Like it or not, marketing is everywhere these days. It’s on our electronic devices, throughout our neighborhoods, inside our homes—everywhere. Add to that the fact that our attention spans continue to fall—from 12 seconds to 8 seconds since the year 2000, according to research done by Microsoft. While the positive news is that we’re now better at multi-tasking, this trend has serious implications for marketing and sales.
At my agency, we spend a lot of time thinking about this. That’s why everything we do is focused on capturing people’s attention, whether we are creating websites, sales presentations, brochures, social media or outbound marketing.
We find that most companies don’t apply fundamental techniques to effectively engage prospects. Does yours?
Take a good look at your website, brochure, and even your social media pages, then ask yourself these questions:
1. Does your target audience know you’re addressing them, specifically?
Think about it. How many times have you looked at a website or piece of marketing material and wondered if a business served companies like yours? With an 8-second attention span, you may have tuned out and moved on if you weren’t sure.
If your target audience is loan officers, C-level executives or potential borrowers, make that crystal clear. There should be no doubt in your target audience’s mind that your company is serving them. Check out www.FalconCapitalAdvisors.com, a website we recently created, and see how we did it.
2. Have you clearly given prospects a reason to listen?
Credibility is priceless. Don’t make prospects dig around and do research to find out whether your company is worth their time. Make sure they know upfront.
Do you see how we established credibility on the Falcon Capital Advisors website?
Sometimes we have very little space or time to make prospects listen. Take the LinkedIn headline, for example. It’s the first thing people see when you initiate a connection. How do you entice prospective contacts to approve your request to connect? In my case, as you can see at www.linkedin.com/in/rosalieberg/, I omitted my business title and focused on proof of my industry experience, as follows:
Marketing + PR|100+ mortgage industry clients served since 2002
3. Does your brand reflect well on your prospects?
Marketing studies have shown that people choose to align themselves with brands and companies that reflect well on them. That is, a company that looks good makes them look good. Is your company’s image one that people gravitate toward?
If you think about the companies you most admire, chances are they have a brand that resonates with you.
Did We Succeed?
Now you can be the judge of our work. After checking out www.FalconCapitalAdvisors.com, you may ask yourself:
• Would you know by skimming the home page if you’ve landed in the right place?
• Did the company capture your attention?
• Did it quickly establish itself as an expert?
• Does the look and feel of the site appeal to you and make you want to work with them?
Next, check out your company’s own website and marketing materials and see how they compare. Be honest—what do you think?
Over the years, we’ve helped more than 100 companies improve their marketing, capture the attention of their audiences—and grow their businesses. If you feel your company’s marketing is missing the mark, reach out to us at Info@StrategicVantage.com for advice or assistance. We’d be happy to help.
By Rosalie Berg, President, Strategic Vantage
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