The favoured lab rats of Universities (a group of uni students) had absorbent pads placed under their armpits before their final exams and again as they exercised. Some other students (who were probably not paid near enough for their participation) then sniffed the pads and had their brain activity measured.

The bad news is that smelling the exam pads – full of anxiety or fear secreted chemicals,  lit up the students brains like New Year’s Eve fireworks.  The researchers concluded that anxiety triggers the release of a chemical outside our conscious control, that automatically triggers similar feelings in anyone who sniffs it.

What does this mean for business? Well if you don’t want to make your customers nervous you may want to rethink placing highly anxious people on your front line. You may also want to up your anti-perspirant deoderant levels before big events – perhaps bathing in it may help stop the transmission of the chemical via your sweat.

Other than that – be aware that people can really smell your fear.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriters

As one of the households potentially gifted with insulation I took the system for a test run.

Well – lots and lots of new businesses have been formed to install insulation. The trouble is that almost none of them have websites, let alone any form of marketing material. They are relying on the Government site with it’s less than useless search facility to send them business.

The Government site was designed by a bureaucrat with no knowledge of how people actually search for something on the net. We never think …  “I will type in AVW Family Trust to find insulation installers in Brisbane”. The message is – you will need to find your insulation installers some other way – don’t rely on the government site.

If you hunt for a particular form of insulation (eg: foil batts or foil insulation – the best option for Brisbane homes) on Google you will find the manufacturers – but very few true installers. This tells me that the insulation installers websites that do exist are not well optimised for search engines.

I checked out the local papers – as I always try to support the local guyus. Zero ads (Remember – this was the first week of the new scheme. I would have expected at least a few ads.) Scratch that as an idea. I had no recall of any TV ads or radio ads – so that was no help.

I raided my business card index from all my networking contacts and events. No insulation installers amongst the hundreds of contacts.

I then blew the dust of the Yellow Pages that had been used as a door stop for the past year, thinking that as a last resort they may be useful. To put it bluntly I was wrong. The ads were great examples of how not to write Yellow Pages ads. Lots of same old same old ads – designed to promote the brand – and not promoting the types of insulation to be installed.

I finally tracked down 3 numbers of insulation installers who installed foil type insulation. Only 2 phones were answered. That left two quotes. Both were professional and turned up when they said they would. One took the time to educate and explain the differences between products in depth – explaining the pluses and minuses and being brutally honest with their products.  The other worked hard on the upsell of many extra features (would you like fries, chips and potato wedges with that).

We ended up going with the one who appeared more honest (if you install y instead of x you may get half a degree temp difference but it will cost another $300).

What is the lesson for other businesses? The ones who will benefit from this new scheme are the ones who are out front beating their drums to grab attention. Don’t wait for someone else to do it for you – get out there!

If you have no idea about the keywords people type into search engines to find you  – get professional SEO help. People use search engines to research products and to find businesses. If you can’t be found on the first few pages – you are not found full stop.

It’s OK to admit the failings of your products. Don’t try and make them something that they are not.

Finally – take a look at my process for finding a business. I really wanted a particular product and was prepared to dig for it.  Will your customers do the same or will they give up at the first hurdle?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriters

I had stacks of emails and direct messages from people from the “right on” camp as well as the “no – you have to write to the heart of the reader and not connect with your own heart” camp.

I have to disagree with the second camp. For me writing from the heart is the most important step.

In my experience many people get into copywriting from the perspective of making money. They may have been a great admin assistant but wanted to earn more money – so they put the title copywriter after their name. Many other people can be found in word factories in India or the Philippines – churning words out for cash.

Recently I tried a few of these word factories and ex-admin newbies out to check the quality of their writing – to say I was underwhelmed was an understatement. The words were formulaic, bland, and had very poor grammar. There was no spark, no passion and nothing to get excited about.They were writing from the chequebook and not the heart.

The best copywriters write because they have a burning desire within to express themselves in words. They have a passion for the businesses they work with and spend ages discovering the most amazing things within each business that they feel they just have to share with the world. They love what they do and the businesses they work with. They write from their heart and only put pen to paper when their hearts are bursting with excitement and joy for the business or product they are writing about.

The best copywriters are like diamond cutters – they find unremarkable lumps of rock and through their vision, skill and passion show the brilliant diamond within – showing everyone the true shining heart of that business or product.

When a good copywriter first connects with their heart and then applies their skill to their writing – then magic happens. It is at that moment that they also connect with the hearts of their readers – and sales automatically follow.

They connect on a deeper, emotional, almost visceral level. Their words vibrate with power and clarity and people naturally respond to the words. That’s what I mean by saying that heartfelt words are the most powerful sales words on the planet.

Without this heart felt connection with the words and the business, then the words are the same as fast food. They fill a space but they don’t nourish the soul.

So – which would you prefer? Words from the Heart or words from the chequebook? For me it’s a no brainer – it’s a heartfelt response.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriter

So in today’s post I thought I would share with you the story of two very different stalls. My client’s stall and the stall opposite her.

The stall opposite had a great product that would naturally appeal to many of the visitors. It came in four different price points to suit all buyers. So far so good. But the problems with their strategy and marketing meant that they lost a lot of potential sales.

What were their mistakes?

• They only had enough brochures for the first day of the tradeshow and no business cards. The ultimate sin!

• The brochures they did have were bland, boring and had no call to action – so even if someone did take one, there was no reason for them to call, visit the website or buy the product.

• They did have one professional sign at the back of the stall – but the rest of the walls were blank. This made the stall quite uninviting and not worthy of a second glance.

• There were no prices on the products. The owner just told the people a price based on what he thought each person could afford. This meant his prices varied wildly throughout the day and were subject to his own desperation on how many sales he was/wasn’t getting.

• The display itself was monochrome – nothing to grab the eye or highlight features of his products.

• They didn’t make use of nearby poles to put up posters or publicise their products.

• The sales person spent a lot of time on their mobile phone and not engaging people walking by with either eye contact or a simple hello.

On a plus, they took advice – so by day 2 their sales improved and on the final day they did quite well.

So what about my client? Well Julie McLeod from www.diyfengshui.com.au is a very savvy marketer and had a very different experience of the MBS. She had massive sales and her website traffic after the show has gone through the roof.

Here’s a few of the things Julie did right.

• She knew her audience and stocked the products that her audience were looking for. She stayed within her niche and didn’t stock products outside her area. Narrowly focusing on your niche generally increases sales – you are seen as an expert.

• Even though her business is online – she used offline strategies to generate business to her online store. Use offline marketing to drive business to your website.

• Julie researched all of the issues her customers had asked about in the previous 12 months and ensured she had products that specifically addressed the issues. For example – she had a shelf display for “fertility” and another for “wealth” rather than just a loose collection of products. People looked at the issue and then chose products to solve their issue (the old features vs. benefits).

• She did a major purchase of a low price ticket item (incense) and due to her bulk buying could offer a massive offer (2 for $3) that still made her a profit while generating a lot of sales.  People taking advantage of the offer also spent time looking and buying additional items on the stall. Create a bargain offer with a low priced entry point into your business.

• All items were clearly priced. There were bright ’shelf talkers” and large colourful star burst price tickets to grab attention. Make it easy for people to buy from you.

• All purchases (no matter how small) went into a colourful bag that included compelling marketing material directing people back to the website. Her trade stall banner was her website address. Always take the opportunity to cross promote your business and reinforce your brand.

• Small items of old stock from her store rather than being written off was wrapped in gift paper and added to the lucky dip box. The lucky dip box was on the opposite corner to the incense and grabbed people’s attention as they came from a different direction. This was very popular and again had the effect of people stopping to look and buy other products near the lucky dip. Shift old stock at cost price or below rather than writing it off and throwing it away (assuming the product is still safe).

• One of her incenses (loose sage leaves) were burning the whole event. People smelt the incense and then bought the product. People are attracted by smell – use it in your marketing.

• Julie planned the layout of her stall based on estimated direction of customers. No matter where the customers spotted the stall – the layout was eye catching, and had interesting products begging to be looked at. Have you looked at the view into your store from different perspectives? Do the highest foot traffic areas display the most profitable and highest selling items?

• She provided expert Feng Shui advice on each of her products if required (she adopted the strategy Pharmacists use in  explaining how to use medications – the shop girls could say the same thing, but it carries more weight if coming from someone “official”) Expert advice is valued. Who is your business expert?

• A number of high ticket items were included on the stall. These sold well – people are not afraid to spend on what they desire. Don’t make assumptions on what people can and can’t afford.

• She selected the stall based on busy foot traffic. It was a corner stall right near the main stage. Yes, during some speakers the aisles were blocked, but all that traffic had to go somewhere after the speakers – back past her stall and a large percentage stopped and bought. Always place your business near passing traffic.

• She had a sign on sheet for her newsletter. People signed up in droves to get more advice from Julie. She didn’t offer a prize for sign-up – just good quality information. Customers who asked Julie a Feng Shui question about the products they were buying were prompted to sign up for the newsletter. Her ezine list grew dramatically over the weekend. Never forget to get the email details of people and send regular informative emails to them with a minimum of 80% content. People value information – if you are heavy on the info and low on the sell you gain loyal customers.

• Finally, she spent a lot of time getting the energy and approach of her stall and her team feeling “right” and staying right throughout the days. Keeping everything balanced meant customers picked up on the feeling and were more comfortable with their purchases. How does your business feel – calm or frantic?

So, here were just a few of the many great strategies. What could you use in your business?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriter

As they gain confidence we start to see the increase of strategies such as ezines rather than print catalogues, blogs and forums to encourage discussion around the areas of focus for the business and then adoption of social media such as Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to engage and interact with consumers. Online stores either as part of their regular website or as part of eBay also are explored as ways to tap into other customers.

In a small – mid sized business it is easy to integrate your on-line/ off-line presence. Generally the same or a small team of people are responsible for the branding, strategy and outcomes. When you start getting up in size you need to ensure cross team co-ordination happens.

Paul Marshall from Salmat Digital Force recently presented at the Retail World Summit in Sydney. He had some words of caution for businesses heading into the online world.

• Keep your online/offline businesses integrated.
• Ensure consistent return policies between both your online and offline stores. Customers don’t see any distinction between how they buy from your company – neither should you. Customers should be able to return goods bought online at a regular bricks and mortar store.
• Ensure your loyalty programs are transferable – all reward points (no matter whether accrued online or offline) should transfer.

I would add in a few more points

• All your online/offline terms & conditions need to be reviewed by an expert IT lawyer (I recommend IdeaLaw). You may need to review both sets of T&Cs to ensure you are complying with international sales law.
• Ensure you have consistent branding across all communication channels. If you are not careful you will present multiple brand images and styles – ensure you have a strong corporate style guide in place.
• Plan carefully before you leap – strategies such as forums and blogs are great for Google traffic. They also take a lot of time to maintain and develop. Like all cultural change – unless you are willing to invest the time and resources needed to maintain the change – don’t start. You will contribute to change fatigue for your employees & customers and it will be harder to get them motivated for your next big thing.
• If you are going to have a Twitter account – then take the time to respond to complaints/praise. Learn how to track comments about your business in real time and take action – never leave a comment about your business unacknowledged.

The bottom line – integrate, interact & intelligently plan your online/offline strategy.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriter