“Enter the conversation already going on in your prospects mind.”
~ Robert Collier

What is Your Prospect Thinking About Today?

In the current atmosphere of uncertainty I’m frequently being asked whether positive or negative messaging is most effective. Service businesses and coaches, in particular, are reluctant to dive into the negativity, but they don’t want to sound like Polyanna either.

My response is: What do you think your ideal prospect is thinking today?

A few weeks ago I was talking to a wedding planner and she said her clients are overwhelmingly concerned about what would happen between now the wedding date and whether they’d be able to hold the event they had so carefully planned. She’s been testing a campaign that directly calls out that fear and it’s working extremely well.

Even hard core optimists are wondering what disaster will strike next and it’s futile to ignore that just because you want to seem positive.

The reason for this is firmly grounded in copywriting basics: your goal is to ‘enter the conversation that is already taking place in their heads’ and then turn that conversation toward the action and vision you offer.

What Do They Need to Hear?

Let me assure you, right now no one is certain about their future hope and happiness even if their life is going smoothly. They need you to acknowledge that reality before you take them on a journey to somewhere better.

Depending on where you are living, here are some of the realities in our world:

• THAT disease
• Imminent trade sanctions and threats
• Economic insecurity
• Political upheaval
• Inflation, the stock market, real estate
• The US election outcome and transfer of power
• Travel barriers and lockdowns
• Climate concerns
• Wars and famine

It’s not all bad news… But the storm clouds overshadow the rainbows for most people

Are you speaking to that fear?

If your prospects feel that you are simply dismissing the problems that are causing them deep-seated anxiety then they’ve already started to question your judgement and that’s not a good place to start a relationship.

The Power of a Solution

Many of my long term clients have ‘panic marketing’ campaigns and messages to roll out in times like these. Dan Kennedy recently spoke about one of his clients who is rolling out the campaign he created for the ’87 crash and has also used during the Dotcom crash, the GFC and the SARS epidemic. He has updated it slightly but the central message and call to action is unchanged because our current situation involves the same emotions, questions, challenges, and need for action as all those previous occasions.

It’s very important to think about how your product or service can alleviate the pain that people are feeling right now and address that specifically in your marketing.

Do You Have a ‘Panic Marketing Campaign”

The demand for panic marketing is cyclical, but if you’re in business for the long haul you can expect to pull it out about once every ten years and use it extremely profitably.

Contrary to popular opinion, money doesn’t stop moving when there is uncertainty and panic, it just finds different channels in which to flow. As a business owner, your job is to find the message that will draw money into your business and a ‘panic marketing campaign’ is an effective way to accomplish that.

If you don’t already have a panic marketing campaign, then now is the time to create one. If you want some help, contact Hilton Copywriting to work with us.