Create a New Forum Admin Login Member Login Contribute to Voyager Search VoyForums Help Desk VoyForums Exchange VoyForums Directory/Categories VoyForums Homepage VoyForums News FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, [6] ]

Subject: What You've Been Hearing Is Usually Very Wrong

Author: Dennis S. Vogel

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 12:14:08 01/14/04 Wed You've probably heard, "If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what (results) you've been getting." Let's drop this belief so customers & prospects won't drop us. If I keep posting the same message, will I keep getting the same people checking here for useful advice? If you use the same marketing methods & messages you've constantly used for the last 5 years, will the same people keep buying the same amounts of the same things? Who will win if - - Your competitors adapt to changing situations but you don't? -Competitors test different methods & messages & find better, more cost-effective methods & messages, but you don't? I'm <U><B>*NOT*</B></U> advising you to change everything right now. My major point is for you to realize since <B>situations change,</B> so it's almost impossible for anybody to get the same results if they - 1) do the same things & 2) in the same ways. One method & message will rarely appeal equally to everybody in a target market. Even the most successful & appealing methods & messages will lose effectiveness. Many of those who want & can afford a product/service & are attracted by a method & message will have bought the product/service already. Even if your product/service (or its result) is non-durable, people will still stop paying attention to the same message delivered via the same method. Then a competitor who uses a more appealing message & delivers it with a more noticeable method will attract more buyers. If your product/service is (somewhat) durable, you'll either saturate the market or just get responses from those interested in the way you presented your offer. <B><U>There are probably more who want & can afford what you offer.</U></B> You need to find what - 1)gets their attention 2)holds their interest long enough to inspire desire 3) Inpsire enough desire to get them to take action. Your competitors may be getting more sales than you do because they know how to achieve more Attention, more Interest, more Desire & more Action. This may be true even if you offer more value & better customer service. It'll continue that way until you test different methods & messages then use what works best. Anytime competitors get more sales than you do, you should find out why. Even if you're doing better than they are, find what they do less effectively or wrongly & be sure you don't those things. If what they do is somewhat effective, dissect what they do & improve what's good & discard what's bad. I realize full dissection is complex but you can do some of it based on your knowledge & tradeskill. If you know somebody who is objective, they can dissect your marketing & find what works & what doesn't. It would take a whole web site to explain how to do this. About half of the process is copyrighted/trade-marked/patented/owned by others. I could be sued if I published it without their permission. I can use it because I've paid for it. The list of those who own parts of it would be a bit long. John Wanamaker wanted to know which half of his marketing budget was wasted. There are ways of determining it. It takes time & knowledge. Dennis S. Vogel You don't need a miracle. You don't need magic. You need powerful marketing. Here's where to get it. <A rel=nofollow target=_blank HREF="http://www.thrivingbusiness.homestead.com" TARGET="http://www.thrivingbusiness.homestead.com">http://www.thrivingbusiness.homestead.com</A> [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]