Better is not better. Different is better. At least, it is when it comes to your marketing.
If you believe in your business, in your products and services, then it’s your responsibility to market them properly. You need to make sure that your message makes it to your customers. It’s not enough to hope somebody stops by your store and decides to come inside. You need to make people stop and take notice. You need to demonstrate to them that you have exactly what they need.
This brings us to the D.A.D. framework. Created by Mike Michalowicz, D.A.D. stands for Differentiate, Attract, and Direct. Michalowicz developed the D.A.D. framework to teach business owners how to make their products and services seen.
Step One: Differentiate
As a business owner, you need to remember that everyone is bombarded with information throughout their day. It’s constant. When the average person is looking at an ad, their brain will take only a fraction of a second to decide whether or not to filter it out.
So what can you do to attract attention?
Study what your competitors are doing with their marketing. How can you make your own materials stand out? If those other materials are following a certain pattern, how can you break the pattern?
Really think about that fraction of a second, that tiny amount of time you have to convince someone to pay attention to your marketing. Then, think about what will instantly differentiate your marketing materials from everyone else’s.
Step Two: Attract
The human brain is built to filter out information that it judges is irrelevant. People will pay attention to something they think will help them, something that will improve their lives. So if you’re looking to get people to pay attention to your marketing, you need to make sure that it stands out from what everyone else is doing and you need to make sure that it gives people information that is relevant to them.
Think about your ideal customer. What makes them ideal? What products and services do you offer to them that they can’t get from your competitors?
Some people think they need to market to a broad audience. They want to get everyone and anyone to know about them. But that’s not actually an effective marketing strategy.Identify the typical profile of your top customer, and focus your marketing materials on attracting them, specifically.
Step Three: Direct
The third step is a call to action. You’ve differentiated yourself from your competitors, you’ve attracted your ideal customer, but what do you want them to do next?
Keep your call to action simple and straightforward. Maybe you want to offer a coupon for a specific product or amount spent. Maybe you have a new service and there’s a phone number they can call to hear more. Maybe you want them to sign up for your newsletter, and there’s a website they can go to for that.
Whatever it is, you want to make it simple and easy. After all, the whole point of identifying that ideal customer and getting their attention is to actually make them a paying customer. So, get them to take that action and buy into your business.
Streamline Your Marketing
Remember to keep those three components, Differentiate Attract and Direct, in mind for your marketing strategy. Focus on those three steps, and you’ll be able to create clear and effective marketing materials for your business.
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