When your child comes to you with their hand out, not saying a word, what is your response? You tell them to speak up. To use their words so you know what they want.
When I see businesses marketing their brands and they are not using their words to tell the customer what they want them to do, I get a headache. I also see piles of cash being flushed down the toilet.
Great marketing always has an ask or a want
There is this weird stigma in business that asking for something is rude or too direct. Brands are afraid to be direct for fear of backlash. Don’t be afraid. When you are marketing your brand, it is your obligation to ask them to do something. Whether it’s visiting a link, calling a number, downloading a coupon, sharing a post, referring a friend, all of these examples are ‘calls to action’ aka ASKS. You are obligated to tell them what to do next. How does your customer know what you want them to do if you don’t ask?
Politeness is inapplicable in marketing.
You must ask your customer for something in every marketing piece you create. Whether it’s your website, in-store signs, sales calls, catalogs, brochures, or advertisements; you must ask.
Clear instructions on what you want your customer to do after they interact with your marketing piece, is required.
You are missing revenue opportunities by being polite or assuming they know what
to do. Just remember, in every marketing channel you create, hand holding is required.
I want you to make me a promise that every marketing piece you create moving
forward, you will ask for something. No questions asked. Ok?
How to ask consistently
You need to analyze every marketing channel you have created and ask yourself these questions:
- Is there a clear call to action?
- Is that call to action easy to read?
- Does that call to action lead them towards buying from my brand?
If you cannot answer all these questions with yes, you need to adjust them to get to yes.
Where do you start?
Assessing all your marketing channels and auditing their brand effectiveness can seem daunting. It may also feel like a waste of time. Or maybe your marketing efforts for your brand have been so out of whack that you just want to start with a clean slate. maybe in the back of your mind, you are wondering “is my brand ready for good marketing?”
If you are unsure if your brand is ready to market effectively, I created a really easy assessment tool you can take to see how well your brand is currently performing.
This article originally appeared on Holeshot Brandworks
