Backing Up Your Marketing Claims
If you have a skeptical prospect, you may have a normal prospect. Most of us react with at least a raised eyebrow at over-the-top promises made by marketers selling their products. And we just simply ignore that clichéd claims of “we’re the best” or the weak plea “trust us.”
Persuading a skeptical prospect to act on a Direct Mail ad or offer takes more than a tempting promise of what it can do for them, or how their life will improve by leaps and bounds, or how their home will run better and at less cost. It takes proof. Fortunately, this isn’t as hard as it might seem.
Proof has several ways it can be presented – which for contractors boils down to three types:
Experience. Demonstrate that you can back up your claims based on your track record. For example: “We’ve been serving your neighbors for 20 years.” “We service dozens of systems like this every week.” “Our techs recently completed a rigorous training on these new systems to ensure that installation is conducted with the highest level of quality.”
Facts and Stats. Bring numbers and other support into your copy – such as estimated energy savings or reduced water usage or other statements of fact.
Third-Party Proof. Endorsements from known names in the home improvement field or product reviews by an established publication (Consumer Reports, for example) are types of third-party proof that validate your claims. Testimonials from happy customers in your market also serve as proof and lend very valuable credibility. Most of us trust the views of regular homeowners over anything written by a copywriter.
The nutshell is this: Don’t just make the claim that you’re the best. Back it up and show why you’re the best. The framework of trustworthiness and logic that your proof helps establish will support a prospect’s decision to move forward with confidence.