The #1 attribute of a successful marketing message

The quality of your marketing is the number one factor in
determining if your business will be a success or failure. If your
company's marketing message demonstrates the value of buying your
product or service over that of your competition, your business
will prosper. If your marketing message does a poor job of
demonstrating the value of your product or service, your business
will fail.

Understand that all customers (B2B and B2C) care about the same
thing - if I purchase this item, what's in it for me? What
beneficial end result will I receive? And, will the end result I
receive from buying this item be better than if I bought a
competing item? Explaining to customers why your item produces the
most desirable end result is the job of marketing.


You may say that customers should flock to your door because you
have developed a better mousetrap. Sorry, but that is not how the
world works. The company that wins the most customers is the
company with the most appealing marketing message for their
mousetrap, not the better mousetrap.

Simply put, the company with the marketing message that most
appeals to what customers want, is the company that wins the most
customers.

Okay, so how do you show the value of your product or service in
your marketing communications? Here are some examples:

The wrong way: We offer great customer service.

The right way: We provide our customers with superior customer
service by offering live telephone help 24/7 and we respond to all
email within 2 hours.

The wrong way: We offer the best xyz widgets.

The right way: Our xyz widgets last 27% longer and is 14% more
energy efficient than all competing xyz widgets. Over a 5 year
period you will experience $2700 in savings when you use our xyz
widget instead of competing widgets.

The wrong way: We deliver pizza.

The right way: Hot fresh pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less
guarantee. (This is the brilliant marketing message Dominos used to
become a leader in delivery pizza sales).

The wrong way: We have a large selection of shoes at great prices.

The right way: We have over 200 styles of shoes for men, women, and
children with many shoes starting at only $19.99. And, if we do not
have your size in stock, we will ship your shoes to you using FedEx
next day delivery for free.

As you can clearly see, successful marketing is all about offering
the end result your target customers want the most.

Peter Geisheker