While speaking recently to a group on contractors in Austin, TX, the topic of “marketing frustrations” came up. And it came up because I brought it up. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but I opened the door for this as an icebreaker, and boy, did it work. Suddenly I felt like the complaint department at the DMV.
When I floated the question, “Why do you hate marketing?” a room of thirty-ish contractors who’d largely been reserved and quiet until that point erupted into grievances, complaints, and accusations about shady marketing firms that had stolen their money. I heard things like: “I sent 10,000 postcards and got 2 responses. Never doing that again.” “I dump $2k a month into PPC and get no leads.” “I paid $10k for a completely new website and X Company promised me it would change the world. It changed nothing other than making me $10k poorer.” (Actual quote)
It was obvious that marketing was a hot-button issue and most of their experiences had not been positive. And now that I’d worked them into an angry mob, I had to respond before they picked up tomatoes to hurl at my face. I started with their pain, and then began to expose the real problem that’s causing most of their frustration.
My response? 90% of marketing efforts are doomed to flounder or fail from the start. They never had a chance to be successful because we rush to the implementation without focusing first on the validity of what we plan to implement. So, what was my answer to all the above (and the other 100 like them)? You can send a million postcards, and they’ll fail if the card never gets read. You can hand all your money to Google and get a million clicks, but if the wording or keywords are wrong, you won’t get conversions. And your website can look like Elon Musk himself created it, but if the copy is bad, it won’t lead to booked appointments and dollars in.
Brass tacks: If the message is ineffective, it won’t matter who, how, where, or how much you paid to get people to see it. It’s doomed to underperform. Marketing, in its most basic sense, is simply your message being amplified by the power of a media type. So, if what you have to say is unappealing, uninteresting, or irrelevant, you will be ignored. Don’t start with strategy to get a message out until you focus HARD on what the message itself says. And if a marketing company goes straight to marketing mix and spend, beware.
Play along with me.
Imagine yourself standing on a busy street-corner in New York City. There are people everywhere… lights, billboards, cars honking, and a world of other distractions going on around you. You now have 30 seconds to stand up on a box with a megaphone and convince people to stop what they’re doing and, not only listen to what you have to say, but then RESPOND to your company’s offer. What could you possibly say to get them to stop in their tracks? Your message has to quickly generate CURIOSITY, be RELEVANT, be URGENT, and be RELATABLE enough to convince people who were not thinking about your services at all 3 seconds ago to ACT NOW.
Now realize that parable is exactly what you’re asking your billboards, postcards, website, and other marketing forms to do – scream a message to an uninterested, distracted, and busy crowd to convince them that listening to what you have to say is important and valuable to them. The media types are just the megaphone… what will make or break you here is the message.
You might not be standing on a NYC street corner yelling, but I will promise you that mom pulling into her driveway from kid’s soccer practice and wondering what’s for dinner is just as distracted when she sees your postcard in the mailbox. Unless she’s one of the less than one percent of your service area that already know they have an issue and were planning to call a contractor anyway, statistically you have less than two seconds to draw her in, pique her curiosity, and CONVINCE her why she should call you. The only way you stand any chance of winning that battle is by good copy and design, and sadly, those two things are the most neglected parts of contractor marketing.
Let me show you the difference. Most contractor marketing looks stale, cold, and institutional. It’s a contractor standing by a home system or in front of his truck with a smile and a price starburst. So, let me ask you, if less than one percent think they need you right now and they can IMMEDIATELY identify you as trying to sell them something that doesn’t interest them, what’s the easy answer? Postcard in the trash. It doesn’t even matter much what super low price you put in the starburst either… if the customer isn’t interested, it’s like you’re trying to sell restaurant specials to people who aren’t hungry.
But how about this? Busy mom sees an ad that isn’t easily identifiable – starts with pictures of kids and speaks of keeping her family safe and healthier, then goes into the benefits of a local contractor checking her indoor air quality. Her HVAC system was the furthest thing from her mind until good copy and design led her through your effective sales pitch.
Words are powerful, and without a doubt, they’re the most important part of your marketing. If your marketing is failing to produce the results you want, don’t blame the megaphone… the problem is how you’re presenting yourself to your market. Direct mail works, when used correctly. Online media works, when used correctly. But the vast majority of our marketing hurt, and frustration comes when we pay big money getting a bad message out in front of our audience, and they respond with crickets. The media is not to blame, it’s just the vehicle. The communication of a good message should always be number one priority if we have any shot of success.
If you’d like some trained eyes looking over your website messaging, reviews of your direct mail pieces, or helping you formulate a winning campaign to get attention in your marketplace, Hudson Ink is here to help. We have a team of trained copywriters and designers that will focus on WHAT you put out before moving on to the HOW (which we can also help you with as well). Contact us at [email protected] to arrange a one-on-one consultation with a coach.