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Further
Reading ...
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Sell Information For Fun And Profit! - BB Lee
Sell Information For Fun And Profit by BB Lee (C)2002 (412 words) You've probably seen the ads all over the Internet and in various print magazines offering you insider details on how to market information products and get rich quick! Most of...
Aspiring Webmasters Want To Know, "What Makes A Website Grow?" - A Raymond Randall
It appears that most webmasters have come from the world of advertising. Their website content emphasizes "marketing and promotion". Just to prove my point, do a Google search on "marketing promotion". As I write, Google comes up with "about...
Create a Compelling Vision for Your Business - Caterina Rando
I ask you a very important question: Do you have a vision—a Technicolor snapshot in your mind of what your ideal life looks like? If not, create one. Not a goal; goals come later. Visions are more powerful than goals because visions have an...
Dispel The Myths And Find Success - Elizabeth McGee
The internet has literally redefined the lifestyles of every man woman and child on the planet. With a mouse and a modem you can find love, pay bills, do your homework, and shop til you drop. The world is at your fingertips. With all of the...
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Guarantees with Oomph
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Written By:
Marcia Yudkin
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Not long ago a real estate appraiser asked my opinion of his
new brochure. "'Guaranteed on-time appraisals,'" I read out
loud. "You mean that if it's not on time, the customer gets
a refund?"
"No, I couldn't do that," he replied. "So many times things
get delayed for reasons outside of my control."
"What do you mean, then, by 'guaranteed'?"
"Never mind, then. Strike that out. We couldn't give people
their money back every time an appraisal was late."
He'd come close to landing his business in serious trouble.
The word "guarantee," like the word "free," has a specific
meaning that the Federal Trade Commission and state
attorneys general enforce. Without any explicit qualifiers
attached, "guarantee" means that the customer has the right
to a 100 percent refund if the product or service
disappoints them -- no "ifs," "ands" or "buts."
Further, because of the well-known strength of the word, a
guarantee holds a powerful potential to increase business. I
explained to the appraiser that an on-time guarantee would
probably boost his business enough to cover the occasional
refund. We then restated his guarantee to read, "We
guarantee that we'll deliver your appraisal by the promised
time, or it's free." He'd cover his flanks by being careful
about the promises he made.
Like a sharp knife, guarantees can cut through a prospect's
skepticism and fears. Handle them with care, but include
them in your business's toolbox.
* Try a long guarantee. The longer the guarantee, in fact,
the fewer refund requests a business receives. If your
competitors offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, extend
yours to 90 days, a year or even a lifetime.
* - continued below ...
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continued ...
Depending on your business, consider a performance
guarantee instead of promising a refund. For example, a
termite-control customer might prefer your promise to make
the problem go away, no matter what it takes, to getting her
money back if the treatment doesn't wipe out the pests.
* If you can stand behind outrageous-sounding guarantees, go
for it, as in, "We guarantee that your credit-card
application will be approved by one of the listed banks, or
we'll return every penny you paid us, plus $10.00 extra for
your trouble." Since this company knows that only 4 percent
of applicants get turned down, their offer motivates without
bankrupting them.
* Try guaranteeing some aspect of your product or service
rather than the main product or service itself. One
advertising firm promises that all calls will be returned in
less than one hour, or the caller receives a $25 gift
certificate to a local restaurant.
* Act graciously and promptly when a request for a refund
comes in. See what you can learn from the customer's
dissatisfaction. Software returns were killing one catalog
merchant until she wrote the catalog copy more carefully and
tested it on her friends for clarity. Customer service
research reveals that people whose complaints are handled
well often turn into more loyal customers than those who
never had a problem!
About the Author
The above is adapted from "Secrets of Mouthwatering
Marketing Copy" by Marcia Yudkin, available from
http://www.yudkin.com/mouthwatering.htm . Marcia Yudkin
is the author of 11 books, including
Persuading on Paper and Internet Marketing for Less than
$500/Year.
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