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Marketing Tips Issue 57

Answer this question please.  What differentiates you and/or company from your competition?  Or, why would I want to do business with your company as opposed to your competitor?

 

It’s a simple question but it’s one that really does not nor should not require a simple answer.  Yet, when I ask this simple question (and I always do), 97% of the time I can always anticipate the same answer.  SERVICE.    Ugh!  That drives me bonkers!!

 

Think about it for a moment, what does the word service really mean to you and/or your organization?  You live, breath and eat your organization so you have an inner knowledge of its definition.  Would it have the same meaning for me or any of your prospects?  You know your organization better than anyone else.  You know your organization’s good, bad and ugly.  Outsiders to not.  They only know what they have experienced, seen, read, or have been told by others.  And if they are not familiar with your company/organization they have their own perspective on what service means.

 

Simply put, it is your job to define “service” for them.  Don’t make assumptions.

 

Another pet peeve? Would you quote an 800 number without briefing your operators on the deal, and who would be calling in?  Of course not.  It is surprising then to see how often e-mails, direct mail pieces, or other print pieces offer only a general URL.  The responders then visit the URL, and ---surprise!  They view a completely different look (your general homepage); no connection to the body of your original print copy. 

 

Now you are asking them to befuddle their way to find out what you were talking about.  And worse yet, you have no obvious way to track these cross-overs to the web.  Ouch!!  Unless your intention is to give your readers an option to postpone their decision, make sure your landing page has relevant greetings, copy and appearance so that your responders don’t get frustrated and bail out. 

 

Take away:  you want to have continuity between were your prospects/customers are coming from and where they are going to.  FYI; a pURL (personalize URL) can help to solve that.

 

Marketing Tips is authored by Leslie Goldstein of the USPS.