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Creating the Magnetic Message SNAPSHOT The E-Myth Mastery ProgramT"

Module 7: Foundations of E-Myth Lead Generation Business Development Process: LG-0030

"The most powerful element in advertising is the truth." - William Bernbach, advertising executive

Creating a lead generation message that is magnetic, that will draw customers to you, is an art more than a science. It requires you to use words, images, and sensory elements as your basic ingredients and put them together to form an integrated, compelling message. A message that is more than the sum of its parts. A message with relevance, significance, and meaning to the people you're trying to reach. To do this, you'll need to know your customers' needs, wants, and expectations. When you understand your target customers as if they were your best friends, rather than nameless, face- less individuals out there in the "mass market," you'll be able to create that magnetic message.

I think we've finally created a message that will attract people's attention! r

The foundations for creating your lead generation message are your Central Demographic Model, unique selling proposition (USP), positioning statement, sensory package, product attributes, and the channels you've selected.

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persuasion, and a call ?s #I.-

action. ,<

The three creative ele- h e n t s you can use in 'your message are: words T'~* .. Images, and sensory el<: 'ments.

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Remember that the lead generation channels you use will shape the way you present your message.

The likelihood of people responding to your message increases to the extent that you can eliminate the customers' perception of risk.

Market Information

Develop Creative ( Elements of the Message J

Attract Attention

Create the Right Impressions

Provide a Convenient Way for the Customer To

Respond

Qualify Your Leads

A Business Development Publication of

Putting the Pieces Together'"

Santa Rosa. California, USA

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The E-Myth Mastery ProgramN Module 7: Foundations of E-Myth Lead Generation Business Development Process: LG-0030 Page 1

Creating the Magnetic Message

"The most powerful element in advertising is the truth." - William Bernbach, advertising executive

S ~ g n ~ f \ c ; ~ " r f : e IS the Heart of Your h l e ~ s a q e

The dictionary has an interesting definition of the word "message." After defining it as "a communication transmitted by spo- ken or written words, signals or other means from one person or group to another," the dictionary gets to the heart of the matter, the real definition, which is.. .

Message: the basic theme or significance of something.

Significance. What is significance? Why is it the heart of your message?

Think of it this way: your home is a structure of wood, metal, and fabric. That's true, but it's wrong somehow - it's not the whole story. Your home is much more than the elements of which it is constructed. It has more significance than the sum of its parts. A work of art is a composition of paint and canvas, or words and actions on a stage, or shaped stone. But that's not right, either. A human being is a collection of chemicals, structural parts, and conduits for fluids. Accurate, but, again, wrong. So what is "significance"? And where does it come from?

Significance is personal to you, and it comes from connection and perception. You have a special, personal connection with your home, with a work of art, and with other human beings. It's not a connection you can define, exactly, but you know what it is, don't you? And your perceptions are shaped by your needs, your - expectations, your experience. Different people perceive identi- m

you "connect" with it and on your particular perceptions of it.

And that's true of your lead generation message, too. Its significance to your target customers depends on how they "connect" with it and what their particular perceptions are. If you are to connect with them and create the right perceptions, you have to know them intimately and tap into their needs, expectations, and experiences.

Familiar idea. isn't it? Know vour market.

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The E-Myth Mastery Program Module 7: Foundations of E-Myth Lead Generation Business Development Process: LG-0030

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9 and Sens9r.y Eternerits -The Bu i ld ing Blocks of You:

Your message is made up of three elements - words, images, and sensory elements. But the significance of your message is more than words. More than images. More than sensory elements. More than the sum of all three. Your message won't have any significance - and therefore no relevance and no ability to stimu- late response - unless it connects with the people in your target market through their needs, expectations, and experiences.

Do you see how it all comes together in your message? All the work you did to understand the psychology of the people in your target market. Establishing the positioning and sensory package that has the right appeal for them. Selecting the right channels to reach them. Understanding the product attributes of greatest importance to them. Understanding their purchase decision needs. And now putting it all together in a message that will attract them to an opportunity to have their needs met and promises them the gratification they want (rather than subjects them to a sales process that will overcome their objections).

That's what you're striving for. Significance, not merely structure. Impact, not just ingredients. Meaning, not simple mechan- ics. Does it seem impossible? All you have to work with are words, images, and sensory elements, but what you have to create is significance, impact, and meaning. Does it call for more creativity than you can muster? Not at all. It just takes know- how.

Creating the right message for your target market and for your business - for both of you - doesn't have to be difficult. It requires some homework, most of which you've already done, some insight, which you've already developed, and some tech- niques, which you're about to learn.

But first you'll need some philosophy to help you put the pieces together in a way that makes sense.

Breaking Through the Clutter with "Relevance"

Most business people, and even professional advertising and public relations people (who should know better), think the way to break through the amazing clutter of advertising in today's world is to create something distinctive to the senses. The result is that radio, television, magazines, newspapers, and seemingly every visible surface, are covered with blazing color, amazing

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images, surprising sounds, and whatever the imagination can conjure to draw your attention.

But all that does is momentarily distract you. It's useful, in a way, because it gets your attention for a moment, and that's what opens the door for a lead generation opportunity. Your attention is attracted and you react in the moment.. . "How interesting.. . ," "How beautiful.. .," "How repulsive.. .," "How fascinating.. ." But getting your momentary attention isn't enough. Unless your attention is held, it moves on to the next attraction. And the next. And the next. The lead generation opportunity is wasted.

How do you attract and hold attention?

Relevance is the key. Unless the customer can somehow relate your message to his or her own needs, the message is, at best, interesting or entertaining, and at worst, a waste of time - but either way, useless for lead generation.

Relevance is the secret to creating a real lead generation opportunity. Attracting attention in a way that is relevant to the customer's need is the key to creating a lead generation opportunity.

be able to turn away. Lead generation is assured.

Without relevance, your message won't hold your customer's attention, and it won't motivate the customer to respond. Without response, you've got nothing - with it, you've got a lead. And that's what lead generation is all about.

The Four Objectives of Your Lead Generation Pilessage

'ective 1: Attract the attention of people in your target +!kr se words, images, and sensory elements that are distinctive enough to draw the immediate attention of the people in your target market, and hold their attention with message points that are relevant to their needs and desires.

~aract A W o n -ive 2: Create the right impressions. Your message has Create the Right to promse not only to satisfy the product needs (what your prod-

Impressions uct or service will do for your customer functionally and emo- Provide a Convenient Way tionally), but also satisfy enough purchase decision needs to

for the Customer TO enable the customer to take the next step (respond), and it all has Respond to be believable, or it's wasted.

Qual~fy Your Leads Watch out for exaggerated claims - "hype" diminishes your message. It's a common mistake for business people, including mar- This document is confidential and proprietary to E-Myth Worldwide and cannot be used, d~sclosed or duplicated without the prior written consem of E-Myth Worldwide. This is an unpublished work protected by federal copyright laws and no unauthorized copying, adaptation, distribution or display is permitted.


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keting professionals, to attribute the success of their lead generation messages to the use of excessive language and claims when, in actuality, the underlying quality of the product and the company overcame the negative impact of the "hype." The message would have been even better and more believable if it had con- tained less "hype."

&g&& Provide a convenient way for the customer to respond. Your message must always provide the means of response, otherwise it's a waste of the money and effort it took to get the message to the prospective customer. So always include a toll-free telephone number, a street address, a mailing address, an Internet address, a self-addressed (and preferably postage-paid) envelope, or any other means by which the customer can conve- niently respond to your message.

Ob'ective 4: Qualify your leads. Usually, depending on your F'-@-?F usiness an your products, your lead generation message should "discourage" people who aren't qualified to purchase your products or services from responding. Who's not qualified? People who would not be served by your product, people who can't afford your product, people who don't have the ability to use your product, and so forth. You don't want people responding to your message, only to be disappointed or angry when they dis- cover what you offer isn't even "in their ballpark," for whatever reason. It's more respectful to them, and much more cost effective for you, to eliminate non-customers through your lead generation message than by using your salespeople to do it.

Five Steps to a "Magnetic" Message

There are five steps to creating lead generation messages that work. You've already done the basic work for the first step.

1 Review what you already know about your target market. Start by reviewing your unique selling proposition (USP),

positioning statement for the target market, and your sensory package. These provide the basic elements and direction for your lead generation messages. (Refer to your work in MK-0040, Positioning and Differentiating Your Business and MK-0050, Your Company's Image and Sensory Package.)

Then review the psychological profile - the Central Psychographic Model - for the market segment you're targeting. Be especially mindful of the emotional associations and the dri- ves (functional and emotional needs) of the market. (Refer to your work in MK-0030, Customer Perceptions and Behavior.)

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Review Target

Content

I f Develop Creative 7

Elements of the

Quantify the Message

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Next, review the product attributes of importance for the target market. (Refer to your work in CF-0010, Product Strategy and Design.)

Finally, review the requirements of the channels you have selected to reach the target market. Determine the constraints imposed by the channel and note the specifications that could impact your message - for instance, how large your advertisement will be, whether it will be color or black and white, what kind of publication it is, how much time your radio ad will have, etc. (Refer to the work you did in LG-0020, Lead Generation Channels.)

Develop the content of your message. Determine what the - message has to communicate in terms of explicit information, impressions, and unconscious associations. There are four parts of your message: 1. Attention-getter

2. Information (facts)

3. Persuasion (your promise and indications of the emotional gratification)

4. Call to action and a way to respond

Think about each of these four areas generally, at first, without worrying about the specific words and images you'll use. What general approach will you take to get your target customers' attention? What information or facts will they need? What promise will you make? What action do you want them to take?

3 Develop the creative elements of your message. Now .) you'll take the content you've decided on and plan exactly how you'll present it in your lead generation message. The pre- sentation of your message is built from three elements: 1. Words - the copy or text used in your message.

2. Images - specific mental pictures you create using words, pictures, sounds, etc. For example, the warmth and security of grandmother's kitchen is an image you can create with words, pictures, sounds, and smells (and even tastes and textures).

3. Sensory elements - the colors, shapes, tastes, smells, textures, sounds, etc. that your target market respond positively to, but are not necessarily part of a particular image you're trying to convey. For example, you might use bright blue lettering because it has high visibility and retention for your customers.

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This is true whether you use outside professionals or do it yourself. Being able to look at your message from the perspective of these three distinct elements makes it much easier for you to approach the task yourself or, if you're using outside help, to communicate what you want and evaluate the service you're receiving.

With the "three creative elements" foundation to work from, remember that in your final message all the elements need to work together in a seamless, cohesive way. To your customer it's one message, one look, and, most probably, one and only one chance to make the right impression. Make sure your message appeals to both the conscious and unconscious mind, and avoid "hype" at all costs.

Pre-test your message. If you can afford it, use professional market researchers to test your message. If you can't

afford market researchers, conduct your own "test" or pick a few of your customers and ask them for their opinions (be aware that they'll be more positive to you than they would be in their "nat- ural" environment where you or your people wouldn't be present). If you can't do that, at least run your message by some of your more objective employees - they won't react exactly as your target customers would, but they'll provide some useful feedback.

5 Rack and quantify the message. Track each message in - each channel each time you use it. Quantify the number of times you "run" the message, the different channels, the different versions of the message, the different creative treatments, the costs, and, of course, the number of leads that result from each.

00 Your New Best Friend v

.- There's an important trick you need to learn. All this information about your target market is just that - information. Fact& Data. Bv itself. it's lifeless and lacking the --connection" that's , - - - , ~ --

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w i a l to communicate with and have real impact on your market.

The trick is making the connection - making your target market as real to you as your best friend. The idea is to create an intu- itive understanding of them, a feel for them, a gut-level connection with them.

Here's how you do it. As you review your target market information, build a detailed mental image of a person who represents your target market customer. Or if you happen to know an indi- vidual who fits your market, use that person as your mental

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image. Get to know that person. Get a sense of his or her per- sonality, tastes, attitudes, opinions - all the things that make us human. When you have that mental image, that's who your message has to connect with, speak to, move emotionally. That's the person you have to know and understand. That's your new best friend.

The Channe l You Use Shapes Your Rilessage

Wouldn't it be convenient if, after you developed your message - the content, the creative elements, everything - you could place it in any channel you wanted to? Well, naturally, it would. Unfortunately, the very nature of each lead generation channel will force you to change your message to some degree to fit it.

Some channels constrain your message in obvious ways. Radio does not accommodate visual images and print channels do not accommodate sound. Some print channels don't allow you to use color (other than black and white). If you've identified the preferred channels for your target market (see LG-0020, Lead Generation Channels), you can have these constraints in mind as you create your message.

Here are more examples of common lead generation channels and some of the factors that affect how you'll need to shape your message to adapt to them:

Print channels such as magazines, newspapers, and directo- ries: available space; limitations or requirements for color; location in the publication; location on the page.

Display channels: size; lighting; weather conditions; loca- tionlplacement.

a Direct mail channels: envelope size; paper weight; mailbox size; class of mail; delivery time.

a Telemarketing channels: available time (length of message); time of day; limitations of sound quality.

Radio: available time; time of day; content of programming surrounding your advertisement; live versus taped.

Television: available time; time of day; content of programming surrounding your advertisement; print size and amount of information that can be shown visually.

Public relations: editorial slant of the publication.

a Channels targeted to specific populations, such as political,

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religious, youth, seniors: ideas and language must conform to the standards of the group.

D~t:eIoping t h e Conti?:!n t of Your Llessaqe

Now that you've got the background logic and philosophy behind lead generation messages, it's time to actually do it! It's time to merge your thinking about what the overall content of your message should be with how to express it using words, images, and sensory elements.

customers' attention is akin to selecting don't get their attention, they won't

ever get to the rest of the "good stuff' in your message. The main "attention-getters" are:

adlines (for print) or "lead-ins" (for radio and television) &

Everyone knows what headlines are - we see them in newspapers every day. The purpose of a headline is twofold - to get your attention and your interest, and to convey the essence of what follows the headline. In the case of radio and television, the "lead-in" serves the same purpose as a headline does for print channels. The lead-in consists of the words, images, and sensory elements that "lead you into" the next piece.

Since the headline (or the lead-in) and the images and sensory elements that support it must not only attract the audience's attention, but also establish relevance, one of the best strategies is to use your unique selling proposition, or some variation of it, as your headline. For example, if your USP is "To Enjoy the Good Life," that could be your headline. You could modify it slightly: "The Good Life," "Enjoying the Good Life," "The Way to Live the Good Life." You could transform it into a question: "Would You Like to Enjoy the Good Life?" or "Wouldn't You Like to Enjoy the Good Life?'or "Are You Ready to Enjoy the Good Life?'You can even use an "anxiety" approach: "Haven't You Been Missing Out on the Good Life Long Enough!" You should find your company's m q u a l l y full of

m

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The E-Myth Mastery Program Module 7: Foundations of E-Myth Lead Generation Business Development Process: LG-0030 Page 9

In a recent nationwide (USA) study, it was found that fully 85% of readers skim commercial communications rather than read them through. They only read through the communication if their skimming generates continued attention and interest. If your message will contain more than several sentences of text, you should consider using subheads, or subordinate headlines. Subheads make it easier to read and follow the text and they provide a summary of the main idea for those people (and there will be many of them) who won't bother to read all the carefully crafted words in the body of your text.

Your subheadings can be "mini-titles" running through the text, or they can actually tell their own story. Here are two effective approaches for writing subheads that continue the story begun in your headline. Let's assume that your headline is, "Wouldn't You Like to Enjoy the Good Life?"

Approach #1 is called "anxiety-anxiety-relief ': \ You don't get much of the good life.

And, when you get it, it's not what you wanted.

Now you can get the good life, exactly the way you want it.

Approach #2 is called "promise-promise-fulfillment": I , You can have the good life.

It's closer than you can imagine.

All it takes is a minute of your time.

Of course, between the subheadings will be text explaining what you mean and giving the audience more information.

Use your headlines (or lead-ins) to establish and maintain the relevance of your product or service to your target customer. If you're using only an image, make sure it has relevance as well. A sensory element as attention-getter - a loud or unusual noise, a splash of color - can attract people but will usually not carry much, if any, of the significance of your message.

The main thing to remember when deciding what information to \ ' present in your message can be summed up in one simple phrase:

less is more! With the exception of very few channels, such as

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direct mail or full page print advertising, give readers a mini- mum of specific information, but enough to pique their interest and satisfy their key questions. Some types of information you can include are:

Important facts about your product andor about your compa-

ny

m Key facts about the customer's needs, frustrations, and desires

Information that satisfies the key questions the potential customer might ask. Key questions are those that enable the customer to confirm relevance (Does this really apply to me? Can I benefit from this product?) and to have the feeling that helshe knows what the message is about (what the product is, basically what it does, what it will feel like to have it).

-,>hrM&&(( Hey c h 4 , r ' ~ ) - The persuasive part of your message is where you inject the sub- jective and emotional element. It adds meaning and significance to the information and gives your message its flavor, its color, its positive and preferential connotation. It creates intimacy by speaking to your customers' unconscious minds, as well as to the conscious.

Don't think of your persuasive elements as necessarily distinct and separate from the information you're presenting. They're often merged by presenting information in a persuasive way. Take, for example, the statement, "The extraordinary effective- ness of this product has been proven in hundreds of clinical tests over the last decade." Would you say this is information or is it persuasion? It's both, of course. Elements that add persuasive- ness to your message are: m Promise of emotional gratification

Logical benefits (based on functional needs)

m Emotional benefits (based on emotional needs)

m Elimination of risk or the perception of risk

These can be communicated explicitly (directly), through specific words and pictures, or implicitly (indirectly), through images and associations you attempt to create.

Don't forget to let the audience know what you want them to do next! This is usually done in words (text), but don't neglect the

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impact of a visual or other sensory element to "encourage" people to respond. A picture of your store, the sound of a telephone ringing, an image of someone dropping a response card in the mail, will make the experience more "real" and, therefore, more likely to happen.

Tell the readerlviewer~listener what to do, how to take action

Provide a way to respond

9 Telephone number, preferably toll-free

Street address, possibly with cross street or directions

Response card, preferably postage paid, pre-addressed, and easy to complete (fill in the blanks or check the boxes)

Internet web site address

9 Make it easy, "idiot-proof'

m Make it low-cost or, better yet, no-cost

Make it immediate

Eliminate all barriers to response

Developing a compelling message, and placing it in the channel that reaches the customers you want, creates a powerful "magnetic field" that attracts people to you. As you create your lead generation message, always keep in mind that single customer who will be experiencing your business for the very first time through this message and this channel. Will she be attracted or will she be repelled? What will her impressions be? Will she be moved to respond immediately or will she experience resistance or hesitation?

A n Offer They Can ' t Refuse

If people need your product, have the ability to buy it, and yours is the best for them, how can they refuse your offer? Many do refuse, and more refuse than buy in most cases. Why is that?

When everything else is right, but there is real or imagined risk perceived by a potential customer, the decision is, at best: "maybe."

What could be in your message that customers may perceive as risk? Here are a few examples:

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Not credible - "Your message doesn't 'sound right,' it doesn't square with my experience. Your advertising has too much 'hype' ."

a Not appropriate - "Your message doesn't fit my picture of myself: It's too higMow class, and not the kind of thing people like me would buy.''

Too expensive - "I can't afford it."

m Not reliable - "It might break down or not do what I need it to do.''

In other words, risk is -er makes the customer uncomfort- able with your product, your business. your people.

So, how can you overcome risk? How can you help the prospective customer feel so comfortable, so at ease with your offer, that there is no resistance to responding to your message? a Honesty. Most people believe that if your product "sounds

too good to be true," it probably isn't true. Very few things help a customer feel more comfortable than believing that someone is telling them the truth.

Messages appropriate to the customer's self-image. "If you're not talking to me, your product's probably not for me, either!"

Satisfying the customer's decision making needs I'-,I Addressing whichever of these needs is most important to your customers - information, understand- 3 needs clarificatipn, advice, assistance, reassurance, t&s- a c t i o m g - will go far in e l imina t ing the l r~e~t ion of risk.

Satisfying product/service needs (product attributes). Communicate that your product or service was designed specifi- cally for your target customer. Show them, or tell them, how.

'v'i'nat I f You're N o t Creative?

Get help.

We all have some degree of creativity, and when fed by an inti- mate knowledge of your target market, your creativity is probably greater than you think it is.

But lead generation messages are tricky to create, and subtle lit- tle things (intentional or unintentional) can have a major impact

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- . .. .. . - - .- .. - - - . . . . - . - ... . . - - .

on your message for better or for worse. So it's almost always money well-spent to get professional help with your lead generation messages. What professional help? Copywriters. Graphic artists. Advertising specialists. Public relations professionals.

When you use professionals, don't abdicate lead generation to them. It's still your business, and y-more about it and about your target markets than they do. If you let them, graphic artists will create gorgeous images and designs, but they may not pay attention to the functionality of their designs (the print may be hard to read, the graphics may be beautiful but convey the wrong impressions, the sensory elements may appeal to their tastes rather than those of your target market). Advertising agencies may select the channels (they'll call them "media") that generate the highest income for them rather than the ones that will reach your target market most effectively. Copywriters may use words that are preferred in literary circles, but don't communicate the right tone or unconscious associations to your markets.

Use the creativity of professionals, but don't let them intimidate you with their expertise. Respect their expertise - that's why you need them - but also respect your own. And you make the decisions.

"If You Remember hly hlessage. You'll Buy lLly Product" ... A Recipe for Disaster

There was once a highly successful Madison Avenue advertising executive who said when addressing a large audience of business people, "The most important thing your message must accomplish is to be memorable. My best advertising campaigns have been described as 'obnoxious' and 'offensive.' Music to my ears. Why? Because people remembered my ads. And if you remember my ad, you'll buy my product."

He was dead wrong, of course. Worse, he was doing a disser- vice to his clients. And he showed an appalling lack of understanding of customers.

The fallacy in his thinking - and you already know this - has to do with emotional gratification, unconscious associations, and the "attraction-avoidance" reactions of customers. (Remember your work on Customer Perceptions and Behavior in the Marketing module, MK-0030?) Yes, it's important for your messages to be memorable. But it's more important for them to

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create attraction rather than avoidance. If all you're doing with "Y

your messages is stimulating avoidance, then you're pushing away potential customers. And if your "negative" message is memorable, so much the worse.

So, avoid negative messages and images about your business and your products. Negative elements in your message are fine. In fact they can be highly effective, but only if your product or service is the solution to the negative situation.

It 's an Art, Not a Mystery

You've seen that it's not enough for your message to be noticed, it must also be relevant to the customer's needs. It's not enough to merely offer the right product or service, your message must also reduce the perceived risk. And it's not enough to be memorable, it must be memorable in a way that creates attraction, not avoidance.

And even though there are clear steps to follow in creating your message, it's far from a science. Perhaps more than any other area of your business, creating the right message is an art. But there's nothing mysterious about it. It's all common sense, clear communication, and, above all, a deep understanding of your 4 target market.

This documenl is confidential and proprieIary to E-Myth Worldwide and cannot be used, disclosed or duplcated without the prior written consent of E-Myth Worldwide. This is an unpublished work pmtecled by federal copyright l a m and no unauthorized copying, adaptation, distribut~on or display is permitted.

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