[title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”40″ class=”” id=””]20 Second ‘Bin or Win’ Test – Is Your Marketing Up To Scratch?[/title]
Have you ever wondered what your prospects think when they see your website or marketing brochures for the first time? Unless you’ve asked them individually, or conducted focus groups to gauge the market’s response to what you’re producing, you probably have no idea whatsoever. That’s not the best way to be operating, especially when the difference between you or your competitor ringing their till might simply come down to something as minor as a marketing error or poor usability on your website (this is particularly the case when you’re an e-commerce business).
[title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″ class=”” id=””]Why bother testing your marketing material?[/title]
Many businesses I’ve worked with have brought in additional revenue (sometimes up to the tune of hundreds of thousands), simply by re-working their press ads, improving the usability/content of their website and taking the time to actually research how the market is receiving the messages they’re putting out there.
So what if you can’t afford an expensive market research team to do the leg work for you, or an advertising agency to produce an array of new collateral? Well, there are a few things you can do yourself – starting with my 20 second ‘Bin or Win’ test to help ensure your marketing material gets as close as it can to ‘hitting the mark’ with your prospects.
[title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″ class=”” id=””]Test your website in 20 seconds[/title]
Bring your website up on your browser and move back about 2 metres until only the biggest things on the screen are clearly visible. Now note down the first thing that catches your eye. What copy do you automatically read first, second then third? Notice where your eye travels first and what marketing messages you’re receiving first, second and third.
Next, have a few of your employees, friends and family do the same. About 4 or 5 people are all you’ll need really – you’ll find that most will notice the same things and confirm they’re receiving similar messages in a similar order.
[title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″ class=”” id=””]So what do you do with your ‘20 Second Win or Bin’ data?[/title]
The messages your customers and prospects are seeing first, MUST be the reasons why they should buy from you – if they’re not, you need to update your website as soon as possible. It’s imperative that you instantly communicate to prospects and customers what’s in it for them. They don’t care how long you’ve been a family run business, they want to know how you’re going to solve their problem and they need to know FAST!
[title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″ class=”” id=””]Test your brochure in 20 seconds[/title]
Next take your brochure and ask yourself, ‘Does the headline give the reader a big enough benefit to read on?’ If not, you need to amend this piece of marketing material so it’s working harder for you. Read the first line of copy and again, ask yourself whether it gives you a reason to read the second line. After the second line, is the rest of the copy compelling enough and benefit-laden enough for them to read on, right to the end? Again, you might not have the marketing budget to pay a professional copywriter for a complete re-write, but you could start by researching on the internet, ‘How To Write Better Marketing Copy’. Google will return a host of results that you can browse – amongst them you’ll no doubt find some helpful tips you can put to use in your own materials.
[title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” margin_top=”20″ margin_bottom=”20″ class=”” id=””]In summary[/title]
If you think your marketing materials could do a better job of grabbing your prospects’ attention – do something about it! How can you expect your customers to want to contact you, or to grow your business if your marketing material is lack lustre? You simply can’t. For more tips on other ways to market your business – for example, with social marketing, click here.
