Your 3rd° Business Diagnostic
When I moved house, I misplaced a book. I considered this book a marketing treasure. Which I would have read it 6-7 times.
This rare book has been out of print for years.
So over Christmas the break, I was going through a box which had been stuffed in the corner of my Garage, unchecked for over 2 years.
The box had been labelled Garage bits & pieces, So it had never been opened. I hadn’t needed anything from the box, so I never bothered to open it. But figured after 2 years I should check it out, so get rid of the box collecting dust.
I ripped the tape of the box and started rifling through the contents. It was filled with old tools & jars of screws & nails.
Stuffed down the side of the box was the black spine of a book, jammed in tight.
So I tipped the contents on the floor & coaxed the book out of its lost hiding spot.
It was my long lost copy of Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M Schwartz.
Breakthrough Advertising
Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M Schwartz
The last I checked on Amazon a couple of years ago, you get a new copy you would be looking at investing $1,117.75 at Amazon. I believe it was republished last year.
.
I have just reread it again. even though it was written 1966, Breakthrough Advertising still relevant, I admit some of the examples are a bit dated.
What Does Your Prospect Already Know?
To make sure you are not wasting money on advertising, we need to determine what they already know.
So can work out if this needs to be Direct or Indirect ads.
The easiest way to figure out if you should come at a sales lead idea, head on or sidle up to it indirectly is to figure out where your prospect falls on the scale of Awareness…
- Most aware – Prospect knows of your product knows what it does and know he wants it…
- Product aware – Prospect knows of your produc
t , but doesn’t yet want it… - Solution aware – Prospect recognises that he wants what the product does, but doesn’t know there is a product that will do it for him…
- Problem aware – Prospect has a need for the product but doesn’t realise the connection between the fulfilment of that need and your product…
- Least aware – the prospect is not aware or won’t admit they have a desire…
Copywriter Gene Schwartz explains this…
If your prospect is aware of your product and has realised it can satisfy his desire, your headline starts with the product. If he is not aware of your product, but only of the desire itself, your headline starts with the desire. If he is not yet aware of what he really seeks but is concerned with the general problem, your headline starts with the problem and crystallises it into a specified need
Gene Schwartz – Breakthrough Advertising
Copywriter
This excellent rule to follow, when advertising, it will save you a ton of money.
So now we need to find your ideal clients…
- If they’re more aware, then usually the more direct sales lead works best…
- If they’re less aware, then the more indirect you’re going to want to go with…
Eugene M Schwartz stresses you need to know your prospect, Your competitor & how your products compare. Finding a mechanism to differentiate your product.
There’s so much in Breakthrough Advertising I’m going write another article on why this a must read marketing book. I won’t do it justice if I try to cram into this post.
Reading Breakthrough Advertising triggered the reasons why I created Your 3rd° Business Diagnostic investigation.
Conducting Your 3rd° Business Investigation – Once you have these insights on your customers, your competition & your products. Your potential customers will feel you know them intimately and will trust you that you’re concerned about helping to reach their desired outcome…
Your 3rd° Business Diagnostic
When we conduct your 3rd° Business Diagnostic, we’ll be looking at 4 areas which impact your message:
- Market Insights…
- Prospect Analysis…
- Competitor Analysis…
- Product Analysis…
So we can gain a deep understanding of who you’re are talking to… Who you are competing with & what you are offering…
Getting the 3rd° Business Diagnostic Investigation on your business is your starting point & the most important phase because everything else hinges off these insights…
Gaining Marketing Insights
It’s time to get a clear understanding of your Market.
- What Market are you in?…
- What opportunities & gaps in the market you can seize & take advantage of?…
- Are there any potential problems looming which could impact your business?…
- What the overall Size & expected growth of your market?…
Here’s a sample of research we put together for a client supplying the Restaurant Industry.
Conducting the Prospect Analysis
We Have To Crawl Inside Your Customers Head & See The World From Their Perspective
The more you know about your prospects, the more you understand your prospect. The more you are able to step in your customer’s shoes empathise at where they at right now, the more effective your marketing message will be. Because your whole marketing message stems from who you are talking to.
We’re talking more than just basic demographics, you need to understand the phycology of your audience of why they buy
It’s critical to get the Psychic Profile of your Prospects
Who Are Your Ideal Customers
Knowing your customer is your most significant leverage point for all your marketing, product development and improvements, sales and profitability. It’s really the primary factor in growing your business.
- 1. What is the end result your ideal customer wants to achieve?
- 2. What are the roadblocks required to get them to the end result?
- 3. What can you give them that will move them closer to the end result?
- 4. What is their core/biggest fear (or fears) they have in getting to the end result?
The 5 Prospects Questions…
- How do they think and feel? (Crawl inside their head and see the situation from their perspective)…
- What do they want? What are the prospect’s deeper, unspoken desires?…
- What do they already know? (About your type of product, your product, etc.)…
- What have they always wondered about? Wanted to know? – wanted to understand better? (Interests)…
- What have they already heard? (from others)…
Prospect Demographic Profile – An Overview of People You’re Talking to:
- A general Understanding of the Age Range, Gender, Job/Title, Nationality, Location, Education Level and so on of your Audience ( Were not looking for an exact science here).., The average stop here…
- Does your audience lean towards Gen X, Millennials Baby Boomers etc…
- Are they made up of more men or women?
- What TV Show, Books Music, Movies they have they experienced… We can use this info so we can talk in their language, giving us a reference that resonates with them & they can relate to us…
- Do they have children… There’s no value talking about children if they’re mainly single…
Prospect Behaviour Profile
- What prior purchases have they made? Is a common they are buying
- Who are the experts they follow?
- Favourite Periodicals?
- Favourite Books? Stephen Covey 7 Highly etc
- What are they watching
- Wants: What does your prospect genuinely want? – The Outcome, The transformation, the result… The Change…
- Emotions: How does your prospect feel right now? – point of angst? – How do they want to feel?
- Beliefs: What are the closely-held concepts your prospects live by? (this is not a blank slate)
The Difference Between Wants & Needs
Wants are more compelling than needs.
Marketing is all about their wants, their desires, & delivering on what they need.
People know they need to lose weight, but they do it because they want to be in a relationship or they want to spend more time with their kids. This much a much compelling emotional reason than I need to Lose Weight.
Our job is to channel their existing desires not to create desires. What do they crave for, lust after?
Our aim as marketers is to craft a message that shows your prospects how your product or services can give them what they desire.
So we want to take their desires and turn it into demand for your product or service.
Your customers want outcomes (results), not products.
What would that perfect transformation be, so your copy needs to show them what it feels & looks like to get their desired result.
We are driven by more profound emotional benefits.
What are your Prospects Deeper, Unspoken Desires?
So we’re going to dive deep to uncover your prospects deeper, unspoken desires.
Core Buying Emotion
Photo by S A R A H ✗ S H A R P on Unsplash
- How does your prospect feel about their problem/ situation? (Dominant Resident Emotion)
- How does your prospect want to feel about their problem/ situation
- Your Prospects wants to Gain…
- Your Prospects wants to Be…
- Your Prospects Wants To Save…
- Your Prospects Want to Do…
- Your Prospects Want to Avoid
So you need to look at your audience and understand which of these applies to your market as it relates to your product or service.
This more than just offering superficial benefits.
So someone might want to have a beautiful garden, but their real reason is they want to stand out in the community or make their neighbours jealous for having the best garden in the street.
So do you which applies to your prospects which relates to your products and services?
Understanding Your prospects secret of “Secret desires.”
So if they want to:
- Earn more money or…
- Get an ideal job…or
- Launch a business
- Their secret desire is to Feel Successful. I can do this which boost their confidence…So if they want to
- Learn Something…
- Master a skill…or…
- Fix what broken…
Their secret desire is to Feel independent, I can take care of this on my own.
Prospects Buy On Feelings – They buy on feelings and for feelings
Emotions: How does your prospect feel right now? – Point of angst? – How do they want to feel?
- Do they feel Angry?
- Do they feel embarrassed
? D o they feel frustrated? Ho w do they want to feel about their problem or situation? Ho w will they feel when your product or service resolves or alleviates their pain or problem?- What is the core dominate emotion they have right now?
- Are they coming to your website/funnel with Anger, Greed
? Are they coming from a feeling of fear or hope?
Remember Prospects Buy on Their Feelings – They buy on feelings and for feelings
| Greed | Fear | Anger |
| Envy | Embarrassment | Belonging |
| Guilt | Inadequacy | Escape |
| Lust | Foolish | Stupid |
3 Things Your Prospects Need To Believe So They Buy From You…
- 1. What do they need to believe about you in order to buy?
- What do they need to believe about themselves in order to Buy?
- What do they need to believe about your products/service in order to buy
With this information, you are armed with the insights to be able to craft your compelling marketing messages, which talk to the conversation going on in their head
Without understanding who your prospect and competitors & products (which be cover the report) it’s virtually impossible to create effective marketing.
Your message is meant to show how & why your product or service is the best solution to take them from where they are at to right now to where they want to be.
- To bring from how they feel right now to how they want to feel…
- To bring them from the pain they feel now to the relief…
- To bring them through the transformation to the life they want…
Can you see, why, once you have these insights on your customers, your competition & your products?
Your potential customers will feel you know them intimately and will trust you that you’re concerned helping to reach their desired outcome.
As I have already stated: Getting the 3rd° Business Diagnostic Investigation on your business is your starting point & the most important phase because everything else hinges off these insights.
It’s to understand & know who you are talking to! We do this with The 3rd° Business Diagnostic.
Monitoring Your Competition
A lot of business get freaked out by their competition. Relax competition is a healthy sign there’s money to made in this industry.
You always want to see businesses advertising in Google Adwords because this means they’re a market who are willing to buy.
It’s now time to analyse your competitors, so reverse engineer their sales process & find gaps in their marketing…
- What are the top ranked sites in your industry?
- Who are the Top Advertisers?
- What are the top YouTube Channels in your industry?
- What are the top Facebook Pages in your industry?
- What are the top forums? – Find their hot buttons – What debate going on?
- Are your competitors Building their lists? If so, How?
- Do they have Optin/Landing Pages? What are they giving away?
- What Triggers are they using? – Social Proof – Scarcity – Authority – Respirprosoitiy – Persuasion triggers
- What headlines are they using? On their Sales pages, Landing Pages, Videos & Ads
- Are their magazines in your market?
- What imagery are your competitors using
? What ads are competitors using?- What media platforms are they on?
- What value are your competitors giving away for free?
- What are they selling?
- Do they have a backend?
- What’s their buying process like?
- How do they package it? What happens?
- What does your competitor funnel look like?
- What do they say in their follow up emails?
- What Is their Call To Action?
Now we can build a Strategic Marketing funnel which you can spend more to acquire a customer than Your competitors…
Once this research is done, you will have a good idea, how to reach these people…
It’s well known that the person who can articulate the client’s problem, is perceived to know how to solve the problem best.
Articulate someone’s problem better than they can
What might they have tried before that didn’t work?
What are they Afraid of?
What are their potential objections?
Who Is Your Ideal Client?
Sending the right message to the right people is the number one secret in marketing. Get this right and you will dominate your market because you’re tapping into the conversation that’s already going on in your prospects head