“If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it make a sound?”
~ Anonymous
Your Market is a Parade! Let That Shape Your Marketing.
Every day, your loyal customers…
- Move away
- Go out of business
- Find in-house solutions
- Die
… or no longer need your services for one of hundreds of other reasons. That’s not a threat, it’s a promise.
That’s why marketing and advertising need to be baked into your production costs and need to be an integral part of your business plan. You can change strategy, you can cut out things that aren’t working and spend more on strategies that are delivering customers, but you cannot afford to stop marketing unless you’re ready to close your doors.
A Place for Slogans
Recently, our state Premier Daniel Andrews spent 60 minutes outlining what Lockdown 2.0 meant for Melbournians. The highlight reel runs for 3 minutes – but you can grasp his intent in less than 2 seconds using these 2 words: Lockdown 2.0!
What about YOUR business?
Can you convey a powerful, compelling, provocative value proposition in less that 30 seconds? If you can do that, you’re unstoppable. If you can’t, then I’m guessing that right now you’re struggling (or depending on government largesse) and, since I seriously doubt that the economy will get better in a hurry, what is your plan?
Slogans play an important role in attracting the attention of that passing parade… which is the first step required to start a conversion. Think of the following slogans:
- Build a wall!
- Just do it!
- Think different!
- Yes we can!
These have many things in common – here are three major buckets of commonality:
- Short and snappy
- Convey big-picture concepts not details
- Polarising
Part of me hates slogans, in the same way I reject the thoughtless adoption of ‘virtue signalling’ without serious thought. BUT… As a tool of engagement they are very, very powerful.
The Truth About Your Customers
Your customers don’t care about all the executive details behind the slogan… until they have been attracted (or repelled) by its intent. That attraction is their visceral emotional response to your offer or promise which makes them more likely to respond.
Dan Andrews caught our attention with his slogan… And the promise of hefty fines made us dig into the details of his ‘offer’.
Almost every successful election campaign lives or dies by its slogans. Obama caught attention with his promise of possibility… which led to a conversation about the details. Businesses also use slogans to summarise their appeal. Those slogans create conversations, but they often predispose buyers to respond to your offer.
Beyond the Slogan
There is no nuance in a slogan and very little data so you can’t properly debate it. The same slogan can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the individual who sees or hears it. This works in favour of your business, too.
A prospective customer sees the slogan and responds to it. If you’re using appropriate direct response marketing they’re interested in your offer and that opens up the opportunity for a conversation (either through automated sequences or on the phone)… which is an important step on your road to a sale.
My book, Dynamic Direct Response Copywriting talks about the importance of staying in front of the parade, attracting the attention of your ideal prospect and pre-disposing them to work with you.
Purchase your copy today at https://hiltoncopywriting.mykajabi.com/opt-in
