Copyright 2014 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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This is a lesson about expectations & successful promotions. If you don't like the term 'lesson', then you should keep your dislike in mind through part of this ... message ... lesson!
Too often, business owners put together 'exciting' promotions that completely fail. Those business owners are frustrated because they don't understand how anybody could possibly reject their offers.
I think I remember Zig Ziglar talked about gifts he bought for his wife & son.
On a bright sunny day, Zig was anxious to do one of his favorite activities. He also wanted to spend time with his wife & son.
There was golf club promotion at a local store. He had the perfect idea. He'd share his golf enthusiasm with two of his loved ones. He bought two golf club sets. Each set was just the right size & style for the recipients.
He went home & surprised them. Yes, they were definitely surprised. Everybody involved was excited, except Zig's wife & son. Yes, they wanted time with him. NO, they didn't want to play golf.
Many business owners & sales people are enthusiastic - that's great. They know they offer products/services that can produce valuable benefits. They even choose the right niche, use persuasive sales copy & make great, relevant offers.
They think, "I can't believe it! What more could these people possibly want?! I just don't understand!"
That's Right, They Just Don't Understand
We'll start the main part of this lesson with contrasts, if you don't like contrasting things, then ...
Am I trying to make this unpleasant for you ... ? Not entirely, since I want to help you learn how to make your marketing optimally successful.
Some people advise us to start each day by doing what we dislike most. Get it over with so we can focus on more pleasant things. Eat yogurt in the morning & we can be sure nothing worse than that will happen to us during the rest of the day.
Some people suggest eating a frog or toad. Frogs & toads eat bad insects. So I suggest not eating frogs or toads, unless you'd also eat bad insects (to replace the frogs or toads you'd eat).
Well, maybe that IS more appealing than yogurt.
I realize what I've written could be considered gross. The reality is - Some people do eat yogurt.
Since we're starting with potential bitterness, we'll consider that part of the contrast first.
Totally Serious Statement: To persuade you to read & seriously think about this, I'm offering some pleasant information (further below) that will help you be more successful.
For the sake of learning some valuable ideas, please do as I suggest.
Think about what you dislike - 1) a place where you don't want to be & 2) an activity &/or food you refuse to do or eat.
An example of this could be - A dingy, violent stink hole in the Third World & eating a mixture liver & yogurt. To indicate how loathsome this example is, I'd be tempted to choose a Third World stink hole just to avoid liver &/or yogurt. Thinking of combining those 3 is almost enough to dissuade me from writing this for you. If I stop writing about this, I can stop thinking about such repulsive things.
Now you have an idea of how dedicated I am to helping you!
Now please think about what you like or love - 1) a situation you'd like to stay in & 2) an activity &/or food you'd like to do/eat every second for the rest of you life.
A personal example of this could be - Being with the sweetest person I've ever known & as an activity ... well ... let's figure she & I would be sharing rich chocolate ice cream. Just thinking of being with her is almost enough to cause me to forget writing this, just so I can be with her & ...
Now you have an idea of how dedicated I am to helping you! If I stop writing about this I can ...
Your Picture Should Fit My Frame Of Mind
OK, now let's suppose you want to make an attractive offer. You know the edges of what I loathe & whom/what I love. Those edges are like parts of a frame. Your marketing message should illustrate what you can offer. As long as your illustration fits my frame of mind, I'll be interested in having your finished product (painted picture).
I put what I love/like in my frame, what I loathe isn't in my frame.
So, your offer should be far from what I loathe. You can't realistically offer me endless time eating sweet ice cream with the sweetest person possible. Yet, you may own a hotel where she & I could have some quality time together.
Your Offer Is Good, But My Situation Won't Allow It
Maybe you don't own a hotel, but you own a computer store near a hotel like that above. If you offer me a chance to get a free computer that's better than my current computer, I may be interested.
Hypothetical Stipulation 1: To get the computer, I'd be required to buy some business software for $1,000.
Depending on what the software is & how functional it is, I may accept your offer.
Hypothetical Stipulation 2: I'd have to go to your store in-person & pay the full price in cash.
That may be OK depending where your store is. From your perspective, it may seem like a great offer because you don't know how your situation would affect my situation. From my perspective, it may seem like a good offer, but not great because I have other things to do.
Enough Incentives Can Make An Offer Worthwhile
Note: I'm using this unusual example to establish a point. What seems like an impossible situation can be improved.
If your store is on the southern tip of Chile, I may refuse your offer because -
1) I'd have to travel thousands of miles. It would cost a lot of money, plus take a lot of time & energy.
2) I can be productive with my current computer. Sometimes, my computer is servant friendly. If I do what it likes, it may do something for me.
3) By the time I could afford to be away from home, Chile would be in the middle of winter.
4) A bitter winter just ended in Wisconsin & I'm glad. In a few months, winter will start in Chile. I want to avoid cold weather for a while. I'd been experiencing unfavorable winter conditions in a familiar area. I don't want to be snowed-in or frost bitten, especially in a place I've never been before.
Hey, Dennis While You're There You Can Have This
OK, back to the subject of the hotel (from above), a blizzard wouldn't seem so bad if I had no choice but to stay in a great hotel with somebody I adore. It would also depend on my family situation. If I'd be gone, my sister would be in charge without my help. I'd have to make legal & financial arrangements so she could take over. But there are respite services available & I need some relief.
If I could find some other reason(s) to go to Chile & possibly some other places along the way, maybe I could justify the trip.
Truth About Friction
Friction is whatever interrupts my thoughts while I read/listen to your message or things I'm uncomfortable with in your message. Friction can also be things that interfere with my acceptance of your offer.
Somehow, you need to help consumers justify (internally/externally) what they want/need to do because people have conflicting priorities. They need you to help them prioritize your offers highly enough to buy from you.
You may need to work with other businesses or organizations to attract consumers with events, promotions, parades, etc. Somehow you (or somebody you can work with) need to find ways to attract market niche members to the area where your store is. Based on primary research & human nature, you can find reasons people will or won't attend events, promotions, parades, etc.
Your offer should be part of an experience valuable enough to attract people.
In Two Rivers Wisconsin (Population, 11,545 2012 estimate), we've done some popular things that still draw thousands of people. We've also tried some things that didn't work out. (I was in charge of or helped with some popular events & some that weren't popular. Despite the good & bad, I'm still alive; none of it was fatal. I may even be involved in more after I settle some issues.)
Very few things ever have been or ever will be instantly popular & work optimally. You'll need to work with people to build & maintain social momentum. The required momentum is recruiting people to do volunteer work & attract other people to enjoy the events. You'll need to build financial momentum by recruiting sponsors to cover the costs.
Here are some examples from TR Main Street {http://tworiversmainstreet.com/events/default.asp}. There are information & photo links in a drop down menu that's activated by a mouse over.
February - Hearts on Fire Chili Cookoff
March - The Great TRivia Contest
May to October - Farmers Crafters Market
June - Cool City Classic Car Show and Car Cruise
September - Ethnic Festival
October - Halloween Trick or Treating
November - Two Rivers Christmas Fantasy Parade
December - Cool City Kids Christmas Event
Here are more examples from the Two Rivers Business Association {http://www.trba.info/community-member-events/}
Kites Over Lake Michigan
Carp Fest
Maxwell Street/Community Care Day
Heart-a-Rama
Apple Fest
Sundae Thursday
Something else you should always consider is this possibility/probability: somebody else will be involved in decisions. You should include enough value for each person involved.
Who else can influence what people decide? Who might unilaterally make a decision for somebody else to transact? (Decision makers aren't always the purchasers.)
Who else will be involved in using the product/service results & implementing the solution? (The issue may involve a family or any other organization type. At least one person decides what the deed is &/or where/when/how the deed will be done. The deed doer may have little or no decision-making authority.)
Who else will be affected by the decisions & results? Do the people know how to use the purchased products? Do the people know how to judge the quality of results? (If the end-users have little or no experience in the situation, there may be implementation problems in addition to the original issue these people tried to solve.)
So, you may wonder why I'm covering these considerations. I'm concerned about you & those you serve. I want each of you to get the best outcomes.
You should be prepared for some disappointment in case ... for example ... somebody decides there is no way she will go to the southern tip of Chile, just for the benefits I've described. So, until I have a more compelling offer I won't be going that far south because I don't want any relationships to go south.
I make ALL of MY decisions ... yet I'm open to some people's suggestions.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2014 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
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