BUSINESS CONSULTANT INSIGHT 11
Steve Billingham is a Director of Steve Billingham Consulting Ltd, the business and
marketing consultancy to advisory businesses in the financial services sector. He can
be contacted by phone on 07802 611643, by email at [email protected] or
through his website at www.stevebillingham.com.
THE THREE RULES OF
MARKETING COMMUNICATION
Finding more better-quality clients is a challenge many advisers tell
me they are currently looking for help with. The recognition that
working with absolutely any client, irrespective of circumstances or
revenue potential, is no longer viable means advisers are reviewing
the way they go about identifying and attracting clients to their
business. Possibly for the first time, marketing is becoming a much
bigger priority for many firms.
prospects can visualise it for themselves. Help them to see what the
benefit is and what outcomes they can expect, how you go about
making a tangible difference and why engaging your services is the
best decision they could make to address their “pain”. Testimonials
and case studies have a role to play here.
It is somewhat perverse that firms often only “do marketing” when
they need to increase their flow of new enquiries. In reality such
sporadic forays into marketing are unlikely to be effective. Marketing
activity has to be consistent and sustained really to work. And when
it comes to developing compelling marketing communications copy
– whether it is your brochure, website, email marketing campaign,
direct mail letter or whatever – there are a few simple rules to
follow. In his brilliant book Marketing your services, Anthony Putman
describes them as “the critical steps of marketing communications”.
Rule 3: Make them respond
This where you have to get people to do or say something that tells
you they are interested in their services – and I’m not suggesting you
offer a free iPod. If I respond to that sort of offer, I am simply telling
you I am interested in winning an iPod, not that I’m interested in your
services. So make me an offer related to your services and make it
easy for me to take advantage of it – a free guide such as “Top 10 tips
for getting financially organised” downloadable from your website in
return for my email address is all you need (and, as it happens, more
than a dozen such guides are available from the Client guides section
of this site – Ed).
Rule 1: Make your target prospect recognise you are talking to them
Marketing copywriters call this “getting their attention”. Unless your
headline or first paragraph helps me to see myself or my situation
in the words, it will just become noise. In these days of information
overload, your prospects have become highly skilled at filtering what
they read. Your headline has to get through what Putman describes as
the “wall of indifference”.
By responding, I have immediately moved from being a target
prospect to a qualified prospect and I have, even in just a small way,
accepted your invitation to start a relationship with you. The offer dos
not have to cost you much, but it does have to build your credibility
with me. If you can do that, I am likely to be more receptive when I
receive your next communication – and I am likely to need to hear from
you at least six times on average, before I consider becoming a client.
How do you do that? By asking a question to which I’ll answer “Yes!”
or by describing my “pain” – in other words, challenges, worries or
frustrations – so accurately I immediately think “that’s me you’re
talking about”. As David Scarlett suggests in Marketing Manifesto, if
you can describe my situation better than I can describe it myself, I
will immediately assume you understand my problem – and that you
also have the solution.
Follow these three rules and you will not go far wrong. But remember
– consistent and sustained effort is required. If you cannot sustain it,
you are probably best not starting in the first place.
Rule 2: Make them understand how they will benefit from your services
This may sound simple but, in reality, few marketing communication
pieces – in any sector – set out the benefits clearly and precisely so
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