Structuring Your Marketing Message for Increased Conversions
Whether you’re ready to put in the work to improve your marketing messaging, or are just tired of never knowing what to say, I’ve got two formulas for you today that will help you transform your marketing message to resonate with potential customers and bring them further down your marketing funnel. These formulas use psychology and storytelling as a template to help you connect with and convert your audience into customers through your marketing.
Formula 1: For Short Form Marketing Content such as Social Media and Advertisements
Attention Grabber
The first thing this type of marketing needs is something to stop our finger from continuing to scroll on social media, make us pause when flipping through the pages of a magazine, or catch our eye as we browse a website. An attention grabber might be your graphic including bright colors or a photo that makes us do a double take. It could also be using a greeting to your ideal customer in your first line - such as “Hey, Moms in Manhattan!” These attention grabbers help you have the opportunity to have your marketing message read. Without this piece, the hard work you put into the rest of your message may go to waste.
Side note: If you haven’t put in the time to identify your target audience yet, NOW is the time. Creating marketing messaging without knowing your target market is pretty challenging.
Your Unique Perspective
Time to lay out the deal maker! This is what makes your business function. Chances are, your business started for a reason and it was likely because you wanted to do something differently than the options that were available to you, or you saw an opportunity to serve customers better. Or maybe, you’re just really stinking good at what you do because you’ve unlocked some key secrets that make you successful. Whatever it is, now is your time to present your unique perspective to your audience in a way that helps them see that you understand them, and you see the problem in a different way than other people do. Fun tip - you can actually use your unique perspective as your attention grabber too! Just make sure it’s boiled down to a short sentence to make this work.
The Results
Next lay the results you’ve achieved out for them. Whether this is stating numbers of customers you’ve served, or showing the results of a recent project, show your expertise and what it is that your results look like. Photos are great for this!
Call to Action
Lastly, make it super simple for the customer to know what to do next. Do they call you and ask about a particular service? Do they click a link? Don’t leave them questioning how to work with you or how to get the results you’ve just described. Be very clear. People are busy and if they have to do extra work to figure out how to get in touch, it puts you at a disadvantage.
Formula 2: For Long Form Marketing Content such as Interviews, Blogs, Articles, and Website Copy
Clearly identify and explain the problem you solve
This is important because before we can share the importance of your product or service, the audience must at the very least be problem aware before they hear the rest of your message. To learn more about the stages of awareness in your audience and how this impacts your messaging, check out this blog: 5 Things Your Customers Need to Hear from You.
Show what solving the problem feels like
Let’s get really specific in this one. We don’t need to talk about what the solution is or how you solve the problem (yet). But we do need to help the potential customer understand exactly how it will feel to have the problem they have removed from their life. We want to use feeling words and possibly examples here, such as - relieved, confident, happy, empowered, safe, liberated. Show them how their life will be better when the problem is no longer constantly on their mind, wrecking their schedule, or creating growing pains for them.
High-level overview of your method
Now that they can envision how it will feel to have their problem solved, it’s time to give a once over of how you actually solve the problem. We don’t want to get in the weeds here. This should be 1-3 things you do, provide, or utilize in your product or service that are the gamechangers. Maybe it’s the fact that you take your service a step farther than anyone else in your industry, or that you have unique and specialized tools that allow you to solve the problem more efficiently or accurately. The goal in this step is to demonstrate your expertise and help squish doubts your potential customers have about your ability to deliver a solution that works.
Provide examples
This step often feels like the hardest one for my clients, particularly if their business is still young. Asking for reviews isn’t always a seamless process and it can feel like you’re asking a customer for a favor. If you don’t have any reviews or testimonials from clients, you can always provide examples from your point of view through a story. If you’re worried about using names or photos in your examples, you can always just get a quick nod of approval from the client. This doesn’t have to be a huge burden like signing marketing releases. Most people understand you need to market your business and as long as you ask first before revealing any names or detailed info, many people are happy to oblige. This step in your marketing message helps you provide social proof to others and further cements your ability to provide quality results and solve real people’s problems.
Share your why and how it matters to them
We’re almost done! But step 5 is the one that too many businesses leave out of their messaging and their results are impacted by it! It is so important to share your “why” behind what you do with your customers. People enjoy supporting people they believe in and showing the reason behind your business helps them “get behind you,” so to speak. But it’s not enough to talk about your origin story, the passion you pour into your services, or the fact that your business provides a job for local families. You also need to help them understand why that matters. How does it benefit them to contribute to your why by becoming a customer? Does it provide better results for them? Do they get access to better quality? Does shopping with you create ripple effects in your community? Does your business impact the future of the industry? Will working with you set them up for future success? Don’t be afraid to talk about your why and the bigger picture of the impact of your work. It’s not bragging - it’s educating your customer with necessary information!
Call to Action
Lastly, we also need a call to action in this marketing messaging forumla. Just like in the short form formula, make your call to action super clear and direct so it’s easy for them to take the next step!
More Content for You:
Building Your Marketing Budget for Small Businesses and Organizations
2 Questions to Ask Before You Do ANY Marketing
Attracting More Customers with Multiplied Messaging
Is Your Small Business Using Social Media Effectively?
5 Things Your Customers Need to Hear from You
Easiest Way to Increase Your Sales for Small and Growing Businesses
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