One of the cardinal sins of marketing is talking nonstop about your product. It’s boring, it’s annoying, and it offers zero value to your customers. Mentioning your product is perfectly fine, of course. You’ll get the best results by talking about your product in an engaging, value-added way. Here are 5 rules to live by to ensure you do just that:
Rule 1: Stress benefits
Always stress the benefits of using your product, because that’s what your customers care about. Just this week, I got an email from a company talking about how fabulous their just-released Product Version 3 is without once mentioning how it would help me (or what it even does). I hit delete at lightning speed.
Rule 2: Highlight your product in calls-to-action
Calls-to-action tell people what to do, so make them more specific than “Contact us to learn more!” Tell your prospective customers to sign up for a free trial, demo or sample of Product X. Remind them that Product Y can start solving their pain points today or is as easy to use as 1-2-3.
Rule 3: Use customer success stories to demonstrate your product’s value
Stories are much more engaging than product data sheets. When you share how customers have successfully used your product, prospective customers will be able to relate those experiences to their own situation – and say, “I want that same outcome!”
Rule 4: Upsell
Your current customers are your best customers. You’ve already earned their business, so keep it by reminding them about additional products (or services) you sell that could provide additional benefits.
Rule 5: Show, don’t tell
In your blog posts, use your products to demonstrate how to do something. If your salon sells styling brushes, demonstrate how to use them to get different hairstyles. If your bar makes and bottles its own bitters, share some fun drink recipes in a video.
How do you successfully integrate your products into your marketing – without beating your readers over the head with sales talk?
Image courtesy of serve-others.com
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Tags: calls to action, Marketing, product benefits, product marketing, upselling
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