The other day I sat down with a small business owner who wanted some insight on his printed marketing materials. He was preparing for a joint venture marketing opportunity and wanted to make sure his brochures were up to par.
The moment I looked at his informational product and service brochure, I realized he was committing one of marketing’s cardinal sins.
He was implementing “about me” marketing.
Are you creating compelling marketing materials?
About Me Marketing
This is going to sound really rude, but your prospects don’t care about you.
They don’t care about your “superior service” or your “rapidly growing product lines.”
They don’t care about how great you are.
They care about how you can help them, why they should choose you, and what they can expect in working with you.
These are the things that get your prospects attention. These are things that will cause them to want to learn more, or make an informed buying decision on the spot.
If you are going to turn marketing materials like brochures and flyers into more than soon to be recycled paper, you need to shift the focus of your content from you to them.
Four Steps to Creating Customer-Centered Marketing Materials
Don’t get me wrong. You need to tell your customers who you are, and what you stand for, but that’s not where you start.
Step 1
Whether it’s a headline on a flyer, the opening sentence of a postcard, or the title of your printed brochure, the very first thing you should do in your copy is identify your ideal customer.
In other words, the very first line in any of your marketing communications should help your prospect recognize that you are talking to and about them.
You can do this by painting a picture of their current circumstance, by articulating their most pressing need, or by addressing them as, “Dear Homeowner,” or whatever designation fits.
When your prospect picks up your brochure, or reads your flyer, the first thought you want them to have is, “yep, that’s me!
Step 2
The second thing you want to address when you have limited space to work with is how you solve their problem. Tell them what you do for them in a way that makes selecting you as the solution to their problem a no-brainier.
To do this well, you don’t want to focus on your offer alone, but you want to focus why your offer is valuable to them.
Let’s say you’re marriage coach, and you offer custom coaching programs to your clients. Don’t just tell them you offer custom coaching programs.
Tell them you offer custom coaching programs, so that they get the personal attention and specific help they need to improve their unique romantic relationship.
See the difference?
The secret to nailing this method every time is to follow your offering with the word “so,” and then fill in the blank.
Step 3
Once you’ve shown them you know who they are, and you know how to help them, then you can tell them what you stand for.
This is your time to shine. This is when you should tell them how you are different from the other guy (your unique selling proposition), why they should trust you, and why you do what you do.
This is only section of your marketing materials that should be about you. But, heed the following warning. Do not stuff the copy about you with fluff!
These are words like: facilitate instead of help, commence instead of start, utilize instead of use, basically, essentially, and very. Also be mindful of using meaningless superlatives like superior, excellent, or best. If you’re using those words be sure to back them up.
Fluff may fill the space on the page but it offers zero substance. Your prospects will perceive it. So, whatever you have to say about yourself, make it matter. Focus on the things you know separate you from others in your industry.
Step 4
Finally, you want to offer some proof. What you have to say about yourself isn’t nearly as important as what others have to say about you. Proof in the form of testimonials gives credibility to your claims.
If you’re not getting testimonials in your business, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Stay tuned for next week’s article, because in it I’m going to give you a perfect formula for obtaining great customer testimonials.
Great Marketing Can Happen With Little Printed Papers
Brochures, flyers, and postcards can be great marketing tools, but you have to leverage the little space you have properly. Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way.
Do you use brochures or flyers in your business? What kind of information have you included to make them effective? Have any tips you’d like to share?
Leave them in the comments section below.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Very informative piece, thanks for sharing!
I laughed right out loud! Amen, sister!
This reminds me of the kids who go door to door saying, “Please buy my $20 roll of wrapping paper, because I want to go to France!”
It makes me think, “Or you could give me $20 for my Hawaii fund!”
When we sell a product or service, we need to tell what’s in it for the CUSTOMER.
Alison Moore Smith100DC Day 42: Practice Humility
LOL! I’m glad you had a chuckle, Alison. You definitely have the right perspective.
Great stuff, Marlee. A great copywriter once said that the job of the headline was to get people to read the first sentence, and the job of the first sentence was to get people to read the next sentence. I think your approach ends up doing that – you pique the customer’s interest from the beginning by showing them that it’s about THEM.
And I love your last point of proof – I’ve found that to be make or break in business.
Loren PinilisOvercommitment: How the Early Church Handled Being Way Too Busy – Episode 16
Absolutely, Loren. Thanks for your feedback. How are you feeling? Better I hope!
Slowly getting back up to speed
Thanks for asking.
Loren PinilisOvercommitment: How the Early Church Handled Being Way Too Busy – Episode 16
Great practical, clear steps!
Thanks, Ann! Glad you enjoyed them.
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