Do your messages convert? - by Chuck Sink

A “conversion” in marketing terms is any action a potential buyer does as a result of receiving your message. So if your message fails to generate conversions, your target audience may as well be you and your dog. And if your dog, like most, hasn’t the ability to make purchases, you’re out of business!

Do Put The Cart Before The Horse! 
Before you spend too much on developing the best media plan (the horse), make sure that the message is deliciously enticing and full of perceived value (the cart). Push the cart yourself if you need to. It’s your message that converts people into believing they should “buy now, schedule a tour or learn more.” Focus on what’s in the cart while you continually push, steer and course correct your trusted media workhorses.

The Media of Neighborhood
I was struck by the story of a business owner’s largest sale which catapulted him to “set-for-life” success. He received a call from the uncle of a teenage boy who used to wash his car. The kid happened to ask him what he did for work and the man took the time to engage the youth in a careful explanation of the exact nature of his business, even though he was running late for an appointment. Thinking nothing of it, a few days later he got a call from the boy’s uncle who explained how his nephew described this man’s business as exactly the kind of service he had been searching for and couldn’t find until now. There was no media involved here, just a brief conversation with the car wash kid for the biggest sale ever!

Internalize Your Message to Externalize It
What about your company is truly world-class? Understand this deeply and articulate it! A few of my best clients are referrals from non-clients; people who read or heard my message and recommended me without knowing much about me or my background. They just liked what they read or heard so they told someone. A great business message has the power to convert strangers into your best customers.

When ready, ramp up the horsepower!

When you have great messages that are proven to convert, by all means, develop a media plan to make enough good prospects aware of your value. And if some kid happens to be curious about your work, fully satisfy that curiosity and thank him for being interested.

Chuck Sink is CEO of Chuck Sink Link, Contoocook, N.H.