Do you remember the “WIIFM” formula when designing your promotional tools? You know, the “what’s in it for me?” The “me” in this case is not about you, your company, your product or business, rather it is about the customer, the prospect, the reader, the person you are trying to get to take action regarding your product or service.

How many times have you picked up a brochure about a company to find out what they can do for you only to find it filled with stuff about them? And have little or no idea what they can do for you? Your customers and prospects could be asking the same question.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is to talk about themselves and their products rather than talking about the CUSTOMER and what he/she will gain by doing business with them. “The traditional business definition of marketing is “identifying and fulfilling customer needs.” There’s no mention of your business. Marketing is all about the customer.”

Identify and focus on the benefits. Prospects want to know how what you offer will benefit them. You MUST make it clear what benefits the prospect will receive from doing business with you, otherwise then there is no reason for that prospect to do so. You MUST focus on what the prospect is going to GAIN by using your product or service.

In order to articulate the “what’s in it for them,” you must first understand the difference between a feature and a benefit. A feature is something that your product does or has (for example, a shirt can be 100% cotton). A benefit to 100% cotton could be durability, easy-care or even wrinkle resistant. Now you’ve given them the WIIFM. Why the prospect might want to purchase the shirt.

Count how many times you refer to you – that includes the “I,” the “WE” and your “company name.” Take a second look and count how many times you refer to the “YOU,” the “prospect/customer” or “she/he.” If your copy has more than 50% “I,” etc. take a look at how you can reword it to tip the scales in favor of the prospect. Good copy should be at least 60-75% prospect focused and only 25-40% focused on who you are, (such as the awards you have, the color of your building, the type of equipment you have, etc.).

To change things around in your marketing message whether it is in your proposal writing, brochures or your website (any advertising), you must identify the goals, objectives and obstacles of your prospect. Then you show your prospects how you can help them reach their goals and overcome their obstacles.

Once you know how your business benefits your customers, and you begin to focus on the how the customer benefits formula, you can write copy that will increase prospect response. You will begin seeing a greater response to your marketing messages and your bottom line!

(There are 42 “You’s” in this article and only 2 “I’s.” Did it get your attention?)

Redhead Marketing specializes in creating copy that makes you stand out. Need a print ad for a publication?   Need a flyer in a hurry? Let Redhead Marketing create it for you.  Special Holiday pricing starts at just $50.  Call 954-625-6606 or email heidi (at) redhead marketing dot com (no spaces) Today!

Wrap up your business networking plan with the 12 Days of Christmas Social Networking

On the first day of Christmas Social Networking create your social networking plan of action 

HAVE FUN!

December is Bingo’s Birthday Month?  - Why not host an online Bingo contest… As part of the promotional campaign, the Women’s Internet Marketing Summit hosted a BINGO Game – ( BINGO stands for Bookmarked Interactive Network Games Online) the Internet based version of BINGO using randomly selected Internet marketing terms (Bingo Lingo) in each of the 25 boxes contained on the card.  Check it out at: http://www.womensinternetmarketingsummit.com/ -

It’s also National Write a Business Plan Month – Time to plan for the future – Check out the Business Plan Guide at http://www.bplans.com/dp/  and the tutorial on the SBA Site at http://www.sba.gov/library/pubs/mp-32.pdf . There is no time like the present to write or re-write yours.

For my retail flower shop ~ Eden Florist:

We use postcards for new customers as well as those we have not heard from in 6 months or more.

We call those we have not heard from in a year.

We send bi-weekly emails with specials.

We have a quarterly newsletter – Ramblin’ Rose which we send with specials, tips, flowers trivia and more.

We have a florist blog – Tulips Talk filled with decorating and design tips and trends, floral trivia, facts and history and more.

And we send flowers to those customers who are the most frequent purchasers.

We also have a “weekly drawing” of our customer database and send them flowers to say HI.

Once a year we send a holiday CD filled with our specials (late November).

And I randomly go through our list and send thank you notes for our customers’ business once a month.

For the Women’s eCommerce Association, International:

We host a monthly virtual events (teleseminars and webinars) on a variety of topics of interest to our circle. They include marketing, networking, blogging, web design and more.

We have a bi-weekly ezine called eMonday News we send out every other Monday.

We also have quarterly WE Magazine for Women – for the Total Woman – filled with excellent articles about wealth, travel, business, women, balance and relationships… and much more – our last issue was 72 pages. We have a website in development which will enhance our magazine so much more. This goes to our members and subscribers (totalling more than 13,500 people and growing).

We have a monthly event called 1st Fridayz which is an email/webinar/teleseminar event our members participate in which we send info on the week prior to the event.

We also host bi-annual summits on a variety of topics which is a great way to reach out to our members – the last one we hosted was the Grow a Million Dollar Business Summit.  You can read about the topics and speakers at www.GrowAMillionDollarBusiness.com.

And for Redhead Marketing, Inc.:

Although we send emails, use the telephone and offer virtual events to our circle, personalized postcards and greeting cards have been our number one stay in touch method. We have found them to be a great “buzz generator.” The system we use is called SendOutCards and since I have been using it, have had thank you notes for our thank you notes, phone calls thanking me for thinking of them in such a personalized way and everyone so far has said they are “keepers.” It’s amazing to me because you can spend a ton of money on fancy business cards, flyers and brochures and most of the time they linger for nanoseconds before the recipient decides what to do with them. Not so with personalized greeting cards and postcards (my personal favorite).

In fact, every time I speak to someone new either on the phone, from a referral or as a result of a networking opportunity, I immediately input their contact information into my database and send them a postcard. If I have a camera and can take a picture of the two of us, I do that, download to my computer, upload to the program we use, include a personal message and the card is sent for me.  It arrives in just a few short days and we get to connect all over again.  If you don’t have a camera or find that to be awkward, see if it’s okay with the other party for you to go to their website and grab a photo from it or a logo, add it to your greeting card or postcard and send it to them. I think it is almost impossible for someone to toss a postcard that has a picture of her or him on it.

Try it and tell me how it works. We have been doing this with our interview guests (we already have their picture because we asked for it to use as a promotional tool to announce their session) and have had wonderful responses. If you are a graphic designer, you might want to show them variations of their logo – works especially well with brand new business owners. What a great way to showcase your work and increase your bottom line.  Feel free to check it out at SendOutCards.com.

In a recent issue of Successful Promotions Magazine, Indra Gardiner COO and founder of Bailey Bardiner, a branding strategy firm in San Diego gave the following tips:

1. Create a lasting impression with multiple items – using multiple promotional items will appeal to a greater number of people and is more likely to be picked up and reuse. If you were promoting sunshine, a visor AND sunscreen would be go well together.
   
2. When choosing a tagline, be positive – focus on a message that creates a positive lasting impression.
   
3. Increase the reach of your promotions by going where the people are in mass.
   
4. Qualify your prospects on the spot. For instance if you are working a trade show, it is much better to know if the prospect is likely your target audience when speaking to them than spending time and money following up after the show only to find out they would never be a customer.
   
5. Try a coupon campaign to get them in the door.
   
6. Start a blog. Health professionals love Mom Blogs and other blogs with a strong voice. They cater to them and refer to them, support them and sponsor them.
   
7. Create a new campaign for each season – for instance Winter is approaching so something to do with the season is in line with what the consumer expects. You could also do something they don’t expect like they are doing in Hollywood, Florida during Ocean Days.  Create your own beach themed office party complete with beach blanket, seashells, beach balls, sunglasses and more.  Include a little Beach Boys music and you’ve got your own version of Beach-blanket Bingo.  Invite customers and clients to attend and hand out themed give-aways such as those listed above.

You can read the current issue here: http://www.asicentral.com/asp/open/news/successfulpromotions/Oct08/index.asp

In one of my groups we have a person who sells promotional items – I will never forget her name or her company ~ Promo Girl because she wears her name on her sweater which is part of her 50’s attire – poodle skirt and all!  When I need promotional items she is the first person to come to mind.

Take a class – something you enjoy and where you meet new people. When I took ballroom dancing a few years ago the instructor and every one in the class became a customer of mine. Many still are.  My daughter and I also took golf lessons for a season. Many of those students (and the teacher) are also customers of mine. Try belly dancing, motorcycle riding, reading groups, golf lessons, community college courses, etc. Find something that interests you and where you can also meet potential clients.

Cross promote – Recently a New baby store sent a letter announcing their grand opening. We contacted them and now we are trading ad space in each others ezine and handing out one another’s flyers, brochures and promotions.

  Instead of the usual printed T-shirt, create a tote bag covered with pins & sayings about the GREAT advantages of doing business with your company -  Fill the bag with your sales materials such as catalogs, order forms, business cards, promotional CDs and other items. 

Carry this with you when you attend trade fairs and other appropriate networking events.  Hand out when the opportunity is right.  I often carry one or two copies of my books in my tote bag and give to the hostess/host of the event as a thank you or as a “raffle” prize.  I also have one for each of my businesses and my books.

You can buy an inexpensive canvas tote at a local discount department store and take it to your local screen printing company (or embroider) and have them do it.  Call first to ask them the requirements – have your sayings and logo created in a gif (or pdf)fromat, and put it on a CD. 

Don’t have time to take it to your local screen printer? CAFE Press also has a couple of totes and you can upload your file to and create(however I don’t recommend the yellow tote) the colors don’t come out the same. 

Carry the tote with you and viola’!  Walk-by Marketing is Born!

Office Depot has a brief case open at the customer service desk.  Customers can drop in their business card and each week they draw and winner and give them free Office Depot Products.

California Tortilla gave a promotional discount to any customer who beat the cashier in a game of Rock Paper Scissors receives $1 off an entree. The offer was for only one day, however, they would have become world renowned had they decided to make this a regular part of their customer service/marketing efforts. I would have done this on a specific day each week and given it a cool name like Tortilla Tuesday or Taco Tuesday or something along those lines.

Here are a couple of online ideas:

Create a banner ad on your site with a trivia question.  Offer prizes for readers who answer the question at your site. Market this offline and on the site.

Host a “Biggest Purchase Contest” on your web site and the prize is that each monthly winner will get their entire purchase refunded.

What ideas can you come up with to spread your brand message around?

I am an avid reader of a very diverse collection of business, professional and lifestyle magazines. Among them is ”Successful Promotions Magazine” – a one of a kind promotional products magazine that helps distributors retain their top accounts and grow their business.  Very close to my own mission which is to help your business grow and blossom into a thriving, positive enterprise. 

One of my favorite marketing strategies is Cause-related Marketing. I find it both productive and rewarding both for my clients and for the organizations they support.  In a recent issue of Successful Promotions the one article that really caught my eye was “NYSC Gives Grand Central a Spin.”  It described a 24 hour Spin-a-thon called Saints and Spinners.   The event was co-sponsored by NY Sports Club and Snapple.

During the event, 1,800 participants pedalled their stationary bikes to rais money for Health Corps, an organization dedicated to fighting teen obesity. They raised $250,000 for the cause which is not bad for a days work and the marketing perk is that the sponsors garnered likely more than a million dollars in media attention!

It got me thinking about what types of causes my clients (and my little marketing firm) could also align themselves with to co-produce an event in our own communities?

And that’s the first step. To find the right CAUSE. And most importantly one you are passionate about.

By choosing the right cause, for the right reasons at the right time, your business will gain visibility, increase sales, build loyalty and get positive media coverage. And when you choose a cause you are passionate about you will find rewards beyond the monetary kind, it will charge you emotionally and spiritually.

For more incentive and promotion ideas, go to Successful Promotions Magazine and subscribe.