Turn  your  website  into  a  marke1ng  machine!

 Marsha  Sanders    Principal,  Koi  Marke1ng  Solu1ons  February  6,  2014  

How can you turn your website into a marketing machine? Be strategic. Use a marketing lens. Target the old brain.

Searching  for  help  on  the  web?  

  You find a long list of professionals   You give each site about 4 seconds to spark your

interest

  One of two things happen  You are engaged with the site and want to know more  You are not interested in anything you see, and move on to

the next site

  You find a site called “Phoenix Healing Arts”

Impressions?  

Search  for  “pain  relief  specialist  boston”  

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Phoenix  Healing  Arts    A"er  applying  strategy  and  using  a  marke3ng  lens    

View your site through a marketing lens. Close your eyes. Imagine your website home page. Apply the 4 second rule (no cheating).

The  importance  of  branding  

Be strategic.

Tac1cs    Strategy  

Building  blocks  for  your  marke1ng  strategy  

  Customer definition  Demographics   Psychographics  Critical needs

  Defining services   Features  Benefits  Differentiators

  Competitors  Competitive position  Competitive differentiation

Building  blocks:  The  posi1oning  grid  

Audience  

Cri1cal  need  

Need  

Want  

Benefits   Differen1ators  

Your  compe11ve  posi1on  

compe1tors  

compe1tors   compe1tors  

Services  

Building  blocks:  Messaging  

Audience  

Cri1cal  need  

Need  

Want  

Benefits   Differen1ators  

Your  compe11ve  posi1on  

compe1tors  

compe1tors   compe1tors  

Services  

Messaging  is  driven  by  your  compe11ve  posi1on:  •  Key  message  •  Tag  line  •  Headline  •  Elevator  speech    

Building  blocks:  Target  clients  

  You will probably have more than one client group in your market

  Know as much as you can about each client group:  Demographics – age, sex, geography, college education,

profession, etc.   Psychographics – interests, fears, preferences, etc.  Degree of need for your services – wants, needs, and

critical needs (pain) “If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, � feel my feelings, and speak my words.”  

                                       Cicero,  Roman  orator  and  statesman  

Landscape  design  clients  –  Kathleen  Coss  Primary  audience:  Affluent  home  owners  

  Demographics   Local to Carmel  Middle-aged and older  Well-educated

professionals  Wealthy – can afford

high-end landscaping  Mostly internet-savvy

  Psychographics  Appreciate beauty   Proud of their

achievements  Want to impress others  Want to enjoy their

outdoor space  Do not want to do the

work themselves

Landscape  design  clients  –  Kathleen  Coss  Primary  audience:  Affluent  home  owners  

  Critical needs   Trust   Just make it happen for

me (“I don’t want the headaches)

  Someone to manage the process and crew

  They want to love the results

 Where do they get their information?  Garden tours   Signs in front of gardens  Other vendors

(architects, builders)  Magazines – like Sunset

or Architectural Digest

Landscape  design  clients  –  Kathleen  Coss  Secondary  audiences  

  Realtors  Homeowners needing “curb appeal” before selling  New homeowners wanting to make improvements

  Contractors   Architects/designers/builders

 Make recommendations as they plan their property development

 Generally like to partner with one landscaper   They often need landscapers for city and county inspections

Cri1cal  needs  and  compelling  events  

  Learning about your prospects   Interview your customers – why did they choose you?  Develop a composite of your ideal customer – with as

much detail as possible – give a name, photo

 Many critical needs follow a compelling event  Knowing what the compelling event is provides insight into

customer motivation, timing, and pricing   This knowledge can help you close the sale

Building  blocks:  Your  services  

  Features List all the details of what you will offer clients

  Benefits What benefits will your clients experience as a result of using your services

  Differentiators How can you stand out from the competition?

  Tie a benefit or differentiator to each feature

  Don’t expect prospects to connect the dots

Building Blocks: Benefits and differentiators

  Benefits  A benefit is something of real or perceived value to the

audience  A benefit is usually not unique to one organization or

service, but is offered by many groups in the same category

  Differentiators  A benefit that is unique to the service or organization is a

differentiator  What makes you different from others in your group?  All differentiators are also benefits

 Differentiators can be tangible (location) or intangible (friendliness)

View your site through a marketing lens. Differentiation.

Differen1a1ng  a  landscape  design  prac1ce  

  Differentiate on strengths that relate to client needs   Impressive client base   Process – how you work   Established partnerships   Specialized landscape design  Your office location

  Sometimes the differentiator is simply you – what you are passionate about, your own stories

  Thought leadership – speak at conferences, submit articles to relevant publications

View your site through a marketing lens. Positioning.

Building  blocks:  Compe11ve  posi1on  

  For each audience in your marketing plan, match up:   The audience critical need or pain, with   Your differentiated offerings Audience  

Cri1cal  need  

Need  

Want  

Benefits   Differen1ators  

Your  compe11ve  posi1on  

compe1tors  

compe1tors   compe1tors  

Services  

Why is positioning important?   Every organization or service has a de facto

position in the mind of their audience   Positioning drives consistent, effective messages   Positioning must be honest and credible to your

prospects

  Positioning means standing for one thing which means you must sacrifice  A narrow focus often creates more opportunities   The narrow focus could mean

 Focusing on just one market  Tailoring a giveaway that appeals to your key audience

segment

How  to  create  your  posi1oning  statement  

  A positioning statement describes what you want the world to think – you want to control your position in your prospect’s mind.

  It is an internal statement. Messages derived from it are external   Who: John’s Driveways in Malden   What: A small driveway sealer company   For whom: that serves smaller clients - homeowners - who want pretty

good quality but do not want to pay, for the services of a larger company   Against whom – Bigger and better known competitors with broader

geographic range   Where is the difference : John Doe is smaller, does a good job for less

money than the big guys because he stays local

  “John’s Driveways is a small driveway sealer company working with homeowners in the Malden area who want the job done well for a reasonable price.”

When  your  prospects  are  your  compe11on  

 Most small companies are not battling real competitors, their competitors are their potential clients

  Your prospect faces 4 options – using your service, using a competitor’s services, doing it themselves, or doing nothing at all

View your site through a marketing lens. Content – Messages and Copy. Provide proof to build trust.

View your site through a marketing lens. Content Messages Written copy

Why  do  we  create  messages?  

  Focus attention

 A succinct way to summarize large, complex ideas in one or two sentences

  Gain awareness and mindshare

  Targeted messages cut through the noise   Set client expectations   Establish your expertise   Messages must be

honest�

  Messages must be clear and consistent

  Disconnects can occur between   The encoding and

decoding process  Between your

intention and audience understanding

  Test with  Colleagues   Family and friends   Focus groups

Speaker

Audience

Message

Messages  must  be  tested  

Copywri1ng:  The  1-­‐2-­‐3-­‐4  Formula  

  A compelling headline – address a strong benefit, or even better, client pain

  Followed by 1.  What I’ve got for you

Address the client pain (headline) with your solution

2.  What it is going to do for you What is the benefit for the client

3.  Who am I? Build trust

4.  What you need to do next Tell prospects what action to take

Web  wri1ng  basics  

  Good writing is simple writing: a relevant idea delivered clearly and directly

  Choose simple words (“use” instead of “utilize”)   Write short sentences – don’t add extra words unless

they are needed for meaning   Write short paragraphs   Use bullets – they attract the eye and can be skimmed quickly   Use the active voice: subject – verb – object;

passive voice is boring

Web  wri1ng  basics,  con1nued  

  Be specific   I grow lots of flowers in my back yard.   I grow 34 varieties of flowers in my back yard, including pink

coneflowers, purple asters, yellow daylilies, Shasta daisies, and climbing clematis.

  Which is more interesting? Which helps you envision my back yard?

  Edit out fluff words that don’t add meaning   Teasers are effective

  “The three most damaging and expensive mistakes new homeowners make with their yards”

Your  elevator  speech  

  An elevator pitch communicates the unique services you deliver to your target audience succinctly and memorable   I am a <job title> working with <key audience> to deliver/

help/provide <benefits> with <differentiators>(through <delivery method>).

  I am a marketing consultant working with small businesses to help them grow their business with strategic communications tools through my company, Koi Marketing Solutions

Your  compelling  headline  

  The power of a good headline – print ad tests have shown that 75% of sales are based on the headline alone (Gerber, eMyth)

  Turn the headline into a promise – supported by proof later in the text  Base it on your successful clients who have realized the

benefits of your offerings   Proof can be in the form of simple tools available for

download  Research reports  Seven steps to a great fire pit in your backyard

Your  tagline  or  descriptor  

  Build your tagline with benefits – or ideally differentiators – for your primary client group

  You can use a descriptor (a phrase that describes your services) instead of, or in addition to, a tag line

View your site through a marketing lens. Provide proof to build trust.

Different  types  of  proof  

  Customer stories – 80-100% proof Stories, testimonials, and case studies all demonstrate that you understand your client needs and have met them to your clients satisfaction   Portfolios – these demonstrate how your solutions provided

benefits to your clients  Before and after comparisons  Videos of happy customers

  Demos – 60-100% proof   Data – 20-60% proof

Customer  stories    

Landscape  design  proof  –  your  work!  

Data  

A  note  on  videos  and  building  trust  

  Videos establish credibility, establish you as an expert   Videos help web visitors engage with you quickly:

  Focus on the face – we are hardwired to pay attention to faces  Your voice – Our minds are more stimulated by hearing a

person tell a story rather than reading it ourselves  When we watch people express emotion, we have a greater

connection with them  Movement – We are drawn to things that move; cave men

survived by watching things move (hunters versus gatherers).

Target the decision-maker in the prospect’s brain. The old brain or lizard brain

Only  seven  s1muli  reach  the  old  brain  

1.  Be visual 2.  Create contrast 3.  Use beginnings and endings 4.  Keep it simple 5.  Make it concrete 6.  Make it personal 7.  Use emotion

Be  visual  

  Of the five senses, the Old Brain responds most strongly to the visual sense

  Processing things that you see takes up about half of the resources of your brain at any one time

  Impact for marketing  Use graphics, visual symbols, photos, videos  Use in addition to, or instead of, lists and lots of text

Create  contrast  

  Clear contrasts speak to the old brain   Fast/slow, before/after, risky/safe, simple/complicated

  Contrast allows the old brain to make quick, risk-free decisions – otherwise it can be confused and slow

  Impact for marketing   Try not to use statements such as “we are one of the leader

providers of….” without adding contrast  Neutral statements not lead to a quick sorting of

information, and do not trigger a quick decision   Try to contrast where prospects are now, with how great

things could be if they use your services

Use  beginnings  and  ends  

  The Old Brain is also strongly influenced by firsts and lasts, beginnings and endings

  It is always looking for the unexpected – things that break the pattern that it’s used to

  Impact for marketing   Put your most important messages at the beginning and

repeat at the end of every prospect communication   If you have a choice, be the first presenter because the old

brain is more attentive when in a state of anticipation

Be  simple  

  Too much information may make prospects  Unable to respond quickly  Get irritated or bored   Start to develop a “why are you telling me this? Response   Suffer information overload leading to indecision

  Impact for marketing – simplify your content   Focus on critical needs and your differentiators  Use metaphors and analogies

Be  concrete  

  The Old Brain prefers concrete language to abstract ideas   The old brain cannot process concepts like “a flexible

solution,” “an integrated approach,” or “scalable architecture”

  It does react to simple and easy to grasp concepts like “more money,” “unbreakable,” “24-hour service”

  Impact for marketing – use familiar, simple wording and lots of graphics

Make  it  personal  

  The old brain is only concerned with its own well-being and survival

  Lesson for your marketing   100% of all your message as a business owner needs to

focus on the prospect and customer, not you  Use the second person, i.e., “you” not “we” or “I”  Content should not be first about you, your business, your

services   The old brain will not listen until you tell prospects what is

in it for them

Use  emo1on  

  The old brain is only triggered by emotion   Emotions create electrochemical responses in the

brain – this impacts the way we process and memorize information

 We remember events better when we experience them with strong emotion

Summary  -­‐  Marke1ng  to  the  old  brain    Diagnose the client pain

Listen to prospects; their pain is often below the conscious level

  Differentiate your claim   Use clear contrasts in differentiating your services. Don’t say “we are one

of the leading…,” say “we are the only….”   Your prospect is thinking, how does this compare to other options, and

how does this compare to doing nothing

  Demonstrate the gain The old brain needs tangible information, needs proof that your solution will address their need or pain

  Deliver to the old brain Keep the seven stimuli top of mind

Marke1ng  services  versus  products  Make your services visible and tangible.

Make your prospects comfortable.

“It is harder to market services than products because they are intangible.

Communications for services make them more tangible, and give prospects something firm to evaluate.

Unlike communicating about products,

communicating about services must make the service more tangible and real,

and must soothe the worried prospect.”

Harry  Beckwith,  Selling  the  Invisible  

A final note on marketing. Give it attention. What you pay attention to GROWS!

When  paying  a^en1on  to  your  marke1ng:    

Be  strategic.    

View  from  a  marke1ng  lens.    

Target  the  old  part  of  the  brain.      

Resources.

Some  of  my  favorite  marke1ng  books  

  Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith, 1997 A classic on services marketing

  Unthinking, Harry Beckwith, 2013   Neuromarketing, Patrick Renvoise and Christophe

Morin, 2007   Positioning, Reis and Trout   The eMyth Revisited, Michael E Gerber, 1995

Online  marke1ng  resources,  con1nued  

  Data: Pew Research – www.pewresearch.org  Demographics of social media users, 2/14/13   Social networking, 2012

  Developing content – www.copyblogger.com  How to develop content when you don’t have a clue

  How to blog – www.blogtyrant.com/how-to-blog   A guide to quickly start blogging

 Marketing – www.marketingprofs.com  Web marketing – www.marketo.com

THANK YOU! Contact me at: marsha@koimarketingsolutions.com

View your site through a marketing lens. Branding All of the above, plus visual identity

Fit  by  June  brand  Authen3c,  athle3c,  healthy,  informal,  clean  brand  Messaging  is  simple  and  memorable:  Work  out.  Be  fit.    

Resolu1ons  brand        

•  Professional,  established,  helpful,  energe1c  •  Communicates  emo1onal  benefits  of  service  well  •  Messaging:  The  Link  to  your  Organized  Future  

 

Ask  about  our  guaranteed  results!    •  Reduced  stress  from  clu^er  

 •  Empty  next  downsizing  

 •  Estate  cleanouts  

 •  Reduced  1me  spent  looking  for  

lost  items  Before   Acer    

1  

Search  for  “financial  advisor  boston”  

Music  metaphor  has  no  real  meaning  

Li^le  informa1on  about  services,  quality    

Rota1ng  images  show  different  types  of  clients  

Boston  Magazine  –  Top  five  financial  planners,  2  years  

Good  posi1oning  of  his  services,  great  key  message,  differen1ators  

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Eric’s  services:  Graphics  and  lists  Graphics  are  more  impacEul  and  interes3ng  than  lists