Jun 2018 – Tell My Story

Jun 28, 2018Jul 3, 2018

A true masterclass in video marketing (and what we can learn from it)…

Well – this week’s blog is a little different. Because this video is a real masterclass in video marketing (and too good NOT to study!).

It’s called “The Courage to Change”, by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Click here to see what I’m talking about on YouTube (it’s only 2 mins long).

It’s had millions of shares on social media – resulting in her shock victory in a New York Democratic primary earlier this week.

Last week, barely anyone outside of the Bronx had ever heard of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But now even we’re talking about her, here in little old Wales.

Now. It doesn’t matter what your politics are. It doesn’t matter whether you like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or whether you agree with her.

It’s irrelvant in this context – because her marketing video was incredible.

Why?

It’s a masterclass in telling your story. In understanding your target market; crafting messages & and choosing language that resonates with those people, to drive them to take the action you need.

Every single word & sentence is designed to connect & resonate with her audience. It feels honest & real (despite costing $200k to produce).

Her marketing message is what people want to hear.

It’s powerful, powerful stuff.

And it should be food for thought for all of us, wanting to connect with our target market & drive sales.

Whether we recognise it or not, there are always deep emotions around what we do or sell.

All of our potential customers have deep internal desires:

People want meaningful relationships. They want to experience love.
They want to be healthy; to feel fit & strong.
People want to feel secure & set up for life. They don’t want to worry about the future.
They want to be liked. They want people to think well of them.
They want to feel like they’re accomplishing things, because of how they imagine they’ll feel afterwards.

The list goes on.

Whatever your product or service might be, there’s a true skill in understanding what your prospects ACTUALLY want.

Not what they say they want – but thinking deeper, about their actual motivational drivers.

And if you can then craft this is into a compelling marketing message – that resonates with their conscious + subconscious desires – then we’re all FAR more likely to drive the action we need want, and get people transacting with us.

Exactly like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has done.

Until next time

Jun 21, 2018Jun 25, 2018

Should I be producing content in my business?

Well – yes. Like it or not, people ARE consuming content 24/7. And as business owners, choosing not to be part of this is a dangerous thing.

The more content we put out, the more our businesses are going to grow.

Growth is divisible by content.

Why?

We live in a world where everyone has their phone in their hand, all of the time. They are watching, reading & consuming content ALL of the time.

Back in the day, you’d put the telly on at 10pm to watch the news. You’d listen to Radio 4 for current affairs or entertainment. You’d buy a newspaper, to keep to date with the world around you & thought leaders. You’d reach for a book to find an answer.

Now, it’s all in your hand, all of the time.

News & entertainment is consumed through Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instragram & millions of different platforms & sites. Podcasts have replaced the radio. Blogs have replaced newspapers, as platforms to consume information.

We all do it.

I’ve struggled to find accurate up-to-date statistics about how often the average person looks at their phone. A report from 2017 suggested 150 times a day.

But every single time we pick up our phone and scroll through our feeds, we are consuming content.

It’s where our customers eyeballs are & their attention is.

And if, as business owners, we choose NOT to consistently produce high-value content – then we’re quickly getting left behind.

It’s got to be interesting, entertaining & valuable. With inifite content out there, attention is short. Boring blogs won’t get read & dull videos won’t get watched.

We all need to play to our strengths – whether we’re great on camera, better at the written word or podcasting is our thing (ideally, a blend of all 3).

But the more content we put out there, the more people will find us in the first place.

It’s HOW we can build relationships with people. How you can help them to understand who you are; what your business is all about; and what you stand for. It’s how you bring people closer to you & choosing to buy from you.

The more great content we create, the more we’ll attract people to us & build our audiences. And the more we can then leverage this, to turn them into buyers & grow our businesses.

I know I’m telling you anything new here.

But for some reason, SO many of us seem to have a mental block about getting stuff out there.

Is it a fear of being judged?
Not having the time to do it?
Not seeing the true value in it?
Not knowing what to talk about?
Not liking it?

In truth, it’s probably a mixture of these things (and many more besides).

Like it or not, our society is NOT going to change any time soon. It’s only going one way. There’s no going back to how things were 20 – or even 2 – years ago.

The more content we create, the more our businesses will grow.

If we don’t consistently put content out, we’re just going to get further & further behind the curve. And we truly believe that’s a dangerous place, for any business owner to be.

For our clients, we help to produce their content AND get it out there – from weekly articles & blog posts, to video content; Social media management; building your customer list & emailing with valuable content them every week (and a million other things!).

And if we can help at all – whether it’s working out what to talk about, or how to get your message out there – then just shout. You can reach me personally on 01600 887529 or laura@tellmystory.uk.

Growth IS divisible by content – however you choose to do it!

Until next time

Jun 14, 2018Jun 13, 2018

Can I charge people to join my Loyalty Club?

Well – yes! If you get it right, and people think they’re getting MORE value than they’re paying for, then paid-for loyalty clubs can work brilliantly.

Zooplus are a great example.

We have two dogs. Bob, our rescue Cojak (that’s a Corgi x Jack Russell, in case you’re wondering!) is fat. Our collie Jess is not.

It’s a pain, because we have to give them different dog food (even though Greedy Bob usually tries to eat both anyway).

So 6 or 7 times a year, we order two big old sacks of dinner from Zooplus, an online pet store.

What’s really clever is that when you go to their checkout page, they give you the option to buy into their “VIP Savings Plan” loyalty club.

It costs £1.99 for one year; or £2.99 for two years.

And that ‘buys’ you a 3% discount on your order + all future purchases, for one or two years.

It’s another no-brainer.

We saved more than £1.99 on our first purchase alone. Our dogs need to keep eating. So why wouldn’t we buy into their loyalty club?

The clever part is charging for it. It’s a weird human psychology thing, that when we pay for something (rather than getting it for free), we value it more.

You’ve spent money on it, so you want the value. And you’ll keep going back to get it.

Now – Zooplus are great in many ways. They’ve never let us down or not delivered. They’re competitively priced; delivery is fast + free; re-ordering is easy.

If any of these things changed, then clearly a £2.99 investment would probably NOT be enough to keep a customer loyal.

But assuming the product & service remains the same, it’s a smart way to get customers coming back to YOU, rather than drifiting off to a competitior.

The 3% cost to your business is the price you pay to keep that customer coming back, over the next year or two.

It’s smart. I certainly can’t see us going anywhere else to buy our dog food. And I’m sure a lot of other people feel the same.

Could it work in your business? Is there a way you could offer your customers something of value – more value than they perceive it costs – to keep them loyal to you?

Especially if you’re a retailer, food-based business or have customers who buy what you sell regularly – it’s GOT to be worth serious thought.

It’s something we’ll be working on with our clients over the coming weeks, anyway!

Until next time

Jun 7, 2018Jun 7, 2018

What does it mean to ‘upsell’ to a customer? And HOW to do it well!

I was on the receiving end of a brilliant upsell this week.

And it’s inspired us to think about we (and our clients) can create ‘no-brainer’ upsells, for our own businesses – to get our customers spending more. And even better, to get them feeling delighted about it!

So…

I’m off to Gardener’s World Live next week, at the NEC (which makes me all kinds of happy!).

I tootled off to their website to buy my ticket.

The ticket includes loads of good stuff – free demos, show gardens, even access to the Good Food Show next door. It’s great value. £20 well spent.

And THEN they upsell you a seat at their ‘Live Shows’, with the experts off of the telly, for an extra £2.

It’s genius. A real, true no-brainer upsell.

You’re going to the show anyway. You’ve bought your petrol & your ticket.

Are you going to spend a tiny £2 extra to spend half an hour watching Monty Don, live?

Hell yeah!

Well, I am, anyway. And as the shows are 95% sold out, they’re obviously popular.

Now – I don’t feel ripped off or cheated in any way, that I’ve got to spend the extra two quid for this.

This is an important point. It’s hard to take something people see as essential OUT of your offering, and then try to charge for it. That just annoys people & is unlikely to be sustainable.

But I’m already getting great value. I know seats at the Live Shows are limited. Their upsell guarantees me a spot. I don’t begrudge paying £2 – in fact, I’m delighted about it. I can’t wait.

They are packing us in to almost 30 ‘Live Shows’ over the 4 days. At £2 a head, we’re taking £000’s of additional revenue from ticket sales. Not too shabby at all.

So what can we learn from this?

Well…

Is there a hidden ‘no-brainer’ upsell in YOUR business, that you can add-on & offer your customers?

• What do your customers really WANT? And what do they need?
• How else can you add value for them?
• Where are they going – and what else are they buying – before or after they come to you?
• Could you sell an upgrade them to a bigger / faster service or product?
• Could you guarantee or insure what they’re buying? Offer an extended return period & sell the peace of mind?

The options are endless – but we think it’s worth giving some serious thought.

Not everybody at Gardener’s World Live will have bought the upsell ticket to a Live Show.

But if you make a strong upsell (or cross-sell) available, then some of your customers WILL buy (the good old 80/20 rule).

It all helps to increase your average customer spend, drive sales & increase your bottom line.

It’s something we’ll be working on with our clients over the coming weeks – looking at where the opportunities in their businesses lie, and creating marketing campaigns to leverage them.

And if you get it REALLY right – and offer your customers what they really value – then you’ll not only make more money, but leave them feeling rather delighted about it too.

Which is what we all want, after all!

Until next time