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Posts Tagged ‘Marketing Program’

The Law Of The Opposite – When You Are Shooting For Second Place, Your Strategy Is Determined By The Leader

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

There are laws of nature so why shouldn’t there be laws of marketing? You can actually build a great-looking airplane but it is not going to get off the ground unless it adheres to the laws of physics, especially the law of gravity.

So it follows that you can create a brilliant marketing program only to have one of the laws of marketing knock you flat if you don’t know what they are.

One of the laws is the Law of the Opposite.

In strength there exists weakness. Wherever the leader is strong, there is the opportunity for a would-be No 2 to turn the tables.

Much like a wrestler uses his opponent’s strength against him, a company should leverage the leader’s strength into a weakness.

If you want to establish a firm foothold on the second rung of the ladder, study the firm above you. Where is it strong? And how do you turn that strength in to a weakness?

You must uncover the essence of the leader and then present the prospect with the opposite. In other words, don’t try to be better, try to be different. It is often the upstart versus the old reliable.

Coca Cola is a 100 year old product. Only seven people in the history on the planet have known the Coke formula which is kept in a locked safe in Atlanta. Coca Cola is the old, established product. However, using the Law of the Opposite, Pepsi Cola reversed the essence of Coca Cola to become the choice of a new generation, the Pepsi Generation.

In other words, by positioning yourself against the leader, you take business away from all the other alternatives to No 1. If old people drink Coke and the younger generation drink Pepsi, there is nobody left to drink other brands in the cola beverage category.

Sometimes you have to be brutal.

Scope, the good tasting mouthwash, hung the medicine breath label on its Listerine competition. But don’t simply knock the competition. The Law of the Opposite is a two-edge sword. It requires honing in on a weakness that your prospect will quickly acknowledge.

One whiff of Listerine and you know that your mouth would smell like a hospital. Then quickly twist the sword. Scope is the good-tasting mouthwash that kills germs.

Marketing is often a battle for legitimacy. The first brand that captures a concept is often in a position to portray its competitors as illegitimate pretenders. A good No 2 can not afford to be timid!

As an Internet Marketing professional, you need to understand the Law of the Opposite. If you are not the leader in a product category but want to be a strong second, you need to position yourself opposite the leader because every market becomes a two horse race (as described in No 8, the Law of Duality).

Many Internet Marketing entrepreneurs are using techniques and tools like mind-mapping, keyword research, Attraction Marketing Formula, Magnetic Sponsoring, and MindMeister to conduct the market research and plan an effective marketing campaign. They then use the power of MyStory marketing, brand You Inc, and hypnotic writing skills, in their marketing campaigns, to deal realistically with the position of their brand and the strategy they want to pursue in the world that includes the Law of the Opposite.

The goals is to not emphasize why their offering is better, feature and function-wise, over a competitor’s but to develop a message that is recognized, accepted, and agreed to so that it will seduce and persuade a person that what is offered to the target market is real and will work for them.

Marketing is not a battle of products. It is all about the strategy you use to benefit from the Law of the Opposite and if you are not the leader then you must do the opposite of the leader to appeal to the group that does not want to buy from the first choice.

You can find out more about Internet Marketing and home-based businesses by reading updates that will be posted at my blog over the next few weeks.


Early in his career, Mike was an engineer with a large aerospace company. For many years, he was with a “marquee” consulting firm where he worked extensively with clients all around the world and became know as an American globalist. Most recently he has been providing technology, business, and management advisory services as a self-employed entrepreneur.
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Your Real Estate Marketing Program Isn’t Working Because of These 4 Reasons

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

No matter how you decide to market your property, your real estate marketing program needs to be pre-planned to compete effectively in this crowded marketplace. Rushing into the market with uncoordinated efforts will result in failure. Similarly, relying on yesterday’s warmed over ideas that worked in a completely different market environment is also a recipe for disaster. Lately, property owners or agents are making classic mistakes that snuff out their marketing efforts before they even begin. If you can avoid four of these mistakes you should begin to see better results in your real estate marketing.

1)      Maintain Control Over Your Own Marketing– This rule applies to landlords, house owners, agents and brokers. Property owners are the most familiar with the property and its strengths and weaknesses and need to be engaged throughout the process. The owner will know what features best describe a property and what features to downplay in order to reflect the property in the best light.  Real estate agents specializing in a particular type of property need to maintain their own control over their marketing efforts and resist the temptation to turn the marketing over to others less experienced. The most knowledgeable person involved with the property must be involved at the front end in setting up the marketing program so that the proper mix of benefits and features are being exposed to Prospects.

 

2)      Falling in Love with Expensive Ads – The most effective marketing targets the best prospects for your property. The highest probability of successfully selling or renting is by getting in front the most capable prospects. High end brand name magazines and newspapers may be alluring in terms of getting in front of select prospects, but you are gambling by using them. Advertising in expensive print media or unfocused online venues rarely deliver qualified leads. Sales reps for glossy magazines will often times speak to the benefits of “branding” by using their channel, but that doesn’t do you any good when you need a rental or sale right away. This is code for taking your money. Advertising should be strategically placed where you are sure your prospects reside and where you can “track” the effectiveness of the ads. Without tracking everything you do in your advertising program, you are flying blind and likely to fail in your efforts.

 

3)      Placing Too Much Emphasis on One Marketing Tactic – In today’s overly saturated information market, you need to communicate to prospects where ever they are, including both offline and online. Don’t rely on your property signs or the local online aggregator to get your property sold or rented. You will be missing too many other prospects. If you are an agent, don’t assume the MLS will do your marketing for you or hope that open houses will deliver the perfect prospect. All communication channels need to be covered and they should all point to your carefully prepared property presentation that will convey the property’s message most persuasively. Choreograph the use of brochures, aggregators, signs, websites, HUBS, social online marketing, pre-recorded telephone messages, the MLS and print media ads so that they all point to your target presentation. It’s not hard once you sit down ahead of time and plan it out.  Amazing things happen to you and your marketing program with proper planning and a commitment to employ all of the channels available to you.

 

4)      Failure to Make Use of Sight and Sound in Your Property Marketing – Real estate is perfect for showing in full living color and markets well with images, video, music, sight, sound and the written word. All of these need to be captured in your marketing efforts. Prospects want to be entertained. They want to get every piece of information available to them and see everything they can before making their decision.  Persuade your prospects using videos, narration, carefully prepared scripts and images to ramp up the enthusiasm. Don’t think that a couple of pictures with some boring text that an aggregator (or the MLS) forces on you will do the trick. Your best prospects won’t spend any time with your property and will simply move on to the property that is more interesting. Take full advantage of the benefits real estate offers and prepare interesting and captivating marketing.

The above four marketing mistakes can sink your efforts almost before you even get started. Avoid these and you will greatly improve your odds of success. Real estate should encourage your creativity which will allow you to standout from the crowd. That is the basis of a good real estate marketing program. Find out where your prospects spend their time and get in front of them, persuade them to come to your pre-prepared presentation and educate them about the benefits your property will provide to them and finally, get them to see your property and force them to make a decision.

Jeff Crossriver has been involved in real estate marketing for over 20 years. He has developed a breakthrough real estate system for renting and selling real estate. Get FREE video training on this system at www.vanquishyourvacancy.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/your-real-estate-marketing-program-isnt-working-because-of-these-4-reasons-1407855.html

Please Note... All links within articles are placed by their author-owners and not by this blog.Products with in those links may or may not be the best in the world.If it sounds too good to be true it could be a scam.Articles are posted for their info,ideas and or entertainment value only.

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Postcards can be an effective part of your marketing program

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Before You Begin Writing

Before you write a single word of your message, you need to figure out your audience and your goal. These are critical steps, because later you’ll be using words to bridge the gap between your audience and your goal.

Start with your audience. Make a list of the things that might be important to them. Then narrow it down to what you think is the most important element. Use that item for your headline and all throughout your copy.

Professional Experience Not Required

Persuasive writing is more about human understanding than writing skill. The most successful copywriters didn’t get to where they are by being literary wizards. They got there by understanding what motivates people, and being able to write to those emotions.

The most effective marketing copy uses clear, simple language and avoids complexity altogether. Complex language just gets in the way of emotion.

Pick up any Sharper Image catalog and see what I mean. These catalogs sell extremely well for three reasons. They have neat products. They have great photos of those products. And they have straightforward descriptions that aim for the reader’s emotions.

One Idea Per Postcard

You won’t have a lot of space on your postcard, so don’t spread your message too thin. One fully developed topic is a hundred times better than five half-developed topics.

By focusing on one product (or service, or idea, or topic), you can develop it in a way that is more likely to generate a response. You could mention the primary benefits, give a testimonial or two, show some photos, make a strong offer and provide a call to action.

But you can’t do all that while covering several topics. So save the multi-topic approach for your brochures and website.

People request brochures, but they don’t request postcards. For that reason, they give postcards a lot less attention. A quick glance may be all you get. So keep your postcard focused and to the point — one idea per postcard.

Use Strong, Clear Headlines

Headlines can make or break a marketing postcard, depending on how they’re used. Remember, you want to capture your prospects’ attention based on their initial glance. A glance is all you get, so don’t waste it. Tell them right away what you’re offering and what it can do for them.

Sell the Next Step

Before you can begin writing your postcard message, you need to figure out the next step in your sales process. If your goal is to convince the reader that your product or service is superior to all others in its class, your postcard will probably come up short. That’s a lot to ask of an 8″ x 5″ piece of card stock.

People will learn about the quality of your product or service by experiencing it firsthand. They won’t learn it (or believe it) from a single postcard.

There is a sales path to be followed, and the marketing postcard is the first (or sometimes second) step along that path. That’s the job it should perform — moving the reader forward in the sales process.

For example:

* If you’re selling software, the postcard could point to a free 30-day trial available on a web page somewhere.

* If you’re selling your real estate services, the postcard could mention a free report about area schools.

* If you’re in the financial services industry, you could use postcards to invite people to a money-saving seminar.

Write Naturally

When creating your postcard marketing message, try to write in a natural tone that reflects the way you speak. That doesn’t mean your message should be full of slang, but that it should sound like one person talking to another (not like a professor lecturing a class).

Test, Rewrite, and Test Again

Eugene Schwartz, the author of Breakthrough Advertising, said it best: “There are no answers in direct mail except test answers.” Following the best practices of postcard marketing will put you on a base level of success. But to rise above that level, you have to test every aspect of your postcards – and that includes the message.

Sonu is an Expert In Postcard Marketing, postcard advertising and direct mail marketing. His proven strategies have helped thousands of businesses double their sales with postcard marketing.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/postcards-can-be-an-effective-part-of-your-marketing-program-1377819.html

Please Note... All links within articles are placed by their author-owners and not by this blog.Products with in those links may or may not be the best in the world.If it sounds too good to be true it could be a scam.Articles are posted for their info,ideas and or entertainment value only.

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