In order to hit home your Unique Selling Point, you want to use specific tools
in your advertising. One of the most readily used is the headline.
A headline is a simple way to attract a potential customer’s attention and
leave an impression in their mind. You want to use your USP in this
headline. What do you want your customers to think after they have put
away the ad or turned off the television?

Just like a news headline that grabs your attention and compels you to read
the article, your headline should signal why the customer should be looking
into your product. With all of the advertising that is available, what makes
your ad something that a person should read?

You will want to appeal in a simple way to their intentions for reading the
headline in the first place. What are they looking for and can you provide it?
Too many ads these days sound the same, but when you’ve narrowed in on
what is different and interesting about your product, then you’ve hit on the
path to success.

But this can be tricky because a lot of people tend to avoid advertising unless
it truly speaks to us. We don’t want to be ‘talked into’ anything unless it’s
something that really intrigues us.

How are you going to make your statement? A lot of research into other ads
can help, but so can reading the covers of magazines and headlines of
newspapers. What catches your eye and why? Cut out advertisements that
you think are effect or will be seen by your potential customers—how can
you be different?

If you think about it, your headline is a lot like advertising for your
advertising. Your headline will keep the reader interested, but your
advertising will get them to buy the product or service. Be honest and true
about your business, and you can attract profit and customers.

One of the ways that modern advertising has failed is in the fact that many
businesses have resorted to flashy images and pictures, but these aren’t
necessarily effective. A pretty picture can only go so far. If your product
seems to be worth the purchase because of the words that you use, the
picture will most certainly be forgotten.

Find your UBP and add it to your headline in some way. Don’t try to talk a
potential customer into reading your ad, but rather, appeal to what they
want and how you can provide it.

HOW TO APPROACH A CUSTOMER

While your advertising is the route to your customer’s eyes and ears, how
you do this is the way into their wallets.

The first thing you need to do is consider what works for other advertisers.
What have you bought because of an advertisement? Most people will say
that they tried something because it promised a solution to something that
they were experiencing. Look at the bombardment of drug commercials that
are on television. They must be working, right?

They are. By asking the customer what they’re worried about and
addressing those worries, you are creating a winning situation for them,
rather than just telling them to take a vitamin because you want them to buy
it. The customer yearns to know the ‘why’ in your business. What are you
offering them?

Sit down with your business idea and think about the why of the product.
You can go back to your business plan or even your mission statement for
help with this. Create a value for your product and then create advertising
that reflects that solution and value for a customer.

This is a lot different than the value of the business for you. You’re not
thinking of yourself at this point, you’re genuinely thinking of the product
value to a customer. You’re thinking about the why that is running through
their mind as they see your product for the first time.

A lot of businesses fail in this way because they decide that a value is
something that can prevent something else. Prevention is great for colds,
but a customer wants to know how to solve the problem when they have it,
rather than IF and when they have it.

People don’t think in terms of ‘what ifs’ and this has been shown time and
time again in advertising campaigns. You want to solve a problem that they
currently have, or have had in the past. If they don’t have a frame of
reference for it, then they just won’t see the need.

Think about the immediate; think about the quick and easy solution. This
isn’t just a cliché; it’s a proven advertising method. You need to show that
what you have will solve a problem, fill a void, and do it now. And then you
have to deliver on that promise if you want to get return business.

This is a large amount of responsibility for you and your business, but it’s
well worth the effort.

BUILDING A CUSTOMER DATABASE

This doesn’t sound like something that you need to think about when you’re
building your marketing plan. You’re thinking about the advertising and the
complexities of that. You’ll build the customer database by doing that, right?
But what about lowering the amount of money that you have to spend on
marketing? Got your attention now?

In terms of having a home business, this is a little more difficult, but you can
still increase your customer population with a few cheap avenues. First of
all, if you have a website, try to compile email addresses. These addresses
give you a select group to advertise to, rather than having to search for
people via traditional advertising methods.

Offer a little newsletter or a mailing list of useful information in return for
them giving you their email address. You’ll be able to use these addresses in
your advertising and see much better results than you would advertising
‘blindly.’ If you’ve ever seen the business card drawings at business
establishments, they’re not just giving away a free lunch; they’re collecting
those numbers and names for targeted advertising.

You may also want to create a special offer with a purchase. By offering a
discount on the next purchase, you will increase the probability of having
another sale. If the offer seems to work, then continue this trend with other
customers in your database.

Referral programs also work when you give the customer a benefit WHEN
their referral makes a purchase or orders a service. This way, you don’t
have to find and advertise to this next person. Also, the initial customer will
find someone who would be interested because they want the benefit that
comes with the referral. This saves you money, gains you a customer, and
saves you time.

Create a spreadsheet of your customer names and contact information to
have the information easily available to you. You may want to also create a
timeline in which you contact your customers. Once a month, twice a month,
on reminder days (i.e. if they should be out of your product, remind them to
refill regularly). You will then be able to keep your name and business in
their mind.

A nice holiday note is always appreciated, or a special thank you note after a
purchase.

However, if you just fill up your database with names, this doesn’t mean that
you’re guaranteed business. You’ll have to find people who are genuinely
interested in your product. That’s why giving a customer a reason to
participate will help this list.