Monopolize Your Marketplace 2 CD Set Continued...
To wrap up this discussion about interrupt and engage, let me address the topic of Engage specifically for just a minute. You've already learned that once the activator snaps the prospect out of Alpha Sleep into Beta Alert, the brain subconsciously and automatically searches for clarifying information. We've already discussed that if the activator is hot button-based that the prospect will be mentally prepared to become engaged. At this point, crossing that gap from "ready to be engaged" to actually "engaged" is very simple to do. All you have to do is use a headline or sub-headline that promises the reader that if they will keep reading the ad they will get information that will facilitate their making the best decision. Not sales information, not "here's how great we are" information, but rather, bona fide decision facilitating information. So here's the evaluation you need to use to judge a headline to see if it has engaged the reader. the evaluation question is "Has the headline or subheadline promised to educate the prospect?" That's a pretty simple question, and one that should yield an answer that is pretty black or white.
Let me give you a quick example so you can see how this works:
First let's look at the Digital Camera ad again that was on page 15 of the companion volume. It had the main headline that read, "Thinking about buying a digital camera but don't have the foggiest clue What you need. or even what's available?" That headline, as we discussed earlier, does a good job of interrupting based on the "uncertainty" hot button. But now the brain that the brain has been woken out of it's alpha-slumber into beta-alert mode, it's going to subconsciously and automatically search for clarifying information. So here's our subheadline; it simply reads, "Five Things You Need To Know Before Buying A Digital Camera." That's easy enough, isn't it? Well, let me ask you this: " Does it promise the reader that if he keeps reading, that he will find information that will further facilitate the decision making process? Or in other words, does it promise to EDUCATE the reader. I think the answer is pretty obvious. like I said a minute ago, the answer to this question should be pretty black or white. It either does promise to educate or it doesn't promise to educate. And in this case, the headline that reads, "Five Things You Need To Know Before Buying A Digital Camera." Very obviously DOES pass the ENGAGE evaluation because it does promise to educate the reader.
I'll give you some more examples of interrupt and engage as we go throughout the rest of this program. After I finish going through the entire marketing equation, after I've covered interrupt, engage, educate, and offer.. I'll give you a few case studies that will tie everything together, and I'll point out how each individual component of the marketing equation works, and how they work in conjunction with each other. So with that said, let's move on to talking in detail about the third and fourth components of the marketing equation, Educate and Offer.
Now that the prospect has been successfully interrupted and engaged, your job as marketer is to become the facilitator of information—the fountain from whence all knowledge flows when it comes to figuring out how to buy what you sell. You've got to give them enough information—quantified, specific, delineated information that they feel like they understand the important and relevant issues, they feel like they're in CONTROL of the decision. The information has to be delivered in a way that's easy to quickly scan and digest. We simply call this component of the marketing equation Educate.and the information that is given to educate them is called "CONTROL" information, because it puts them in control of the decision.
To accomplish this, you need to think of the process like building an attorney's case. A case that does what? A case that gives prospects and customers CONFIDENCE that they would be a fool to business with anyone else but you. You accomplish this by educating your prospects about what they need know about buying what you sell, teaching them how to determine value within your industry, and then providing specific, quantifiable evidence that your company or product or service will give them that value. See, this is how you build your outside perception to match your inside reality. You need to prepare your case as thoroughly as an attorney would prepare a case for court. In court, the attorney's case can mean the difference between freedom or incarceration, between life and death. In your business, your case for your product means the difference between you getting rich and you going broke. Think about your marketing and advertising strategy this way: Your product or service is on trial. The consumer is the jury. You are the attorney.... and you must educate the jury on all the relevant issues and prove to them that you offer the best value available... and it's a life-or-death sentence. Your job is to define the relevant issues, come up with all the proof, all the arguments, all the evidence.... and present it in a way that the jury believes you. Remember, your prospects are the jury!
By this point of the program, it probably wouldn't surprise you if I told you that most businesses build no case at all. Ironically, not even attorneys themselves know how to build a case for their own business. I've got an ad here that you can find on page 19 of the companion volume for a law firm that has the non-interrupting, non-engaging, platitude-plauged headline, "When It Comes To The Law, Close Is Not Good Enough." And then, if that wasn't bad enough, check out the platitude filled Control Information they offer where they should be educating: "With Borrowitz & Grubitz, you can rest assured we get the details right. Whether it's personal injury litigation, real estate, or business law, our team of attorneys work hard to get the job done right.the first time. Our smart, savvy lawyers love a good legal challenge and thrive on helping our clients seek justice. When you're in need of legal council, call the law firm of Borrowitz & Grubitz." (CHARLIE BROWN WA WA WA WA WA) The platitude cup runneth over, don't you think! Does the ad define the important and relevant issues when it comes to choosing an attorney? Does it build a case? Does it make you believe that they do anything different or better than anyone else? Does it make you think that they offer a superior value? Does it give you any clue as to their inside reality? Does it provide evidence? Does it give the prospect CONTROL over the decision of what attorney to chose? You would think an attorney would understand this stuff.. But I'm telling you, when it comes to marketing and advertising, every kind of company, every single one, has their head buried in the sand. Here's a point of quick review for you: It's impossible to build a case and expose your inside reality using platitudes!
Remember the OJ Simpson trial? It's been a while, but I'm sure you still remember it. OJ's team of attorneys sold a jury of 12 people a story that got him off the hook, despite overwhelming evidence against him.
What if OJ's attorneys got up on the stand and spewed a bunch of platitudes, "Come on... he couldn't have done that! He's OJ! The Juice! He runs through airports! He's the 2,000-yard Buffalo Bill! He's a movie star! There's no way man! He wasn't even there that night. He was out somewhere else. He just couldn't have done it." As ridiculous as that sounds, that's about as good of a case as most businesses ever prepare to defend and sell their product. They just offer a non-compelling, surface-level laundry list of platitudes and hope that someone will give them money. As if just being there—just being in business—makes them entitled to our business! Good luck!
Look at what OJ's attorneys did do: they got all kinds of forensic reports, alibis, expert witnesses..... and everything to prove that he couldn't possibly have done it. They defined the important issues and brought in experts to teach the jury what they needed to know about them. They had a guy who was a glove expert who said that showed how and why the glove couldn't possibly have been OJ's.... it was too small! They had blood splatter experts who testified that there's no way that that the blood would have splattered the way it did if OJ had done it. They gave the jury a crash course on blood splatter-ology. See, if OJ would have stabbed someone, the blood would have splattered over there, not here. Where do they get these guys? Who ever heard of a glove expert or a blood splatter expert outside of a court case? Who knows, they probably make good money for their strange but expert knowledge. But hey.after hearing their testimony, the jury felt like they knew enough about gloves and blood splatters, and the relevant issues surrounding it that OJ got off scott free. and in a court case, that's the only thing that matters.. If you win or lose.
So here's what you need to do in terms of your strategic marketing paln. You have to determine what the important and relevant issues are; these are the points your case is going to be built on. When the attorney begins the trial, he or she addresses the jury and says what? "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, in this trial, I will prove to you that so-and-so committed such-and-such crime. I am going to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that this occurred, and I'm going to do it based on the following evidence, 1, 2, 3, and 4. I am going to bring out three witnesses that all concur that it happened in this fashion. I will present 2 expert witnesses that will testify that these things happened this way. When you have seen this evidence, you will have no option but to conclude that he is indeed, guilty." You've got to know what those important and relevant issues are, and then gather and present the evidence. I think this is a pretty common-sense, easy to understand concept.
Ultimately, if you present your case for your product in a compelling and convincing way, you'll build confidence with your prospects and bridge the confidence gap. They'll feel like they're in control of the decision. You'll have business coming to you because you will have effectively separated yourself from your competition. Just like the jury draws the conclusion of guilt or innocence, so will your prospects.they'll feel like they'd have to be absolute fools to do business with anyone else but you, regardless of price.
For an example, turn in the companion volume to page 18. This is a revised version of the Birch Ad we just shredded a few minutes ago.
Instead of featuring the ridiculous dog, we are going to focus on a major hot button, which is price. Now normally, we don't use price as a major hot button, but in this case we will, and for a very specific reason. See, normally within an industry, prices are going to be relatively constant across the board. There may be some companies that have a lower cost of goods sold because the buy larger quantities or because they have created certain efficiencies. which allows them to turn around and sell for less. But this case is unique because deregualation in the telecommunications industry has forced the former monopoly SBC to make their lines available to competitors like Birch at reduced prices. and allows Birch to turn around and sell literally the exact same product for less money. Substantially less money. Now I don't agree with those kinds of policies that force unequal competition, but here's the point: From a marketing standpoint, why on earth would you not capitalize on that situation?
So with that in mind, you'll see that we've used a hot-button loaded headline that reads, "How To Buy SBC's $1,000 A Month 1.544M T1 For Only $399 A Month" I'll repeat that one more time for the benefit of those who are listening right now without the companion volume in front of you: How To Buy SBC's $1,000 A Month 1.544M T1 For Only $399 A Month" Now, since the brain is going to demand clarifying information, and to answer the obvious, immediate question of "How is that possible" we use a subheadline that reads, "Now You Can Benefit From New Laws That Have Forced SBC To Make Their Pipes Available To Other Carriers For A Fraction Of The Cost."
We've interrupted. We've engaged. Now it's time to educate. It's time to build a case and prove that what we are saying is true and to cause the prospect to conclude that he'd be a fool not to buy from us. To get all the finer points of how we've built the case in this ad
need to either pull the companion volume and take a look, or you'll need to go online to www.mymbook.com to see the actual ad. You'll see in there that we give a more detailed description of how the regulations have changed and what that means to SBC, Birch, and the end users. Then we go into a detailed comparative analysis of what the components of a T1 are, how much they should cost, and what to look out for. We educate the reader as to what he needs to know when buying a T1. We show him what other competitive companies are offering, and what is good and bad about those offers. We show different options that can change the price and how much a T1 line ought to cost. This is all done in a very compelling way that leads readers to conclude that they might get a raw deal if they buy from SBC. I don't want to jump the gun, but also notice the offer in the ad. keep it in mind as we discuss offers here in just a minute.
For another example of how to properly educate the prospect, look at the revised ad for the law firm Borrowitz & Grubitz on page 19.
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