In this video, I break down the three questions you MUST answer to effectively market your business. Give it a watch and let me know what you think in the comments below.
(And for those that prefer to read or simply want to get the gist without watching the full video, I’ve included notes below.)
1) How will you ensure your prospects KNOW you exist?
- Answering this will help you determine how you will get the word out about:
- Who you help
- How you help them
2) How will you convince your prospects to LIKE & TRUST you?
- You must find a way to interact with your prospects on a regular basis and build the relationship.
- It’s possible to get away without LIKING, but you won’t get away without TRUSTING (even for low priced products, though the bar is much lower than for services).
- However, all businesses benefit from being human. Likability/ humanity can be a differentiator, particularly in staid industries.
3) What is the best offer to make to convince prospects to PAY you?
- By analyzing the pros and cons of your options, we can identify the best kind of offer to move people from prospect to client.
1) KNOW – 3 Main Marketing Strategies for Most Service Businesses
Take a moment and brainstorm. What are all the ways people find out about your business?
Here are some of the most common…
1) Word of Mouth
- Referral programs can incentivize clients to move friends from KNOW through LIKE & TRUST, all the way down to PAY.
- Nothing expedites the journey from UNKNOWN to KNOW through LIKE & TRUST all the way to PAY than positive raves from one (or many!) friends.
- Hashtag challenges, check-in challenges, and other organic social challenges are a lower bar, so should also be considered. You’re no longer asking your clients to move their friend to PAY, only helping make sure they KNOW you exist, and that you’re worthy of LIKE & TRUST.
2) Paid Social – Specifically Facebook and Instagram ads
- Powerful way to target and make sure prospects KNOW you exist, but not usually great for selling services directly to cold audiences.
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- Product is different and can be sold directly with lower price points.
- Generally most successful with a relatively smaller ask; we want to interact with them so we have an opportunity for them to LIKE & TRUST before we ask them to PAY
- This could be an ad directing them to content with no ask, and THEN retargeting with a slightly bigger ask (i.e. lead magnet, low barrier offer, etc.).
- This could also be an ad offering them an “ethical bribe” via a high value lead magnet. They give contact info so you can deliver the lead magnet, and it opens the door to further friendshipping via email marketing.
3) Search Advertising
- SEO – Set up your website and blog content so that you rank highly for keywords your prospects search for when looking for services like yours.
- Google Ads – Paid ads that ensure your website ranks highly when prospects search for services like yours
- PRO TIP for when they find you: Make sure your website makes it IMMEDIATELY clear
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- Who you help
- How you help them
- Exactly what your visitors should do next
Incomplete List of Other KNOW Options:
- Cross promotion with businesses that share your avatar
- Doing guest posts on websites that share your avatar
- Working with charities that align with your mission and values
- Direct mail
- Leveraging media
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- Smaller markets – writing a column in a local newspaper, possibly with a modest ad buy
- Larger markets- hiring a PR form
- Speaking events
- Offering free services to influencers
2) LIKE & TRUST – 2 Channels and 3 Types of Content
The BEST WAY to build LIKE & TRUST… have happy clients do it for you!
The second best way is building the relationship overtime. Earn and keep the permission to communicate with prospects by giving them content that makes their lives better.
2 Main Communication Channels – Email and Organic Social Media
- Email is a higher ask because they have to get their contact info. This is why there’s usually a lead magnet involved as an “ethical bribe.”
- PRO: Once they’ve given permission, you have the chance to communicate with prospects directly.
- CON: Not everyone reads email.
- Connecting on social media via liking, friending, or following is a much lower bar.
- PRO: Many of your clients will already be spending time cruising through their feeds.
- CON: You don’t have quite the captive audience you do via email. By definition, your content will be competing with all the other bells and whistles on the platforms.
What will ensure they enjoy hearing from you?
- Content that makes their life better in some way and builds LIKABILITY and CREDIBILITY.
3 Types of Content
- Information – Give them problem solving tips, strategies, hacks, systems, etc. This should generally be focused on the services you offer.
- Entertainment – This can be personal branding, sharing your personality, humorous stories, etc. Bonus points for entertaining content that also provides helpful information. Infotainment. It’s a thing!
- Inspiration – This will look different for different people and businesses. If you’ve got the chops, this could be content that positions you as a thought leader and/or motivational speaker-type. It can also include case studies of successful clients.
- The best way to build CREDIBILITY is through massive evidence. Shout out your clients and share the specific results you’ve helped them achieve through your guidance and their hard work.
Frequency of Content:
- For email marketing, email your list at LEAST twice per month, all the way up to three times per week.
- If have a strong personal brand and are skilled at creating content, you can email every day.
- Be honest about your capacity and BE CONSISTENT. Don’t let your email friendships go cold!
- For organic social media, post 3-7 times per week on FB and/or IG.
- If you’re doing IG stories, at LEAST 1 time per day but ideally up to 10.
3) PAY YOU – 5 Offers to Consider
Your people KNOW you exist…
They LIKE & TRUST you…
Now you want to offer them a chance to work with you. Here’s your spectrum of five offerings. Note how the pros and cons invert as you move along the spectrum.
1) Free Trial
- You’ll get LOTS of leads! … but probably not qualified
- They probably won’t utilize the services offered at a high rate. People rarely value what’s free.
- Not a bad strategy if you’re offering “Software as a Service” since it’s totally scalable and is a volume play. However, it’s not very scalable if your service requires human capacity.
2) Tripwire
- Can be useful if you a simple, modest offering that lets you leverage volume without taking up capacity (e.g. infoproducts). This strategy invites your prospects to make a small commitment and a small purchase, ideally on the path to bigger commitments down the line.
- You’ll still get LOTS of lead… but only marginally more qualified.
- Tripwires often function as a “paid lead magnet.” The key to making them work is a strong conversion strategy.
3) Low Barrier Offer/ Front End Offer/ Trial/ “Irresistible Offer”
- This is meaningful but still bite-sized offering of your services. LBO’s allow your prospects to “try before they buy” your core offerings.
- The lower barrier usually refers to discounted pricing. LBO’s are also generally a shorter commitment if you have a subscription product or service.
- You’ll get less leads than free or tripwire BUT more qualified.
- For most service businesses, this is a foundational tool.
4) Core Service Offering
- This is your main service offering.
- The good news is this the final goal anyway. However, you may not get as many total clients without offering some lower barrier way for them to “try before they buy.”
- However, based on your industry and offering, you may be able to get away with simply going right for the Core Service Offering after building sufficient LIKABILITY & CREDIBILITY.
5) Premium Trial
- Perhaps we should call this a HIGH barrier offer.
- Premium trials have a shorter time commitment, but a higher price point and a very comprehensive solution
- Due to the higher cost, a smaller number of prospects will take this step. However, if you successfully build the value for this program and consistently deliver excellent results, it can be a powerful tool.
- This can also become a revenue stream in and of itself with worthwhile profit margins. Furthermore, it makes the Core Service Offering function as a downsell when it comes time to convert.
Lastly…. ALL paid services should have a 100% money back guarantee. Not only does it take away the risk for them, but it’s the high integrity move. If someone isn’t happy with your services, don’t keep their money.
Are you going to get tire-kickers? Sure. Are you occasionally gonna get hosed? Maybe? But at the end of the day, the benefits outweigh the cons.
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Thanks for reading and watching!
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