I’m “that guy” who always asks “Yeah, but will it work?”

Just because a thing is creative doesn’t mean it gets results. And getting results is the goal. Sure, it needs to be visually consistent with your brand, professional, blah, blah, blah…and if it’s creative too, that would be nice!! Nice but not necessary. It. Needs. To. Work.

Being creative:

Doing something or solving a problem in a new or different way.

Doing things in new and different ways? I’m in! But, and this is a big but, other things need to be riding on your creativity train to produce results. In fact, everything that makes a successful marketing campaign needs to ride along:

Attention– This is when you see creativity used most often. And being creative, taking a different, fresh approach, is especially good at getting and keeping attention. A triangle-shaped envelope, a man in a gorilla suit delivering your quote, an airplane flying a banner with your URL on it, live gold fish as your giveaway at a convention. By the way: worked, worked, worked, didn’t work (and I fear we were responsible for the deaths of many fish that day…).

Audience– You need to get the attention of the right people. Every single one of your clever triangle-shaped envelopes could be torn open with rapt anticipation. But if 80% of those people aren’t a prospect, your mailing is going to lose money.

Message– If your ridiculously creative gold fish giveaway gets fish in the hands of the right people, but the brochure you attached makes you sound like every other company like yours, you still fail you fish-murdering dope!

Offer– Okay, everything is cooking along. People LOVE the gold fish, most of them are in the hands of the right people and your brochure talks about issues that are important to them right now (the people, not the fish). But they’ve never heard of you (the people, not the fish) and you’re offering a 10% discount or some other lame incentive that measures .0000001 on the motivation-to-try-a-new-company scale, you fail.

You get the idea. Creativity is cool, and it’s great for style points. But, dear reader, it isn’t enough.

//  There is the “How” of your marketing and the “Why” of your marketing. When sales slow down too many of us only look at the How and not enough also look at the Why.The How: how you deliver your message (ads, brochures, your website, etc.)

The Why: your message (the whys or reasons you give people for buying from you)

From a distance the logic is painfully simple. Spending more to send the wrong message doesn’t make sense. Why, then, do we do it? Because we don’t think our message could be wrong. Right?

I mean, after all, quality and customer service are how we built this business!! It’s who we are!!! How wrong can that be!!!!

Okay, settle down. I’m not saying change who you are. I’m saying quality and customer service may not be resonating with customers today like they used to. You need to find out what is important about who you are with customers NOW and start leading with that message. Or, change to better fit what is important to customers right now. Then lead with that.

Obviously, when economic conditions change buying motivations change. Are times tough for your customers? Price, selling in smaller quantities, longer terms, etc., might become more important. Are times great for your customers? Quick shipment, availability, quality and service might become more important.

Just because you pride yourself on quality and service doesn’t mean you aren’t more than just those two things. Give your customers what they need RIGHT NOW. Make sure your message reflects where your customers are TODAY.

I can increase your sales by 20% without breaking a sweat, without knowing a single thing about your company, product or customers.  Or more accurately, YOU can increase your sales 20% without my knowing a single thing about your company, product or customers by following the following two recommendations:

Increase the number of prospects you contact. One of the most common weaknesses I see in companies’ marketing is they simply don’t contact enough prospects.  Double or triple the number of prospects you contact and you double or triple the chances your message will hit people when they’re ready to buy.

Increase the number of times you contact prospects. It’s called frequency if you’re an advertiser.  It’s called repetition is you’re a direct marketer.  It’s also called common sense, really.  Things change.  I see your ad or your direct mail piece hits my desk today and I could care less.  But in a month or six weeks, things may be different.  I may have a need then, I may not be as busy then or I may replaced by then.  Double or triple the number of times you contact prospects and you double or triple the chances your message will hit people when they’re ready to buy.

Do these two things-change nothing else-and I guarantee sales will increase by 20%.  AT LEAST 20%.

Do these two things, AND THEN refine your message and add to or change the mix of marketing methods you use. . .and you’re on your way to doubling sales!!  Ask me how!

It’s too easy to change your marketing and not your product when sales slows to simply put a “new coat on the same old dog”.  Now, I happen to like old dogs.  But if you haven’t changed, improved, overhauled, tweaked, blown up, or otherwise monkeyed with your product in the last 12 months, well, it might be feeling like the same old dog to your customers.

Blow it up
If everything about your product “blew up,” if you couldn’t offer what you offer now and your goal was to create, from the ground up, a replacement product, an AWESOME replacement product, what would it be?  T-h-e   u-l-t-i-m-a-t-e   p-r-o-d-u-c-t!

Write it down.
How can you change what you have now, given today’s realities, to more reflect the features you imagined in your replacement product?

Your product is at the heart of your marketing.  Changing it is your most powerful marketing tool.  Think about it:

Everything, all your marketing and sales efforts, are designed to “sing the praises” of the product you offer.  Maybe your product simply is beginning to fall out of favor with your target customers.  All the changes in the world to “everything else” won’t completely stop people from deserting your product if this is the case.

“We buy products and resell them as is, there’s nothing to change. . .”  Maybe, but what can you add?  Free installation?  Bundle the product with something else; an extended warranty, a service contract, a related product or service?  In 20+ years I’ve never seen a situation where a product couldn’t be changed or improved.

Don’t be afraid to throw changing your product into the mix of things that can be changed when sales start to go south.  Probably the single most powerful change you can make to your marketing is to change your product.  Move with your market.  If they want smaller, lighter, more durable, and your product is big and heavy, change it!  Or introduce another model that is smaller, lighter and more durable.

Blow it up in your mind, dream a little, write it down — all that’s very innocent.  Then, given reality, what can you do to change your product?  Probably quite a bit.  Now, get started!