Keep it simple
Oct 22 2007
A lot of us have a tendency to to overcomplicate things in our marketing. We’ll look at tools like standard size postcards and try to find ways to tell people absolutely everything about our business within those tiny size constraints. The best thing to do though is focus on ONE message and ONE call to action only and make sure that both are clear.
The call to action, for readers not used to marketing jargon, is an essential component of all marketing materials. This is where you tell your audience what you want them to do next. Order, call or visit our website are all examples. Your audience needs to know what to do next and it needs to stand out. If you crowd small marketing materials with loads of information, the call to action is likely to get lost in the confusion.
So if you have five things to say, consider sending a series of five postcards instead of just one. That way, instead of sending the same bad postcard month after month, you can send a series of good ones, each giving your audience a little bigger view of your offerings until they have the whole picture. Frequency of communication is a key to success in marketing, but it only helps when your message and call to action are clear and easy to read in the first place.
Take a few minutes to consider the marketing that impresses you. You’re likely not buying from the company that tells you absolutely everything they do on a 4x6 postcard in 8 point type. You’re never going to read all that in the first place. So try to put yourself in the shoes of the person that’s potentially going to be buying from you and keep your marketing simple. Resist the urge to cram everything into a tiny space. “But I want customers to know we do __________ as well as ______, _____ and ____________!” Give them too much to read and they won’t ready any of it.
I was on YouTube yesterday and I stumbled across this great little video that I first saw a couple of years ago but illustrates my point very well.
Published by Erik Wolf under Direct Mail, Marketing Materials
[...] Zero-G Creative Blog wrote an interesting post today on Keep it simpleHere’s a quick excerpt A lot of us have a tendency to to overcomplicate things in our marketing … everything about our business within those tiny size constraints. The best thing to do though … , for readers not used to marketing jargon, is an essential component of all marketing materials [...]
Pingback by Business Marketing » Blog Archive » Keep it simple — October 22, 2007 @ 9:26 am
[...] This article from Zero-G Creative does a good job of outlining the KISS principle as it relates to marketing. Keeping it simple is the only way to go when marketing your healthcare practice — it’s easier for you, and less “noise” for your patients. So if you have five things to say, consider sending a series of five postcards instead of just one. That way, instead of sending the same bad postcard month after month, you can send a series of good ones, each giving your audience a little bigger view of your offerings until they have the whole picture. Frequency of communication is a key to success in marketing, but it only helps when your message and call to action are clear and easy to read in the first place. [...]
Pingback by The Healthcare Entrepreneur » Blog Archive » Healthcare marketing: Best when simple and to the point — January 9, 2009 @ 2:33 pm