When I sit down with a business owner for the first time, I always ask him what marketing activities he has tried to date. Whether they explain them to me or show me examples, they will often feel that their marketing activities have not worked.
“We did trade shows, but that didn’t get us a customer.”
“We tried direct mail and it didn’t work.”
“I’m on Twitter, but that doesn’t give me any business, it’s a waste of time.”
All of the above are what I like to call marketing vehicles: trade shows, direct mail, and Twitter, to be exact. Do these vehicles work? Of course they do. Search them on Google and you will find success stories linked to any marketing vehicle. So how come they don’t seem to work for you? It may be because you are going for the jugular. In other words, you’re trying to go straight to the sale rather than just hiring a potential customer to take the next step.
If you have a low-risk, low-priced product or service, you will probably find some success in jugular marketing, but if you are promoting something that requires the prospect to trust you or the product, they need to take another look at WHAT you are saying. . or make it into a marketing vehicle, rather than changing the marketing vehicle itself.
An example of Jugular Marketing is that of SobeSportsClub (dot) net
Imagine that you are single and a member of the opposite sex approaches you for a night out. The conversation is something like that. “Hello, my name is (LOGO). Let me say it again (because it takes up 1/3 of the ad, so it must be important). I have many amazing qualities that you would love about me (they ‘are all listed here in bullets) So do you want to get married (there’s that infamous phone number at the bottom that screams, buy us)? “
I have no reason to act today, and frankly, I don’t look for many of these attributes in a gym. But what if you focus your ad more on the buyer than yourself? What if you made it easier and less risky for me to take the next step? The ad might look more like the one on Gold’sGymCanada (dot) com.
If we were to revert to that social situation, this could amount to: “You seem to want company and obviously enjoy places like this (after all the headline shows that you understand me and highlights a great motivator for me.” A meeting elsewhere. like this (some key features and a complimentary VIP pass). It’s next Wednesday (there is a time limit). If you want to come and get to know each other better, check out the details (takes them to more information and a place where they can act with ease and with minimal risk. “
Which one would make you act easier? The latter allows Gold’s Gym to capture more prospects. It allows them to better measure the effectiveness of the message and the tool (VIP pass) they are using. But the most important thing is that it allows the potential customer to try them at no cost.
The next time you want to execute that marketing tactic, avoid jugular marketing. Try to capture leads instead of going straight to that sale.