Capturing attention is as challenging as ever given the barrage of advertising and worse, thinly veiled marketing messages disguised as articles and the like. That's the bad news. The good news is that rising above the competition (most of which haven't the foggiest idea about how to market themselves properly) is truly not that hard to do.
Just to prove my point, if you look at the overall Internet statistics for the year of 2009, 81% of all e-mail sent was SPAM. That shows you that the good old 80/20 rule still applies. More importantly, you should recognize that delivering substance (which ALL of us want and need) puts you instantly in the top 19% of communications currently being made.
How To Capture, Convert and Capitalize Upon Your Prospects
Ultimately making money from your marketing efforts is directly correlated to how effectively you communicate value to your would-be customers. And communicating value can include providing pleasure, avoiding pain or otherwise delivering short-term and long-term satisfaction.
The key point in making this communication is to do so:
-simply
-clearly
-immediately
If you fail to communicate your value proposition as I described, you've fundamentally lost any opportunity you may have had to turn your prospects into paying customers. In the world of Internet marketing, that loss of interest is referred to as a 'bounce rate'.
Bounce rate is a measure of how many people visit your website and then leave it within a matter of seconds because they determined that what your site provides is not relevant to their needs. You know this to be true from your own experience of using the web. Here's a very useful article on all kinds of bounce rate statistics.
Reducing Your Bounce Rate = Increasing Your Profitability
The average bounce rate for e-commerce sites is roughly 34%, with a maximum rate of 68% showing you that there's significant opportunity in providing relevant and engaging content which gives your site “stickiness”. Therefore, reducing your bounce rate depends upon quickly conveying what your business offers that is of unique value to your present and future clientele. You can accomplish this very effectively through your Unique Value Proposition.
Create your UVP
A UVP is a Unique Value Proposition. This term is also used interchangeably with USP or Unique Selling Proposition and HUB or Hottest Undeniable Benefit. A good UVP should immediately communicate the value of what you have to offer rather than what you have to offer itself.... the sizzle, not the steak, as they say in marketing. And it speaks to that value in one concise, effective sentence.
IMPORTANT: a UVP/USP/HUB is NOT your typical tagline, mission statement, motto or slogan. It's not any general description of your services. Above all, it's not about YOU or your business such as “We are the #1 so-and-so in the industry”! It's about your customer, their pain point, their needs, and their reality.
Your unique value proposition:
- Is your single biggest benefit
- Is always oriented to your customer's perspective
- Distinguishes you from your competitors
- Identifies benefits (rather than features) your ideal customer wants
- Is engaging by being bold and direct
- Makes the reader wonder “How do they do that?” If you make them wonder, then you've engaged them... curiosity is key.
Do's:
- do make it speak to one particular person, rather than a general audience
- do use it on every touch point that exists within your business
- do have all of your associates understand and use it often
- do keep it as short as possible (think headline)
How to create an effective UVP
Your UVP should preemptively answer these 3 questions
- What's in it for me? (the consumer)
- Why should I buy this particular product/service?
- Why should I buy this particular product/service from you?
Help Create your UVP with a Mind Mapping Exercise
VIDEO - Help Create Your UVP with Mind Mapping
If you have no idea where to begin, then ask your current customers why they do business with you. Their feedback is invaluable when coming up with a powerful statement of what you bring to others that really makes a difference for them!
Inquiring Minds Want To Know...
So are you wondering yet about my UVP? I'll tell you:
'Putting YOU in control of Your Business, Your Results and Your Future'.
The Take-Away
The focus of this article demonstrates strategic marketing at its finest. By replacing tired and irrelevant tag lines with something that has meaning and gets results, you'll quickly distinguish your business and your brand and reap the rewards that follow.
Joyanne Sloan is a strategic marketing expert sharing insights on effective Internet marketing for low-tech entrepreneurs. Her articles and information products provide practical, plain-English marketing solutions that get real results. For private consulting, you may reach her at 206.388.3882 or by e-mail at synergyseattle@gmail.com
For more information, please visit Joyanne's TNNWC Bio.
Capital, Traffic Building, International Customers and unique SERVICES.
The National Networker Publications™ produced by TNNWC Group, LLC
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