"E Pluribus Funk"

Hey Friend,

Back in the day crankin’ out Foot Stompin’ Music by none other than Grand Funk Rail Road was the thing to get your groove (or should I say rock on).

And these boys were nothing less than raw rock and roll energy! I’m not ashamed to say GFR was one of my favorite bands.

If you were a rocker during the early 1970s maybe you’ll remember this album cover. It was shiny, silver 10” cover that looked like a coin featuring Mark, Don, and Mel on the front. Too cool!

Even cooler was the fact that the boys had cranked out their fifth studio album despite the fact that critics hated them. Oh but who cares about critics or what they may say—good or bad!

All that counts of the fans! And the loyal fans loved them—with no end in sight. And the album title “E Pluribus Funk” was a play on the former US Government motto “E Pluribus Unum.”

And speaking of counting and fans, the marketing lesson here is that Grand Funk rocked on and garnered thousands upon thousands of fans who bought their music and went to their concerts.

And as if you don’t know they paid to hear their idols pump out that sweet rock sound!

Grand Funk still has some of the same fans that were around from the start! Now that’s what I call a loyal “customer base!” That’s a 39 year relationship.

Is your business that good? Are you giving your clients what they really want? Do you know exactly what your prospects and customers want?

Good marketing is all about relationships. And for any relationship to work you must be attentive to the other party’s needs.

To do this effectively you the business owner or business rep must communicate, reach out and really listen to what your prospects and customers are telling you.

Remember, your customers vote with their checkbook. This day and age competition is fierce. The Internet has leveled the playing field to a certain degree.

With new technology and reasonable web hosting costs anyone can reach out to folks around the world for a fraction of the cost compared to what it costs in the “old days” of before the ‘Net.

So now’s the time to dial in and evaluation your marketing message, tune it up and resend it.

When was the last time you send birthday card to your house file (on the correct day of course)? If every thing you send or publish in the newspaper is a sales pitch then shame on you!

Why not give something back to your best customers—maybe a special unexpected discount or bonus. Wow them, surprise them and let them know that you appreciate their business.

That’d also be a great time to ask them for some honest feedback. Maybe they’d like to see a new product or service or whatever!

The point is to ask, ask, ask. Stay in touch with your clients in a more personal fashion rather than the same of lame ads you been running.

Now this is not to say if you have a hot running ad that’s been tested and proven, then by all means keep it going. You don’t want to stop running a campaign that’s working. Rather, test new ideas, new concepts all along.

Testing, Testing, Testing . . .

Many of my clients ask me, “what should I test?” That’s a good question.

Start with your current advertising. For starters you should be running direct response type advertising. If you are running general, industrial or image ads as I can them, then testing is impossible. So switch to direct response advertising now.

Basically all variables of your marketing should be tested. This includes headlines, offers, guarantees, sales pitches—you name it.

Start with the headline—test one headline again another. Tally the results and compare. Oftentimes you’ll find by just testing this one element your results will skyrocket.

But you shouldn’t stop at the headline. Move on to the body copy. Make sure it’s the best it can be. It’s beyond the scope of this article to explain how to write advertising that sells, but make sure your entire ad—whether it’s a print ad, internet, radio, sales letter or whatever does a complete selling job.

Once you’ve tested various elements of your advertisement why not test different media. Hopefully you’ve properly targeted your market first. Get a clear picture of who is your target market.

This forces you to advertise in places where your prospects are found. If you use direct mail contact list brokers for proper lists that may be available for your promotion.

The key is to eliminate marketing waste by defining, testing and getting feedback. And the only effective way to do this is by testing.

Here’s your assignment. Take a look at what you believe to be your most profitable marketing piece. If it is not a direct response type ad then you’ve got some work to do. If you are at ground zero and don’t know the difference between a direct response ad and an institutional type ad seek qualified council—I promise you’ll be way ahead of the game.

Yes, you can write your own sales copy but make sure you learn how from a qualified teacher or you’ll waste even more money.

Try to analyze what key elements make it profitable. Is the headline hooking your readers and pulling them into the lead? Is your body copy like a slippery slide pulling the reader all the way through the copy to the end? Are you providing enough proof? Does your sales copy tell a complete story? Do you stand behind your product 100%--does your sales copy explain this? Are you asking for the order? If so do you make it easy to order your product or service?

These are just a few elements to look for in your advertising. By testing you soon know with scientific certainty what works and what doesn’t work.

So what are waiting for? Now is the time to get crackin’!

Happy testing!

Warmly,

Emette E. Massey

P.S. Need help creating a promotion that pulls in cash fast? Why not give me a call? I’ll be glad to answer any questions, share a few ideas that will help grow your business! Call me at 828-313-0694. Or if you prefer send me an email at eemassey@yahoo.com There’s no cost or obligation at all!