What do you do to get the attention of people who do not have clue they need to talk to you? They certainly are not going to find you on the Internet because they are not searching for help because they don’t know they need help.
Let’s look at an example. Imagine yourself a plumber.
What if you want to help homeowners catch water leaks before they get mold in their home? You create content relating to plumbing services around mold as a keyword term. Who is going to find you? People who have a mold problem. They are way past preventing a mold problem by getting help from you, the plumber.
There might be a few people looking to prevent mold growth but most searchers for mold information have mold already and are looking to get rid of it. You could create information how to prevent mold in the future, but that is a futile effort at this point. People didn’t know they needed you. Now it is too late. Your content is not relevant to them.
What can our Plumber do? How does our plumber find clients who want to prevent a mold problem in the future?
Our plumber can create content warning about potential mold and how to prevent leaks from perpetuating mold. Moms are always watching out for threats to family. We just have to put out useful information where it will be intercepted and acted upon.
OK,What kinds of issues create issues and emergencies around your profession.
- What are the telltales signs of deferred maintenance?
- What are your precusors for a major problem?
All you have to do is help people understand what can go wrong, help them identify the telltales signs and tell them to go look– and then you offer them some great options.
Next question is how does your information cross paths with busy moms?
There are a variety of ways to propagate such information.
- Social Media is a great way to tell this story. Twittering could direct people back to a compelling content on your website or blog. You can document the cause for acting promptly in video and pictures.
- People will pay attention and share your information. They will retweet. They will share
- You can make an offer for an information pack and identify people interested. A direct response tool here would be very useful for identifying prospects who raise their hand and want the free offer.
- You can create a connection with them, nurturing their interests until they are ready to buy.
- Smart contractors understand snail mail direct response marketing. Again a great offer here could bring immediate interest plus people interested enough to appreciate you sending more information and staying in touch.
- You could write any number of articles and post them on-line.
- You can cultivate relationships with mommy bloggers or whoever you feel you need to know and create a relationship where they are willing to tell your story because you are protecting family or prospects.
- There are many more ways to get the message out here- PR and speech making com instantly to mind but the most important factor is thinking through what you want to do and how to effectively do it.
- Here is a full blown discussion of useful traffic tools. These tools will help you propagate your warning letter/content. Make sure you understand your strategic challenge.
A good warning letter- warning article- gets people up off their couch and looking under their sink, walking around the house or staring up at their roof.
Don’t Miss these Critical Points about Warning Letters.
1. Of course, we do not make things up. We do not exaggerate. There is a brick repair contractor in DFW who gets so dire about wall cracks, you might expect a Raptor to crawl through and surprise you.
Facts and authenticity help people make informed decisions. Go down the slippery path to BS and you will be pegged, you will be outed, you will not be trusted.
The Internet sees all and exposes all– eventually. In fact, smart contractors like you help homeowners cut through the BS to make smart decisions– because when they know what they are doing, they are going to buy substantial value and solid repairs and disdain short cuts and cut corners.
2. Effective Warning Letters take brainstorming and should involve the sales people, technicians, project managers- whoever actually works with homeowners and business owners- sees the stuff that can goes wrong- and understands the signs of stuff going south.
3. And here is an added caveat. You have to present information in a manner impacting their sense of values, their list of concerns. You cannot assume that people know what you know or think like you think.
You have to be patient, explain things well, enumerate what can go wrong and offer help. People respect and trust people watching out for their interests.
How Else Can We Reach People Who Do Not Know they Need Us?
Lets create compelling content around themes that relate to your services.
Say, for instance, HVAC — Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.
People might not think they have an interest in HVAC but what about
- dealing with allergies
- indoor air problems
- issues related to energy savings
- issues around reducing dependence on foreign oil and reducing carbon emissions
The list goes on and can be a significant source of contact with the marketplace.
Whatever service you provide, there are themes around which you can create content and start conversations to help people understand they have an interest in your service.<
How About Mixing Your Services into a Variety of Design Ideas
- Spruce up the Home,
- Spruce up for Spring,
- Special Things to do for Special Occasions…
The list is very long, and newspapers and magazines are particularly adept at this…
Your challenge is to figure out how your product fits into this flow of design ideas and who would be happy to help you add your story, your ideas to the discussion.
This can relate to the Internet, but it could just as easily be articles for PR, blog posts, Twitter messages. You are only limited by your own imaginations.
You can take this whole venture to a whole other level by working with partners, by teaming up to tell a story. Collaboration is a very powerful tool for creating synergy in business development.
Do you think something significant is missing from this story?
What are your thoughts here?
What have you done to market where there was no know need for your services?
Feel free to leave a comment below. If you want to chat about it- call or email.
