5 Factors Determine the Growth of Your Business

1. Total Market Potential: How much will be spent by the public in your product or service category this year? What is the depth of your current market penetration? How many dollars remain on the table? 

2. Message Development: How well do you tell your story? Why should customers buy from you?

3. Communication Plan: How efficiently are your dollars being spent?

4. Competitive Environment: How good are your competitors at what they do?

5. Competency: How good are you? Do you deliver all you promise?

(Excerpt from Making Ads Work, chapter 7 How Advertising Works.)

Staff Churn Can Change The Heart of Your Business

“When people who strongly exemplify a (business) culture leave, that culture can go out the door with them. When people are brought into an organization, they bring with them different cultures.” - The Heart of Change by John P. Kotter

Make sure new staff know and accept the values of your business.

Otherwise, the business you have taken so long to build, will begin to decay, one new staff member at a time.

(Craig Arthur, Wizard of Ads Partner @ WizardOfAdsAustralia)

Short Media Schedules are Always a Gamble

Few people will be convinced quickly, and few of those people who are convinced will have any immediate need for what you are selling.

By the time their need arises, your “short media schedule” will be over and they will have forgotten you.

You must decide what to say and then say it to as many people as you can afford to reach relentlessly.

If you cannot afford to reach a station’s audience with relentless repetition, you should consider buying a smaller audience.

It is better to reach ten people ten times than a hundred people once.

(Excerpt from Making Ads Work, chapter 4 'Testing the Advertising Waters')

Radio is Considered “Mass Media” For a Reason

Radio reaches the unwashed, unfiltered masses. Rich and poor alike. Generally speaking, radio is not good at targeting specific types of persons, but it’s great for building a reputation.

If you want the public to think of you when they need what you sell, a nonstop radio schedule will work wonders.

But don’t fall into the trap of overpaying to be on the “right” station. Radio goes fishing with a net, pulling up thousands of fish with each pass through the waters. If you want to sit on the riverbank with a pole and a hook and target a specific type of customer, use magazines or a list or invest in Google Adwords.

But know this. 

Weak ads fail, regardless of which media delivers them.

Strong ads succeed, regardless of which media delivers them.

(Read original article Radio of Tomorrow by Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads @ MondayMorningMemo.com)

On Hold Messages

Your on hold message shouldn’t run any longer than two minutes… in fact one minute should be enough.  Why? Heck, how long are you planning on keeping your customers on hold for? Make your messages short and sharp. My suggestion – Just five to ten-seconds per thought. If you tease their intrigue — they can ask you for more detail when they come off hold.

What to say? What’s the primary reason for most of your customer calls?  Now, what’s the up-sell?  That’s your first key message.

You can also use your on hold to tell customers about new developments or to answer frequently asked questions. But always make sure you’re telling them something of benefit, something to make their primary reason for calling easier.

Lastly — don’t repeat your business name every ten-seconds – After all, your customer called you — they already know who you are.

(By Sonya Winterbotham, Wizard of Ads Partner, @ WizardofAdsAustralia)

 

Do You Inspire Confidence?

As a business owner you have a major impact on the emotional outlook of your employees. Confident or fearful, you largely set their mood.

Any boss can make staff fearful…  but fearful staff lack confidence.

“Fear is contagious. A frightened person frightens other people. And these newly frightened people will frighten still more people.” - Roy H. Williams

“Fear is very contagious. You can get fearful in 5 minutes, but you don’t get confident in 5 minutes.” - Warren Buffett on CNBC, Monday, March 9, 2009

Selling is simply a transfer of confidence, and fearful staff cannot transfer to customers what they don’t have.

Sustained business growth needs a team of confident staff.

It takes a true leader to inspire confidence.

Are you a true leader? 

(By Craig Arthur, Wizard of Ads Partner @ WizardofAdsAustralia)

Six Steps to Authentic Conversational Ads

Step 1. Collect a list of questions customers typically ask you

Step 2. Create a bullet list of proven answers you give them

Step 3. Put the list away for a few days and schedule a recording session

Step 4. Without reviewing them, give your questions to the interviewer

Step 5. Record the conversation (NO headphones—trust me on this one)

Step 6. Edit your answers into a logical sequence, omitting the interviewer

Step 5 is key. The interviewer’s job goes beyond reading questions. You want a surrogate customer who probes and asks questions. Look them in the eye. Speak as you would to a customer. Chances are, if the interviewer is persuaded, the listener will be too.

Your finished ad may not sound professional and polished. That’s good. No, it’s REALLY good. Because so many ads sounds contrived and homogenized, you’ll stand out by merely being yourself.

(Read original article The Simple Secret to Creating Authentic Conversational Radio Ads by Charlie Moger, Wizard of Ads Partner @ CharlieMoger.com)

When Things Go Wrong With a Customer

Sooner or later, you’re going to disappoint a customer. How you handle that crisis, will determine whether you lose a patron or gain a devoted supporter.

If you can make a customer feel special after you’ve disappointed them, you’ve taken a negative situation and transformed it into a positive.

But you can’t rely on off the cuff solutions you need to design a process.

What policies do you have in place when things go wrong?

Are all your staff fully aware of these policies?

Are they empowered to make things right without asking you?

(By Mike Dandridge, Wizard of Ads Partner @ BusinessTurnAround.com)

5 Ways to Make Your Advertising Work

Get the attention of people with words and phrases that are new, surprising and different. Choose points-of-view and scenarios that will resonate with them.

Offer people what they want to buy (instead of trying to convince them to buy what you’d like to sell.)

Support your claims with examples that agree with the experiences of your prospective customers.

Target people through your ad copy, not your media selection. It’s what you say that counts, not where you say it.

Reach as many people as your budget will let you reach repetitiously, regardless of their age, sex, or income bracket. The wrong people become the ‘right people’ or pass on your message (word of mouth) to the ‘right people’ when you say the right thing.Do these 5 things and you will be amazed at how many different people suddenly become ‘your customer.'

(By Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads @ MondayMorningMemo.com)

Improve Your Website Conversion by Applying the Principles Used in Info Commercials

Info commercials work because they run to a tried and tested formula.

1. Demonstration of product or service (Proof it works)
2. Testimonials (Credibility)
3. Price (Transparency)
4. Guarantee (Risk Reduction)
5. Refund Policy (Risk Reduction)
6. Call to Action (Always tell the reader, listener, viewer what to do next, how to buy. Pick up the phone. Email. Visit the website. Go to the store.)

Now look at your website, do you have all 6 elements?

You should if you want to increase your conversion rate.

(By Craig Arthur, Wizard of Ads Partner @ WizardOfAdsAustralia)

The Four Ad Types

1. Franchise ads build the master brand. The hope of every franchisee is that the ads provided by the franchisor will generate enough brand attraction to pull customers into their store.

2. Category-specific ads are written broadly enough to fit every advertiser in a category. But remember: Ads that fit everyone don’t work very well for anyone. These ads are a waste of money.

3. Product-specific ads benefit every retailer who sells the product, but they aren’t really about the retailer at all. They’re only about the product. Product-specific ads are for special promotions.

4. Store-specific ads are the foundation of local branding, but to write them requires intimate, detailed research on the part of an expert ad writer. Rarely will a good, store-specific ad fit another advertiser in the same category. These ads can make you category dominate.

What type of ads are you running?

(Read original article Four Kinds of Ads by Roy H. Williams, the Wizard of Ads @ MondayMorningMemo.com)

Wizard Words: Impact Quotient (IQ)

How memorable, persuasive and sticky are your ads compared to those of your competitors?

Notice, I didn’t ask how creative, funny and professional your ads were? We’re not trying to win awards. We’re trying to grow your business.

Is your problem that people think they know about you, but they really don’t?

Dial up your impact quotient. Hire a killer strategist and ad writer to help you find and address the felt needs of consumers in your market. 

Answer questions that they’re asking.

(Read original article Marketing’s Three Dials by Tim Miles, Wizard of Ads Partner at TheDailyBlur.com)

What Do Your Customers Really Want?

“I’ve done everything possible to create good relationships with my clients,” a physician announced during one of my seminars. “I’ve decorated my office with marble pillars and resort-style furniture. I’ve painted the rooms soothing colours and have a Japanese fountain in the waiting room to calm the nerves. There is a variety of magazines on the coffee table that appeal to different personalities. I even have a cappuccino corner where patients can make themselves a beverage. I’ve covered all the bases. You can’t possibly add anything — there’s nothing left?”

I let his statement hang, then asked, “How long do your patients have to sit in the waiting room before they see you?”

Patients want a doctor who is on time.

What is the biggest complaint about your industry?

Find it, then fix it.

Give customers what they really want, and watch your business grow.

(Original article by Michele Miller, Wizard of Ads Partner at WonderBranding.com)

3 Step Advertising Plan

Put simply, your advertising plan tells you how you plan to attract customers. 

The creation of an advertising plan begins with two pieces of information and one question.

The first piece of information required is the annual budget.

How much can Time and Money can you afford to invest?

The second piece of information required is your brand essence. 

a. Why would anyone choose to do business with you? 

b. What unmet need do you fill? 

c. What is your message to the customer?

The remaining question is this: 

What is the highest and best use of your Time and Money?

The thing to remember when developing your advertising plan is that you’re not looking for what works. Every type of advertising “works” to one degree or another.

What you’re looking for is the best long-term use of your time and money.

(By Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads @ MondayMorningMemo.com)

3 Tips To Make Your Ads Sound More Authentic

1. Stop Using Clichés. Clichés are commercial killers. Nothing will make a listener, or viewer tune out faster than cramming your ads with a bunch of overused, predictable, and unoriginal phrases. Clichés are empty promises that you’ll never, EVER be able to keep.

2. Be Transparent. Your customers appreciate honesty.  You screwed up? Admit it.  You’ve changed some important company policies? Promote them.  You and your employees share a certain set of values. Celebrate them!

WARNING: It can’t be faked. It HAS to be real.

3. Back up what you promise. Are you keeping your word? Do you do what your ads say you do? If you’re gonna say it, you gotta play it. What about your team? Are your employees aware of the promises made in your marketing campaign? If not, how will they ever know if they’re breaking them?

(Read original article 3 Tips To Make Your Ads Sound More Authentic by Ryan Patrick Wizard of Ads Partner @ Ryan-Patrick.com)

There Are Three Types of Visitors Who Can Come to Your Website

Buyers. You know who they are because they converted to a sale or lead.

Potential buyers. These are visitors who are in the market for what you offer, but for any number of possible reasons, don’t buy. (This is where the untapped gold lies.)

Disqualified traffic. These are visitors who wouldn’t buy no matter what (maybe they arrived to your website by accident).

On a typical website, 3 percent of visitors are buyers and the other 97 percent is distributed among the potential buyers and disqualified traffic.

To increase sales you need to answer these questions.

Of your non-buyers, what percent are potential buyers?

And how can you increase those?

Are you making your value proposition clear?

Do they understand the benefits of your offer?

Are they concerned over risks?

Have you earned or lost their trust?

(Read original article Is Your Traffic Mix Efficient? by Bryan Eisenberg, Wizard of Ads Partner at BryanEisenberg.com)

Are You Making This Big Shopping Cart Mistake?

When shopping online, nothing drives a woman battier than putting items into a shopping cart and pushing the “continue shopping” button, only to be sent back to the homepage or a section she’s never visited.

What if she wanted to buy the same item in another color?

What if the original item page had listed complementary pieces that would go with the one she just ordered?

If you really want your customer to “continue shopping” on your site, make sure you guide her back to where she really wants to be. Otherwise, she might just might abandon you altogether.

(Read original article Why Your Customers Abandon Online Shopping Carts by Michele Miller, Wizard of Ads Partner @ wonderbranding.com)

Stop Your Ad Spend From Becoming Obese

If you don’t have a budget and a plan your ad spend will blow out due to persuasive ad reps.

You spend a little here… a little there… a discounted radio package pops up, a newspaper lift-out (all your competitors are in it… you don’t want to miss out), a TV run of station deal… little by little your wallet is emptied and your ad spend becomes obese.

To rub salt in the wound, all this disjointed media buying produces little if any return.

Here’s how to keep your ad spend trim.

1. Calculate how much you can invest in 12-months
2. Determine the media that will give the highest and best use of your money
3. Book that media
4. Say NO to all the ad reps who knock on your door for the next 12-months 

(By Craig Arthur, Wizard of Ads Partner @ WizardOfAdsAustralia)

How to Write Persuasive Ads

Get to the point. It is better to tell one idea well, than to tell ten badly. Are you trying to put too much into your message?  Try to strip all the information bare and find the strongest message, so you can tell that story well.

Avoid commercial speak. My rule is simple - write the way you speak.

Delete clinical words. Clinical words are are cold, generic or overused… words like ‘entertainment’, ‘convenient’, ‘quality’.

Use short sentences. Short sentences can carry a massive amount of impact.

Write for the customer. Don’t get trapped into writing about you. Write about how you can help the customer.

Back up your claims of greatness. Being ‘great’ or ‘the best’ even ‘better than the rest’ are now advertising clichés. Don’t make a claim if you can’t back it up with proof.

( By Sonya Winterbotham, Wizard of Ads Partner @ WizardOfAdsAustralia)

The Secret to Successful Persuasion

Question: Is it more effective to communicate with others as you would have them to communicate with you, or should we strive to communicate with others in the manner they prefer to be communicated unto?

Courage, Feelings, Stability and Intellectare the pillars in the Palace of the Temperaments. Strong communications have points of connection to each of these four pillars.

The person who values intellect needs to understand your logic.

The person who values feelings needs to perceive your motives.

The person who values stability needs to know it has been tested.

The person who values courage needs to hear you speak of action.

If you are wise, you will speak to each of these 4 people every time you attempt to persuade. Put something in your presentation for each of them.

This secret, is called “inclusive communication by design.”

(Read original article Speak in 4-Part Harmony by Roy H. Williams the Wizard of Ads @ MondayMorningMemo.com)