Okay, sometimes I don’t sleep all that great. Happened last night. So, just in case you’ve been wondering…

The infomercial business is absolutely booming. The industry has moved from cheap and over-promised products to billion-dollar respected enterprises like Guthy-Renker, top-tier publishers like Boardroom and even high-dollar political fundraisers. (That last one nearly completes the full circle back to cheap and over-promised. Sorry.)

And at an average of $165,000 per hour of infomercial “off time” investment, they must extract every known grain of sales volume. The top-performing Direct Response models are as instructional as they are effective.

These performers have successfully shifted from their “old” unidirectional media flow that went from “TV to Phone” to a multi-pronged integrated approach, which has multiplied sales. The great thing is the pattern is nearly identical to what we’re recommending for contractors now:

Infomercials now strategically direct prospect from TV to…

  1. Phone (still accounting for nearly 70% of sales)
  2. Smartphone/text for mobile compatibility and discounts
  3. Social (Twitter, FB, YouTube)
  4. Separate “promotion-only” landing pages
  5. Web with separate Discount Code entries gained from TV

You will notice the proliferation of “Digital” above. This is simultaneously the inconsistency, confusion and opportunity among contractors.

Contracting marketing had previously also performed unidirectionally from “Ad to Phone,” yet now a similar distribution of “Source to Lead” has emerged.

Inconsistency – Any non-integrated plan today is begging for brand and lead dilution. We see it all the time: A company has a nice website, which bears no resemblance to their manufacturer-supplied print ads, and is incongruent with their “Buy now!” radio ads.

In today’s fractured media world, the inconsistency of message kills the results.

Advised: Pick one theme, one look and – for each promotion – one message. Pound that in across the media and watch the results. (Our PowerSuite campaigns are designed this way for both online and offline media, and you’re advised to use this approach in all your marketing. This is a shift partly due to a) an overly distracted public, b) additional media choices, c) short-term memory and focus loss. This is not theory.)

Confusion – Contractors – and much of small business America – are understandably confused by continually changing media choices. The infomercial world has created a billion-dollar strong path to follow, but yours need to only do a ‘minor’ imitation.

The problem with contractor marketing is that every time somebody says they “must” be in this or that media, they pile on different messages (see above) instead of thinking strategically.

Today’s marketing is far too complex, and my constant bleating about strategy is becoming a “must do” instead of a “nice to have.”

Advised: Start simply instead of trying to do everything at once. One of our Marketing Coaches can help – just email [email protected].

Now…

Opportunity – The opportunity now is gold-plated largely because of the former two items. If you create a less confusing consistent marketing message and theme across traditional and Internet media, you will be miles ahead of the competition. How? Once again, let’s start simply.

4 Things You Can Do NOW for Integration, Simplification and Results:

  1. Use and turn your best offline promotions into your online promotions. They should have the same theme, voice, message and offer, if any. No confusion for you, CSRs, techs or customers. (PowerSuite campaigns are fully integrated and ready to use.)
  2. Allow your website visitor to receive your offline newsletter, which is an instant lead-capture. And the inverse…
  3. Let your newsletter point to your website with “continuation” articles, more advice and valuable promotions.
  4. Let your Social page be 30% promotional, 70% social/entertaining. This should act like a “second website” for your company. Same theme, messaging, look and voice, plus the same offers, if any.

Use the infomercials’ proven path and rethink your marketing path from “Ad to Phone” to a world of integrated messages. This will drive traffic, calls and profits right past the competition straight to you.