Effective communication can have a huge impact on the success of your company.
By definition, communication is the process of transmitting information from
one person to another. Marketing communication takes it one step further. In
marketing communication, you share information to influence an individual's
behavior - generally to purchase your product or service.
As you seek ways to jump start your business in this tough economy, take a
hard look at the marketing tools you use to communicate with your customers and
prospects. A lackluster message won't gain attention or lead to results. Your
message should be clear, succinct and written for your target audience. It
should be appropriate for the medium - email, website, newsletter or other
marketing tool. If you are not using effective communication, you are losing
out on countless opportunities to make a sale.
Here are five tips to help make your marketing communication more effective:
Think about it.
Writing is a thought process. If your thinking is unclear, your writing
will be unclear. Before you start writing, determine what pain points
drive your customers to purchase your product or service, what benefits
you offer, what makes you different from your competition and why that is
important to your customers. Sharpen your thought process by summarizing
in a single sentence what you want to communicate. If you can't do that,
you have more thinking to do!
Keep it simple. Keep
your writing as simple as possible. Get rid of extraneous thoughts and
words and focus on one message. If five words convey your thought, don't
use ten. Make it easy for your customers to understand why they should
purchase your product or service.
Play by the rules. Although
grammar and spelling have fallen into disrepute in recent years, they are
critical to effective communication. Misplaced or missing punctuation and
misspelled words can change the meaning of a sentence. If you want to
communicate effectively, you must do everything possible to make it easy
for your audience to understand your message.
Announce yourself. Don't
keep your customers guessing about what you are communicating. If you are
sending an email, write a compelling subject line that clearly indicates
the purpose of your email. Use meaningful headings and subheadings. Help
readers focus on key points by using bullets and bold or italic type.
Make an offer your
customers can't refuse. Don't assume your customers will
automatically make a purchase because you have pointed out the benefits of
your product or service. Include a call to action in every marketing
communication piece. Better yet, add a sense of urgency by providing a
limited-time offer.
May be reprinted with the following, in full: Joan B. Marcus, president of
Joan B. Marcus Communications LLC, helps nonprofit organizations and small
businesses build their brand by combining well-chosen words with a powerful
presentation. Joan is a pro in all forms of writing, from websites to grant
proposals, brochures to electronic newsletters. Services include copy
writing; marketing strategy; branding and message development; marketing
communications planning; and grant development, including writing case
statements, researching funding opportunities, writing and editing grant
proposals, and documenting grant implementation. Sign up at http://joanbmarcuscommunications.com
for a free newsletter that offers practical and low-cost strategies to help
you market your business or nonprofit organization.
David Miller
David is Patric Chan's in-house writer for www.successandlife.com.
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