Your Direct Marketing Testing Checklist

In my last post, I discussed why you should test your marketing materials and how you shouldn’t presume to know what your market wants - you should let them tell you. In this post, I’ll talk about the many parts of your ad you can test to improve response rates.

1. Your headlines or opening phrases - For ads and mailings, your headline is the predominant phrase that should capture your prospect’s attention and get them to keep reading. In essence, it’s the ad for your ad. But headlines aren’t limited to ads and mailings. You can also think of them as what you say first to prospects when you call them. How you greet prospects when they enter your office. The first thing you say in your radio or tv ads. Your headline should focus on the benefit your prospects will receive if they continue to read your ad. It should be tangible and focused on results rather than cute, abstract, or humorous.
2. Your USP or benefits - If you’ve crafted a unique selling proposition (USP), test it in your ads to see how effective it is. Keep your ad copy focused on benefits not features and explain why they should listen to you, request your free report, hire you to sell their home, etc. Think of your ad as salesmanship in print. You must make an offer, make a case for why they want or need whatever you are offering, and give them a way to easily respond to your offer.
3. Packaging - I talked previously about how you “package” your services. In real estate, packaging is everything from your visual identity to the way you dress and speak to how you describe your services. If you say you are a “full service” real estate agent, what does that mean? Explain the value and benefits of “full service”. How can you explain what a “satisfied client” looks like? What should they expect when they hire you?
4. Risk reversal - Most people hate being pitched to - but they love to buy if (and this is a big if) - you show them exactly how you can help them solve their problem quickly, easily and relatively painlessly. Sellers want to sell their home in the quickest amount of time possible for the most money and the least amount of pain. Buyers want to buy a home that meets their objectives for the best deal with the least amount of pain. In both cases, they are putting a lot of financial and emotional risk on the table. They trust you - someone they don’t know - to lead them through one of the biggest decisions they’ll make in their lives. How can you show them that you’ll deliver on what you say you will? How can you take on some of the risk for them?

Everything that you use to market yourself can be tested, measured, and improved. As you learn the art of testing, you will gain a better understanding of your prospects. You’ll start to see what works and what doesn’t - and you’ll be able to apply the principles that work in everything you do.