Kurian M. Tharakan is Vice President of Market Research & Development for an investment bank in Alberta, Canada. His many years of experience includes teaching, consulting, and professionally speaking on the topics of management and marketing strategy. Kurian may be reached by e-mail at kmtharakan @yahoo.com Visit the CanadianCEO Web site. |
More Quick Start Marketing Ideasby Kurian M. TharakanHow do you make your product or service more attractive? How do you intrigue the customer to the extent that it will induce a trial purchase? Use the Universal Magnetic Attractors in your marketing! Universal Magnetic Attractor: Limits. Anything that is Limited is more attractive than if it's abundant! Consider the following example headlines: Luciano Pavorotti at the Met! July 12th. One Performance Only! - or - Luciano Pavorotti at the Met! Performing every night this year! Which of the above two headlines induces a greater desire? The first of course! There are many type of limits: Time, Space, Quantity, Quality, Price, Distance, etc., etc., etc. Here's another example: What's more attractive? A party that you attend where you are bumping into and trying to get by everybody else, or a similar party where everyone has 250 feet in radius to themselves. Most (non-claustrophobic) people will judge the first party to be more of a SUCCESS! This is the same reason why the kitchen is always a popular place at a house party. Not only is the food usually right there, but it also provides a greater "sense" of activity because of its limited space. So, the lesson is: Create Limitations In Your Offers To Make Them More Attractive! Universal Magnetic Attractor: Secrets & Answers. What is compelling about a secret? First, it must be from a credible source. The more credible the source the more intriguing is the secret. Second, it must confer, either explicitly or implicitly, a benefit or value. Consider the following (fictitious) headlines: 1) CIA SAYS WORLD ECONOMY TO COLLAPSE IN 1999 2) HOUSEWIFE, MARY SMITH, SAYS WORLD ECONOMY TO COLLAPSE IN 1999 Marketing is about creating saliency in your customer's mind. The more distinct the product or service is from the rest of the market, the more easy it will be to purchase it. Secrets and Answers are a powerful attractor in this regard. Look at McDonald's secret sauce for the Big Mac. Coca Cola's Formula X, or even something as simple as everyone's intrigue with our friends at the CIA. In marketing your product or service, always ask yourself what Secret or Answers your product can protect, and then bestow to your customers. Engage the Imagination When you are developing copy for an advertisement, or a script for a radio, television, or sales spiel, remember to engage the prospect's imagination by using vivid, visceral, imagery. Whatever you do, don't be boring. State your features and benefits as you normally would, but spice these up with imagination engaging words and phrases. Criminal trial lawyers know this concept all too well. In a murder trial, a good prosecutor would never simply say: "He was murdered by the defendant." But rather: "The victim was first bound hand and foot, with an unusual series of clever knots. He was then bludgeoned, ... repeatedly ..., about the head and chest with that new pine baseball bat. And, when he fell unconscious from the searing pain of the beating, he was revived, ... only to then have the sharp serrated blade of this butcher knife, that I now hold in my hand, thrust deep into his still beating heart." A bit of a gory example, but I think you get the point. Which of the two examples engages your imagination more? Obviously its the second one! Yet both examples have the same final outcome: someone was murdered. But the jury will be more compelled to action by the second telling than the first. One Caveat: Don't go overboard with this concept. It is equally possible to offend and turnoff your prospect with an overly graphic example. If possible, test the scripts and copy to see which ones engage the most positive responses from your jury: the customer. Take the Lead [Scene: a department store sales floor] Salesman: "May I help you sir?" Prospect: "No thanks, I'm just browsing." Salesman: "All right, I'll just be over here if you need some help." Prospect: "Thank you." [Prospect mills about, and then exits stage right without buying ANYTHING!] How many times does the above written drama play itself out every day? Millions of times? Probably much more! But this tragedy could have possibly been averted if the salesman would have done just one thing: TAKEN THE LEAD. Getting a customer to look at your product, read your sales letter, or walk onto your sales floor is a very expensive process, and this expense is infinitely compounded if you cannot convert that prospect into a sale. The FRONT END of the marketing process is designed to generate leads for you to convert. You can greatly leverage that conversion rate if you can take the LEAD in setting the prospect's expectations, educating them as to your product's features and benefits, and initiating a CALL TO ACTION. For example, in the above drama, after the prospect says that they are just browsing the salesman should say: Salesman: "Well that's great. By the way, what you're looking at is one of the finest models of the XXX series. We only bring in XX of these every year and it tends to be one of our most popular models. The craftsmen that make them hand craft every last seam and stitch and you can really tell that the quality is there when you run your hand over its body. Here feel this." [Prospect reaches out to feel product] "Are you considering owning one of these? Because if you are, our sale ends on Wednesday, and after that its going to go back up to the regular price." Now, the above example has been considerably shortened to fit space requirements. An ideal DIALOGUE would be much more interrogative as the salesman crafts the offer to the prospect's needs, wants, and desires. The only real point to be made here is that you must take the lead in guiding that prospect into becoming a customer. After all, there must have been some reason that they have walked onto your sales floor, responded to that advertisement, or called that 1-800 number. Take the LEAD and watch your closing rate grow! Copyright © 1999 Kurian M. Tharakan return: idea site for business main menu |