The Marketing Clarity Test

Today is the final day of a two-week Hawaiian vacation. I've tried not to think about marketing too much, but believe, me, marketing is alive and well here in paradise.

Every tourist-oriented business is doing everything possible to compete for one's dollars. Activities such as whale watching, snorkeling and helicopter rides partner with the timeshare industry to give the visitor even better deals.

Deals like this are promoted in every magazine, booklet, pamphlet, flyer and street vendor the moment your plane lands. Although it can be somewhat wearing, it clearly works.

I've noticed that the best Hawaiian marketing contains all the elements of any good client-attracting promotion. Below I've summarized the most important five:

Element 1 - Clearly defined products or services

Element 2 - Clearly targeted ideal buyers

Element 3 - Clear, benefit-oriented messages

Element 4 - Clearly written/designed marketing materials

Element 5 - Clearly communicated offers

Obviously, clarity is an essential component of each of these marketing elements. Communicate with lack of clarity and the marketing connection isn't made.

I believe that the biggest overall problem with any business's marketing is the absence of clarity. Whether this is because of ignorance or laziness, the result is the same: the inability to reliably attract more of the right clients

Where is your marketing falling short?

You may be looking for "silver bullet marketing solutions" when you're missing the basics - consistently communicating clearly about your business.

How well do you do on the "Marketing Clarity Test"? Score yourself five points for excellent, four for good, three for fair, two for poor and one for abysmal. Highest possible score is 25.

1. Your service (or product) is so clearly defined that you can explain what it is and the need for it, in one or two sentences, when someone asks you what you do.

2. You can clearly define who your ideal clients are, both demographically and psychographically. You know who they are and how you can reach them.

3. Your marketing messages (such as an Audio Logo, headlines on your web site, titles of articles, names of talks, etc,) all clearly communicate what your service is and who it is for.

4. All of your marketing materials, from your business card to your web site, expand on your marketing message and explain in more detail the benefits and advantages of your services.

5. Through your marketing messages and materials, you make a "call-to-action" or offer that clearly directs a prospect to take an action that will lead them to purchasing your services.

Interpreting your score:

25 - 21 - Excellent - You have clients on a waiting list

20 - 16 - Good - You are attracting good clients consistently

15 - 11 - Fair - Getting clients is somewhat of a struggle

10 - 6 - Poor - You find it very hard to attract clients

1 - 5 - Abysmal - Clients are running away from you

How do you score and what are you going to do about it?

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The More Clients Bottom Line: To a great degree, your success in attracting clients is correlated to how clearly and consistently you communicate about your business.

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How clear are you when communicating about your business? What do you need to improve? If you dare, list your score. Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Comments

[Blair Rorani]

I think my audio logo/marketing message is a bit long winded in the problem section.

I WORK WITH people that write or develop training programmes

WHO are good at getting their training content together, but struggle to come up with a design for their training materials that looks professional

I HELP THEM produce more professional and consistent looking materials every time.

[rob hook]

Excellent copy. Thanks

Rob

[Ken Peabody]

Yeah, I really need to work on my mantra... I'm somewhere around a 13...

[Randy]

At first blush, I thought my score was 25, and was pleased, since clarity has been my mantra for years.

Then...I scrutinized the questions and my answers, and realized that my score was really a 21. Bummer!

This was great to make me aware of where I needed to improve. Thank you!

[Lynne Fredericks]

Sometimes when we have limiting belief systems in place such as, fear of success, fear of failure,fear of being judged,etc..all these negative programs keep us from doing what is best for ourselves and our growing businesses. By having confusion and lack of clarity, can keep all this negative programming in place. These negative belief systems end up being our personal truths.

[Shama Hyder]

23- But, I am always learning from the best. = )