6 Steps to an Explosive Marketing Campaign

During my last ten years of research, I discovered a major shift in the way people responded to traditional marketing tactics. This is due in part to instability in the economy but also because of a flood of fly-by- night investing guru’s and their shady protégés throwing up ugly yellow “we buy houses” signs and scamming people.

I’d been using similar signs and wording in my marketing ads for years but began noticing a slow-down and a more negative charge in the air when contacting new leads. I found myself saying “No, I’m not those people” more and more often, so I decided it was time to find a way to distinguish my business from “those people.” I started with a distinctive logo and color scheme for my signs, and carried it over to business cards, postcards, website and the like. But I didn’t stop with branding. I experimented with different types of wording in my ads and websites, and soon I began to see an overwhelming response from buyers and sellers. I implemented these changes in my students’ businesses, and they received the same phenomenal results.

What I learned was that, just like in every other market today, the real estate consumer is more conservative. They research more before buying, and they respond better to a more professional marketing approach.

In this article, we’ll cover six basic steps that any business can use to improve its marketing. The fundamentals are the same, no matter what type of product or service you’re offering, and the platforms are the same as well. It’s knowing what to say and how to say it that makes all the difference in the world!

GETTING STARTED

If you have a product or service that helps people, then you should be making a lot of money. That’s because right now—at this very mo- ment—someone is on the internet, checking their emails, social media, searching for your service or product.

Problem is...they can’t find you. But if you know how to get your product or service in front of them, not only will you be able to solve their problem, but you’ll also be able to make a lot of money. In fact, marketing your product or service is actually pretty simple...as long as you understand the formula.

Once you do, all that’s left to do is cash the checks.

The most important thing to remember during every step of your marketing process is that buyers buy on emotion. This isn’t a new idea. It’s been around since the first product was sold thousands of years ago. But it’s the easiest thing to forget when putting together a marketing campaign. In the steps below, notice how this idea plays an important role in every step of my Explosive Marketing Formula.

MARKETING STEP 1: IDENTIFY YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

No matter if you sell a product, service or both, you’ll need to learn how to market it. You should work with the way you word your product or service; give it a catchy, unique name. People want to see something new! Give your product some flair by labeling it differently than every- one else.

What’s In a Name?

You’ve heard the saying “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This is true, but how many would flower vendors sell on Valen- tines Day if they were called Thornweed? And would fast-food drive- thrus be as successful if they named their creations “Blubber-burgers and grease fries”? The world is full of alternative names for products and services to make them more appealing to the consumer. Remember, buyers buy on emotion more than anything else. And the emotions that sell are as varied as the products being sold. In general, though, consum- ers want to buy things that make them feel:

1. Smarter:

• Wise Choice Car Wash • Smart Car
• Petsmart

2. Special, like they’re buying the best:

• Royal Lawn Services • Regal Painters
• BestBuy

3. Convenient:

• Express Cleaners • QuickLube
• RoadRunner
• Easy-Mart

4. Unique, One-of-a-Kind:

• Pier One Imports • Custom Choppers • Just For Men

New Vs. Established

Consumers get excited over something new and hip just as often as with something established and trustworthy. This doesn’t necessarily need to be reflected in the name itself; a tagline below it can work just as well. Decide what message you want to convey and what emotion you want to evoke with your marketing.

Here are some examples: • New Era Realtors

• “Providing a fresh approach to listing your home!” • Kenmore Appliances, “A name you can trust!”

The easiest way to evoke emotion goes back to your days in middle school grammar. Know your adjectives, and don’t be afraid to use them! Here are some great adjectives to use: innovative, essential, exceptional, comfortable, delicious, trustworthy, royal, safe, intelligent, fast, traditional, value, luxury, easy, friendly, smart

You get the picture!

MARKETING STEP 2: BENEFITS

One of the most important parts of the formula is benefits. Benefits show the consumer how your product or service will enhance their lives if they purchase it. Emotions feed off benefits, and it’s one of the key factors why people buy. Yet most businesses don’t understand exactly what a benefit really is.

For example, “great location” is often used as a benefit when marketing real estate. But this is really a vague, bland sort of term, and doesn’t have a very strong effect on the buyers’ emotions. A better phrase would be “enjoy shorter commutes and more time spent with family.”

This is a real benefit that the buyer can feel.

MARKETING STEP 3: PAIN OF NOT BUYING YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

Another important part of your marketing is mentioning the pain of not buying your product or service. This part is extremely easy to do be- cause the “pains” are the opposite of the “benefits.” We use the pain of not buying your product or service to show the consumer what may happen if they don’t purchase.

For continuity, we’ll stick with the location theme:

“Tired of long, irritating commutes? Don’t miss out on another soccer game because you’re stuck in traffic.”

Pains remind the consumer of why they’re seeking out your product/ service in the first place.

MARKETING STEP 4: PILE ON THE FEATURES OF YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

Many people don’t understand the difference between features and benefits, and unfortunately, this can be a huge detriment when you’re writing product copy. If you’re not describing the right aspects or characteristics of your product or service, then you could be wasting your time by trying to sell something that your target audience doesn’t want or need. What’s the difference between a feature and a benefit?

A feature is a physical or tangible aspect of, or a factual statement about, a product or service you’re promoting.

A benefit is what happens to your customers when they take your product or service and implement it. In other words, a benefit tells your customers why your features matter or “what’s in it for them.”

While product features are usually easy to detect and describe, product benefits can be trickier because they’re often intangible. The most compelling product benefits are those that provide emotional or financial rewards. It’s not the brighter smile the toothpaste offers that is it’s benefit; it’s what the smile might bring you (friends, a better job).

MARKETING STEP 5: THE REASON WHY

There must always be a reason why you’re selling anything. It sounds crazy because people don’t ask why you’re selling a six-piece nugget at McDonald’s, but people are curious why you do what you do and sell what you sell. More important, people want to know why they need your product or service.

You must always address both sides of the “why”:

1. Why you are selling?
2. Why they need your product or service?

Your reason doesn’t have to be drawn out; it can be simple and short. When you’re dealing with real estate, a few examples of this would be:

• We have a baby on the way and need to upsize. • We need to downsize.
• We have a job transfer.
• We’re tired of tenants.

You should include several reasons why the buyer needs your product or service throughout your ad. A great tip for this is to list as many benefits of your product or service as you can, and think of reasons why they’re benefits. Great examples of this would be:

You’ll save more time and money. 

You’ll enjoy the lovely backyard because of the privacy. 

You can relax in your lovely pool without the hindrance of noisy neighbors.

This location offers the best public school system in the city.

After you state your reasons, you need to support them. A good way to support reasons is to give specific examples. Specific examples can be names of people, places, things or events.

MARKETING STEP 6: CALL TO ACTION

The “Call to Action” is one of the most important concepts in market- ing and promotion. Simply put, after you’ve established that you have something of value to offer and you’re the perfect choice to deliver it, you want to ask your prospect to take the next step, so you deliver a call to action.

Your “call to action” should always be at the end of your marketing ad. When using a website to promote your product or service, however, you may want to place “call to action” buttons throughout your page.

Let’s look at some examples:

• Click Here: The classic and quintessential call-to-action example for the net. Couple this with other motivational copy.

• I Invite You To... People usually get caught off-guard by any kind of manners on the internet—a place not known for abundant etiquette.

• Get a Free... This one is completely open-ended and pretty straightforward. People love free stuff, and offering free incentives is one of the best ways to motivate your audience to do anything you want.

• While Supplies Last: You hear this one on infomercials all the time. This moves people to act while what they want is still around.

• Offer Expires: By giving a date in which your offer expires, people have incentive to act today and ASAP.

• Satisfaction Guaranteed: People love guarantees. People love satisfaction. Just put them together.

• Get It Now! No wait, plenty of immediacy and the exclamation point really gets attention.

• 1 Million Satisfied Customers: Social proof can be very effective as a call to action. People don’t like to take risks of any kind when it comes to the internet or consumerism; seeing that you have lots of other satisfied customers who’ve come before them and done what they’re about to do is important for some people.

• Free Consultation: Your doors are open. You’re offering free information.

• Learn the Biggest Mistakes... Tweak your reader’s curiosity whenever possible.

• Offer Expires at Midnight: Another time-based call-to-action example. The verb “expire” is certainly strong language as well.

• Order Now and Receive a Free Gift: An incentive-based example.

• 3 Days Only/Just 3 More Days: Similar to other ticking-clock offers, giving a specific timeframe certainly motivates people to take action sooner than later.

An effective call to action, if done right, can generate real measurable return on investment, and in the current economic climate, this is what we all want.

WHERE TO APPLY MARKETING STEPS

Regardless of how you advertise your product or service, you’ll need to market it where people are searching for the product or service you’re offering. You wouldn’t advertise a diet product in a blog that talks about building race cars. You would market the product where people are interested in learning more about weight loss, such as health magazines, fitness clubs, weight-loss blogs and forums. The biggest mistake I see most people make when marketing their business is to place ads in places that don’t suit their consumer.

There are many websites you can market your business on for free, such as local Facebook groups and your own website. You should also look into using social media sites to get the word out. Some great free ones include Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Get started writing blogs to work on building an audience. The power of the blog is infinite when it comes to spreading the word about “the next big thing.”

Keep in mind, the only thing that will make your marketing better is practice. Keep moving forward and never become discouraged. You’ll soon realize what works and what doesn’t.