Marketing Action Club

Put Your Marketing To The “So What?” Test

For many small business owners, marketing can be a real mystery. You may not know exactly how it works. Perhaps you’re not real sure about what tools work best for your business. And probably because of some past frustrations, you’re confused about where to start.

You at least have a notion of what’s involved in marketing…a web site, Yellow Pages advertising, brochures, direct mailings, networking, seminars, trade shows, etc.

If you’re like most small businesses, you’ve tried one or more of these things at least to some degree. You may have even experienced some successes now and again. But are you able to make it work consistently for your business? If not, what’s going on?

Put your message and materials to the “So What?” test.

Pull out your most frequently used marketing tool (e.g., brochure, Yellow Pages ad, sales letter). Read it out loud and put it to the “So What?” test.

After you read it out loud, is it possible that your target audience could respond with a big… “So What?”… “Why do I care?”… or “What’s in it for me?”

If your message isn’t clearly communicating what problems, issues, and challenges you want to help your audience solve and what outcomes you want to deliver for them, then a “So What?” response is exactly what you might expect.

Messages and materials that are too much about YOU are likely to fail the “So What?” test. Remember that your target audience wants to know what’s in it for them.

Look out for overuse of these things in your marketing tools:

• Too much about the history of your company
• Endless lists and text about services you offer and why you’re so qualified to provide these services
• Unconvincing verbiage about how you provide fast, friendly, courteous service.

Challenge all of your current marketing materials. Remember, it’s the intended audience that counts. What’s in it for them? Why should they care?

Here is a simple example of applying a “So What?” test. Grab the last marketing or sales letter you wrote. Mark an X every time it mentions your name, your company, or the words “I” or “me.” Mark an O for every time it mentions the prospect’s name, company, or the words “you” or “your.” If the X’s outnumber the O’s, it’s probably a “So What?” letter because there is more focus on you than on the prospect.

If your marketing is consistently generating all the high-quality leads you can handle, then you don’t need to change it. But if not, you owe it to yourself to challenge your current marketing tools by putting them to the “So What?” test.

Additional considerations for putting your marketing to the “So What” test:

• Challenge all of your marketing tools that aren’t contributing to consistently generate leads for your business. Could you improve the message and get a higher return? Put it to the “So What?” test.
• Try gathering up a group of people you can trust to give you very honest feedback. You’re not just looking for proof readers, but individuals who will give you honest feedback on whether your materials pass the “So What?” test.
• Be prepared for some negative feedback. But more importantly you should be prepared to do something about it.Don’t just accept opinions, but try to get down to realistic response. For example: “I think you have too many words on this page.” (opinion) versus “I’m not clear on what you’re trying to tell me in this part.” (response)
• Remember that it is the target audience that counts. If it’s not clear who the message is intended for when it’s received, then how can it pass the “So What?” test.

Are You Ready to TAKE ACTION to Get Greater Marketing Results?
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(home page thumbnail image by: Daikrieg)