JONATHAN SWAN MARKETING
mar-ket-ing:
"Getting the right message, to the right people, via the right media and methods...effectively, efficiently and profitably."
- Dan S. Kennedy, "The Ultimate Marketing Plan"
mar-ket-ing:
"Getting the right message, to the right people, via the right media and methods...effectively, efficiently and profitably."
- Dan S. Kennedy
"The Ultimate Marketing Plan"
The Right Message
"A confused mind always says NO."
If you're like most people who are disappointed with the performance of their website, Google ads, Facebook ads, YouTube ads, blog, email campaign, direct-mail campaign or store-front walk-ins for that matter...you probably think you have a traffic problem.
As in, not enough traffic.
What you have is a conversion problem...as in, not enough potential clients are converting into actual clients.
Often, a conversion problem is the result of an offer problem.
And an offer problem is caused by a lack of at least one of the following:
Simplicity
Clarity
Desirability
An old sales proverb warns: "A confused mind always says NO."
If your message, or your offer is not simple, clear, and desirable...increasing your advertising budget will just increase your losses.
A great offer marketed poorly...will almost always be more profitable than a weak offer marketed extremely well.
Said another way...exceptional marketing can't overcome a weak offer.
Improve your message (your offer)...and your conversions (opt-ins, phone calls & sales) will improve dramatically.
Only then do you increase your ad spend to increase your traffic!
(If this section - The Right Message - was the only thing you read on this website...and you stopped and thought deeply about it...then you went and improved the simplicity, clarity and desirability of your offers...it could easily turn into hundreds, or thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars for you!)
The Right People
Getting this wrong is arguably the single, biggest waste of money in all of marketing.
One of the first things we'll do together is to get very, very clear about who your client (or customer) is.
Even better, we'll get very clear about who your ideal client is. If you want to stay in business for years and enjoy it, you need ideal clients.
Who are your ideal clients currently? What are their common characteristics?
After you become my client, we will definitely spend some time figuring out who your ideal client is.
Who is your most enjoyable type of client? Who is your most profitable type of client?
If your product or service always seems to attract undesirable clients or customers, you've got a big problem.
There are a few solutions to consider:
- Change your marketing to speak to and attract a better client.
- Change your product or service to be something a better client wants.
- Change your business completely.
If you want a truly enjoyable, above average business, then analyzing your best clients and most profitable products or services will tell you who you should focus on trying to do business with, or sell to.
The Right Media
Test, test, test. Then scale up what works and stop using what doesn't.
First, there are two main types of marketing that you should employ simultaneously: Search Marketing and Interruption Marketing.
Search Marketing
Pay-Per-Click tools, including Google Adwords, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube and even LinkedIn are search marketing tools used to connect you with people who are "searching" for what you offer.
These prospects are generally warm leads because they are literally searching. As a result, Search Marketing media is often the most expensive.
The upside of Search Marketing is that it's easier to figure out what these buyers really want based on what they are searching for.
The downside of Search Marketing is that you're only getting in front of people who are actively searching. It'd be nice to get in front of people who might have an interest in what you offer, but just haven't gone looking yet - right?
Search Marketing also includes offline tools like newspapers and phone books...which still have their place for some businesses.
The Right Message
"A confused mind always says NO."
If you're like most people who are disappointed with the performance of their website, Google ads, Facebook ads, YouTube ads, blog, email campaign, direct-mail campaign or store-front walk-ins for that matter...you probably think you have a traffic problem.
As in, not enough traffic.
What you have is a conversion problem...as in, not enough potential clients are converting into actual clients.
Often, a conversion problem is the result of an offer problem.
And an offer problem is caused by a lack of at least one of the following:
Simplicity
Clarity
Desirability
An old sales proverb warns: "A confused mind always says NO."
If your message, or your offer is not simple, clear, and desirable...increasing your advertising budget will just increase your losses.
A great offer marketed poorly...will almost always be more profitable than a weak offer marketed extremely well.
Said another way...exceptional marketing can't overcome a weak offer.
Improve your message (your offer)...and your conversions (opt-ins, phone calls & sales) will improve dramatically.
Only then do you increase your ad spend to increase your traffic!
(If this section - The Right Message - was the only thing you read on this website...and you stopped and thought deeply about it...then you went and improved the simplicity, clarity and desirability of your offers...it could easily turn into hundreds, or thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars for you!)
The Right People
Getting this wrong is arguably the single, biggest waste of money in all of marketing.
One of the first things we'll do together is to get very, very clear about who your client (or customer) is.
Even better, we'll get very clear about who your ideal client is. If you want to stay in business for years and enjoy it, you need ideal clients.
Who are your ideal clients currently? What are their common characteristics?
After you become my client, we will definitely spend some time figuring out who your ideal client is.
Who is your most enjoyable type of client? Who is your most profitable type of client?
If your product or service always seems to attract undesirable clients or customers, you've got a big problem.
There are a few solutions to consider:
- Change your marketing to speak to and attract a better client.
- Change your product or service to be something a better client wants.
- Change your business completely.
If you want a truly enjoyable, above average business, then analyzing your best clients and most profitable products or services will tell you who you should focus on trying to do business with, or sell to.
The Right Media
Test, test, test. Then scale up what works and stop using what doesn't.
There are two main types of marketing that you should employ simultaneously: Search Marketing, and Interruption Marketing.
Search Marketing
Pay-Per-Click tools, including Google Adwords, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube and even LinkedIn are search marketing tools used to connect you with people who are "searching" for what you offer.
These prospects are generally warm leads because they are literally searching. As a result, Search Marketing media is often the most expensive.
The upside of Search Marketing is that it's easier to figure out what these buyers really want based on what they are searching for.
The downside of Search Marketing is that you're only getting in front of people who are actively searching. It'd be nice to get in front of people who might have an interest in what you offer, but just haven't gone looking yet - right?
Search Marketing also includes offline tools like newspapers and phone books...which still have their place for some businesses.
Interruption Marketing
Facebook ads, Google Display ads, email ads, direct mail ads, radio and tv ads, billboards and signs are all examples of Interruption Marketing.
With Interruption Marketing, you are trying to get in front of people and interrupt them, catch their attention, and then hold it.
Interruption Marketing media can also be expensive. Not because it's the highest price tag though. It's often the *cheapest way to reach a lot of people, but it can have the lowest ROI (return on investment).
(*Online media is often relatively cheap - offline media is often not cheap. Then again, it's not about the cost...it's about the ROI, isn't it?)
The downside of Interruption Marketing is that while the online media is often cheaper to buy, you have to figure out how to quickly create an overwhelming desire to buy (or at least research) something they were not looking for the moment you got their attention.
The upside is that if you figure out how to effectively convert un-interested or "cold" prospects into customers, your business will explode!
JONATHAN SWAN MARKETING
Ph: 902-223-5557
E: jonathan@jonathanswanmarketing.com
Mailing Address: 63 Ardwell Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3R 1L7
