you talk to will tell you:
“starting a business? You’ve gotta get a website!”
And that’s where it begins.
Maybe you’ll get quotes from “pros” who will offer you instant sales making sites if you make a mortgage payment to them. Or maybe a friend or relative will refer you to someone who’s a “graphic designer” or knows some Photoshop who will create a website for you… for free.
Two ends of the spectrum, to be sure.
But where will following that path lead you?
Ultimately the Only rule you need to follow on your website is this:
Its all about the Content. Make it relevant to their interests. And keep it recent because nobody likes reading old news… you gotta keep it fresh.
Since that IS the key to marketing your business online, here’s the question: who will update your content? Will the overpriced pro keep it current for you? Or is it so custom, so complicated that you can’t USE the darned thing.
Will the friend of a friend doing you a favor take care of your site, WATCH over it like a precious asset for you, for free? Let’s be real.
So remember this one point…
why you are creating a website in the first place. You need to:
- Understand who the website is for.
- What kind of website is it?
- Lastly, and most important, who is updating your website?
Who is your website for?
It is not about you. It needs to FOCUS on the marketing message you need/want to communicate to your visitors.
What kind of site is it?
If your site going to be a “static” page (like a brochure site) that just states your business name and contact info, then you might not need to worry too much about updating content.
Of course, if this is the case you’ll have a hard time optimizing your site and building community.
If your website is (or will be) an interactive site, like a BLOG site, then you can respond to your web visitors, create interactivity, and build a community around your website.
Who is (or will be) responsible for updating/maintaining your website?
Will it be you, the people you hired to create the website? Or will you have to hire someone else to maintain and update it? These are the most costly mistakes that can hurt you more than getting your logo design wrong.
Take my word for it, save yourself some dollars, learn as much about web “stuff” as you possibly can, and be watchful of where you are spending your money.
You may be happy with the details you like, however your visitors will have something else to say about that.
Next Steps…
Any questions? Comments? Did we hit a nerve?
Drop us a line by leaving a comment. We will reply (here, and by email if you’d like) as soon as we’re able. And if there’s a topic you want us to discuss, let us know.
To receive monthly emails with summaries of all our latest content, sign up for our “Monthly Web Tips” above. Does that sound fair enough to you?
To discover how our web marketing firm can help you with your online presence, traffic, leads and sales, kindly follow the link. You can also review our web marketing services to better understand how we work with clients just like you.
Integration Marketing…
What does it mean?
Integration marketing, as we use the term with clients to reveal blind spots in their online business, involves three key and critical issues:
- the relationship between your sources of traffic and the offer or offers on your site (involves pre-action of your web visitor)
- opportunities to up-sell or cross-sell (integration at the point of action),
- the points of contact between the accepted offer and other products or services available to your new lead or customer (post-action integration).
So what does that mean for you?
First, that the language used to address your potential customer matches both
- the modality of how people in that niche/community/social network, communicate, and
- the mindset of your potential customer at the point of contact.
Getting this right means that the person is more likely to “follow along” and take the next step you’ve mapped out for them in advance.
That’s why it is essential to get this part of your marketing efforts right.
Why is this important?
Okay, so if you’ve done a good job of attracting people to begin a dialogue with you, what comes next?
Well, the next issue to consider involves conversion. And that means getting them to take an action.
This could mean…
- buying a product
- joining your list
- leaving a comment
- signing up for a seminar, teleseminar, etc.
Now, that’s great when it happens. But here’s where a lot of people unfortunately drop the ball. Because…
once someone has committed to taking an action, it’s the perfect time to ask them to take another step with you.
Think of this as the law of inertia…
Getting folks to interrupt the pattern of their daily life to stop and pay attention to YOU for even a minute is a huge accomplishment. And NOW that you have their attention, don’t let the moment slip past because you forgot (or are afraid) to ask them to take one more step with you.
That’s what we mean by opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell. And it doesn’t just have to happen at the point of contact, either.
Monetize your follow up
So you have a new customer, client, or lead. Now what?
Here’s where so many of us just drop the ball. And the real issue is one of business philosophy than technology.
There are really 2 business models.
One is transactional. You sell the customer something and promptly move on to the “next.”
The other is relational. Instead of a sale, you’re focused on “lifetime customer value.”
Now, forget for a second the question of “which is best?” Let’s focus on the bottom line for a moment.
The single greatest marketing cost is to acquire a customer or client. In other words, it costs more to make the FIRST sale then FOLLOW UP sales. Now, the question for you is, how effective is your follow up to existing customers/clients?
Just one more point to cover.
We’re currently developing our “12 Step Marketing Program” and we’d like your feedback. In it, we tackle each of these issues in greater detail, as well as uncovering common stumbling blocks that prevent business owners from implementing strategies to improve their traffic, conversion and follow up.
Even though we’re in the process of wrapping it up and have gotten tons of feedback from clients and colleagues, we’d like to hear from you. So, if you have a question or topic you’d like us to consider, just leave a comment on the site.
Next Steps…
Any questions? Comments? Did we hit a nerve?
Drop us a line by leaving a comment. We will reply (here, and by email if you’d like) as soon as we’re able. And if there’s a topic you want us to discuss, let us know.
To receive monthly emails with summaries of all our latest content, sign up for our “Monthly Web Tips” above. Does that sound fair enough to you?
To discover how our web marketing firm can help you with your online presence, traffic, leads and sales, kindly follow the link. You can also review our web marketing services to better understand how we work with clients just like you.
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