The Two Most Powerful Words In Marketing
There are two simple words in marketing that everything revolves around. Get these two words right and position your marketing for it, and you'll be incredibly successful. But get these two words wrong and your marketing is doomed...
The two most powerful words in marketing are...
END RESULT
End result is exactly what your prospect will get out of buying your product, service, "widget" or whatever else it is that you are trying to sell. HOW will their lives be different from owning your product? What will it create for them? i.e. what will the end result be?
There must be a strong desire for the end result that your product promises or it will be nearly impossible to sell. And you must also be able to communicate that your product will produce this end result in order for people to make the decision to give you their money for it.
End result is more than just "benefits" or what will it DO for them. It's all of that and much more. It's also about what will CHANGE for them in their lives as part of this end result that your product will create.
Let's talk about an example...
Let's say we are selling an infoproduct that teaches someone how to get rid of their backpain. What is the end result - no more backpain? Not entirely.
The end result is not just no more backpain, it's also about no more sleepless nights of tossing and turning and wincing in pain. It's also no more trips to the chiropractor or more trips (and expense) to fill a prescription that will hopefully alleviate some of the pain. It's also about being able to enjoy many facets of life that were taken away by the pain -- like being able to enjoy a nice jog, or picking up children, or tossing a ball with your son, or playing tennis with your old tennis buddies, and much much more. The end result is how their life will CHANGE for the better by owning the product.
The next time you sitdown to write a sales letter or create a rough plan for a new product, you must think about creating an "End Result Matrix" -- a chart that you can make go in as many directions as possible for how a product will CHANGE SOMEONE'S LIFE. Then you need to focus on the most emotional elements of that chart. Prioritize them by the ones that will most greatly impact the majority of your prospects' lives. Then position your marketing around them.
Sell the end result and life-changing elements of your product and not the product itself. That's the simple secret of selling anything like crazy.
Comments
Yes, John is right. This is the underlying secret to KILLER COPY. When you write an ad, always ask "What's the greatest possible benefit that could be achieved with this product?" Even if it's not a DIRECT BENEFIT, who cares.
Example: Selling self-defense: Save your life and your families life from a home invasion/incredible confidence that attracts girls like crazy.
Posted by: Matt Gallant | January 19, 2004 09:09 PM
Right on, John.
Funny coincidence. I just came back from a seminar in Atlanta this weekend, and that was the CRUX of my entire speech. However, I termed it differently -- I used the "feature-advantage-benefit" matrix.
- A feature is what a product has
- An advantage is what that feature does
- A benefit is what that feature means
(i.e., it's more intimate, relatable and direct).
Here was my example.
A client came to me once for a critique of her copy. She was selling an anti-wrinkle facial cream (it's "microdermabrasion").
Her copy had features and some advantages, but no benefits -- or what you call end results. Here's what she had:
Features
1. It reduces wrinkles
2. It comes in a home kit
3. And it's "pH balanced"
Advantages (not benefits, as most people would think)
1. It makes you look younger
2. It's easy-to-use at home
3. It's gentle on your skin
Now, benefits
1.It makes you look younger, which means:
You will be attractive, you will get that promotion or recognition you wanted, they will never guess your age, you will make them fall in love with you all over again.
2. It's easy-to-use at home, which means:
You don't have to be embarrassed, or waste time and money with repeated visits to the doctor’s office — it’s like a facelift in a jar done in the privacy of your home!
3. It's gentle on your skin, which means:
There are no risks, pain or healing periods like those with harsh chemical peels, surgeries and injections.
Posted by: Michel Fortin | January 20, 2004 07:20 PM
Excellent, Michel! Thanks for the detailed breakdown.
Posted by: John Reese | January 20, 2004 08:49 PM