Picking up from last week, where I said, the smartest, safest and easiest marketing methodology is simply being the cause for what’s next in your category. You can accomplish major shifts in sales by making changes to your selling proposition. It is not at all necessary to spend money on advertising or sales promotion if you can create changes in your sales message that are perceived as remarkable by your target consumers.
There are four possible forms that a message can take;
Words
Graphics
Sounds
Physical Structure
For the purpose of demonstrating how easy this is, I will only consider words here. Imagine, simply changing two or three words and seeing a shift in sales volume.
A selling proposition is divided into sixteen different communication elements, each having different and unique functions that separate them from the others. It is smart to evaluate each as a possibility on its own. I will give you three examples here from three different elements, all in the form of words.
Consider your benefit for a moment. A benefit, as I define the term, is what your target consumer gets out of using your product or service. It’s about your target, not your product or service. I consider the benefit the most important element and also the most neglected. Chances are your competition has ignored it as well…good news for you. A great example of the strategic use of a benefit is “You’re going to like the way you look.” Chances are you are familiar with this one.
Consider your key physical attribute for a moment. I define it as a tangible characteristic of your product or service. A great example of the strategic use of a key physical attribute is “Made From Sugar.” This one you may not be aware of as the makers of Splenda were sued by the makers of Equal and were forced to remove it from their package. By the time it was removed, Equal™ had lost a major share of the market and Splenda™ had built a business that is now well over $400,000 in annual gross sales.
Consider the possibility of an endorsement for a moment. I define it as a third party of any kind that recommends your product or service. In West Los Angeles there is a dry cleaning company who has secured the recommendation of the UCLA basketball coach. My experience is that these types of endorsements make a difference and they need not be celebrities. Quotes from customers strategically placed in your sales message can be very powerful.
The learning here is that even if you are a small business with limited funds you can drive business forward. I recommend you consider that making positive changes to your selling proposition is an action that should occur approximately every six months. Good luck and go change something.
Cheers, Keith Chambers
Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com
Keith,
ReplyDeleteYou're on my home page on Google, how is that possible? Anyway, your blogs keep me thinking about how I'm doing my business and keeping me on my toes! Mia