Greetings Floor Dealers!
JIM: What’s the “Big Promise” in your ad?
FLOOR DEALER: That we guarantee to have the lowest prices.
JIM: Let me guess…you get beat up on price a lot.
FLOOR DEALER: Yep.
Before you read this article I want you to do a quick two-minute exercise. Google “flooring retailers” in your town and pull up the top three websites that appear in the organic search. Have you got them open? Good.
I’ll bet you the biggest lobster in Maine that they all feature the business name at the top of the site, bullets of what they offer, and contact information. In other words, they all are saying basically the same thing. They don’t answer the unspoken question on every prospect’s mind: “Why should I do business with you vs. your competitors?” (Some may try to answer that question by offering cheap prices, but that doesn’t count because competing on cheap price is a suicide mission.)
In a nutshell, this is why I’m writing this series of articles. I want to give you the tools to answer that unspoken question; to help you be able to create ads, websites, flyers, letters., etc. that make you the obvious choice, and help you command premium prices. With that in mind, let’s continue with secret #4.
Secret #4—The Big Promise
Remember that your prospects only care about three things: benefits, benefits, benefits. The “Big Promise” is where you communicate a powerful benefit in a way that connects with your audience on an emotional level. Let’s look at some examples to demonstrate what I mean.
Below are three bits of advertising copy for flooring that I found on websites by doing a random Google search:
We Beat Any Competitor’s Estimate By 10%
Bring Earthy Elegance Into Your Home
The best name brand flooring for the lowest installed prices
This is pretty standard fare for flooring ads and websites. Compare those with the following “Big Promises”:
When they see your new SuperDuperWood floors your friends will gasp in amazement and think you remodeled your entire home!
WARNING: Once your MegaFluff carpeting is installed, you’ll be tempted to kick off your shoes, sink your bare toes deep into the baby-soft fibers, close your eyes and never leave the house again!
PillowPuff fibers are so soft and luxurious one customer described them as ‘otherworldly’. You’ll feel like you’re getting a warm foot-massage every time you walk across your floors!
Using “Big Promises” in your advertising will also differentiate you from your competitors, however make sure you can deliver on the promise. (“Get a FREE Lexus with your flooring purchase!” while certainly qualifying as a “Big Promise,” may not be feasible as a long-term business plan. Just sayin’.)
Secret #5—Testimonials
What others say about you is 100-times more effective than what you say about yourself, even if you are 100-times more eloquent. Properly used, testimonials will literally do 80% of your selling for you. There are three stages of your relationship with your customer: 1) Before they buy, 2) During the sale, and 3) After the installation. In the Before stage, use testimonials in all advertising you’re using to generate leads and walk-ins, including websites, display ads, mailers, flyers, etc. In the During stage, use testimonials in your sales process. In the After stage, when you are marketing to your past customers, continue to use testimonials. This reminds past customers of why they should use you again and refer their friends.
Secret #6—Write Like You Talk
People want to do business with people, not with impersonal businesses. Your ads should not sound like stuffy, Madison-Avenue “advertise-ese.” (We at CopyCat Floors are committed to providing quality products and superior customer service. Who talks that way? Nobody, except advertising copywriters. )
Instead, be very personal in your copy; write like you talk. It’s okay to bend the rules of grammar or use trendy language, slang or even text abbreviations. (LOL!) Even one-word sentences are okay. Seriously.
In the next installment, we’ll talk about the secret of drama. (OMG!)
To Tons Of Customers!
Jim Augustus Armstrong is The “Coach”
Jim Augustus Armstrong is the President of Flooring Success Systems, a program that equips dealers to double their profits, cut their work hours in half and beat the boxes! Many dealers have totally transformed their businesses and their lives for the better after joining Flooring Success Systems.
See what real, live dealers are saying!