Skip to main content

New Twist on Old Tactics

We've all heard popular marketing calls to action.
  • For a limited Time Only!
  • Act now or miss this opportunity!
  • A once in a lifetime chance!
Maybe we've even used a few in our advertising. These phrases are designed to spur consumers to buy products quickly. But do they work or are consumers becoming wise to the ways or marketers? With a flood of ads on TV, the Internet, the radio, mobile devices and even in bathroom stalls, it is possible that consumers are learning to tune out advertising. Or maybe they just aren't getting the right message.

Audiences are increasingly segmented and generic calls to action may not yield results because they aren't the appropriate message for the intended consumer. For example, if an experienced, financially savvy car buyer is looking for a new car, she may ignore Act Now messages. She is more likely to spend time researching the pros and cons of different car models before making her decision. Messaging that provides the information this buyer is looking for is more likely to attract her attention.

Because of this change in consumer expectations, a good first step in creating messages to attract consumers is to create customer profiles. Learning consumer groups' buying habits, where they get their information, and how they make their decisions and then building messages around those profiles will yield more targeted messaging that does more than "sell" to potential buyers. It will inform and hopefully incite the consumer to action.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Organization Will Save Your Organization

In the office, you had a small corner of the corporate world from which to ply your trade. You may have had a cubby in cubicle city or an office with a window. Either way, your space was compact, standardized, and vacuumed by the night cleaning crew. Not so at home. Unless you live in a studio apartment, you home has multiple rooms to spread out your stuff. And stuff can make a mess. Receipts, contact business cards, and paperwork all pile up quickly. Mix in your personal bills, magazines, and junk mail and you have business paper chaos. Searching through stacks of paperwork reduces productivity and can lead to errors. Organization isn’t complicated. It just requires a little extra effort and a method to sort through the madness. Step 1: Set aside space for a filing cabinet. In today’s electronic business world much is done through e-mail, fax and phone, but paper still exists and needs to be stored. Create a file for bills, customer documents, and receipts. You may need these docume...
Post a Comment
Read more

Responsible Record-Keeping

Maintaining your businesses financial health is a combination of planning, organization and financial management. Many businesses have been sunk by bad record keeping. Here’s an example. A dear friend, who happens to be an accountant, hired a furnace expert to solve a heating problem. He came to her house, identified the problem and quickly got to work. The repair took a short time and her furnace worked marvelously. She thanked the repairman profusely and sent him on his way. He told her the bill would arrive in the mail. Two weeks passed. No bill arrived. Another week passed and no bill. She called his office to remind him to send a bill. Another week passed and she called again. The bill never came. Bad business? Yes. Rare? No. Ask a dozen people and you are likely to hear similar stories. If a client has to ask you multiple times for an invoice, your business is doomed. A few simple steps when you start your business will save you headaches and lost business down the road. First,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Customer Loyalty is Up for Grabs

Recently, I contacted a dance studio via the business’s Web site for information about dance lessons for my child. After several weeks the company emailed a brochure with upcoming classes. I picked the class I wanted and sent the company an email asking how to sign-up and pay for the class. No response. I sent a second email. After receiving no response again, I called the gym down the street. They answered their phone and signed my child up on the spot. I’d like to say that this experience is rare, but it is unfortunately too common. Customer service seems to be a lost art at many businesses, but it is one that can mean the difference between repeat business and no business. Something as simple as responding to an email, honoring an appointment, and even saying hello when a customer walks in the door can make all the difference in a business’s success. As a business owner, it’s easy to say that customers will stick around because they need the product or service a business is sel...
Post a Comment
Read more