Let me ask you something…
How do you currently decide what offers and promotions to run for your business each month? If you’re like many entrepreneurs I’ve worked with, your process probably sounds something like this:
You gather your team and start asking “What offers did we run last month?” or “What are our competitors doing?” Then you all toss out ideas, maybe looking at what services or products have been popular recently. Before you know it, you’ve cobbled together a long list of coupons, discounts, and special deals to promote across your website, social media, and advertising.
If that sounds familiar, I’ve got some tough love for you. That “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to defining your offers is a surefire way to confuse and turn off potential customers. As I explain in Chapter 2 of my new book, The Far Beyond Marketing Guidebook, having an overwhelming number of ambiguous, constantly-changing offers is a critical mistake.
Not every person is your ideal customer. By trying to be all things to all people with a chaotic array of promotions, you end up speaking to no one effectively. Your offers become so broad and general that they fail to resonate with anyone in a meaningful way.
Instead, you need to get laser-focused on identifying the core desire of your ideal customer base. What is the key problem you can solve for them? What is the critical benefit your services provide? Define that foundational want or need, and craft a set of crystal-clear offers that speak directly to it.
As marketing guru Donald Miller states in the book, Building a StoryBrand, that I reference: “As soon as we define something our customer wants, we pose a story question in the mind of the customer: Can this brand really help me get what I want?” That’s the reaction you’re going for with your offers – making it immediately obvious that you can provide what your target audience is looking for.
One of the examples I provide in the book is:
“Tired of waiting 5 minutes for hot water? Save $50 on a new hot water circulation pump and stop wasting time and money. Valid only during the month of November. Certain restrictions apply.”
See how focused and specific that is? It cuts right to the point about a relatable pain point, provides a solution with an easy-to-understand dollar value, and creates urgency with the deadline. No ambiguity or confusion there!
So I’ll leave you with this – Stop listing out every possible offer your team can think of. Get rigorous about defining your ideal customer’s core desires. Then speak to those wants with a limited set of consistent, compelling offers that you promote repeatedly across your marketing channels. It’s a streamlined approach that will drive more business than an overloaded menu of lackluster promotions.
