Photo by RatRanch

People seldom remember the details of a marketing message the first time they see it. They read your message (see: The First Thing You Say In Marketing…) because something about it appealed to them. How you end the communication determines how they “walk away” from your marketing.

On your website, when someone signs up for your newsletter or completes an order, how do you acknowledge their action? Your website gets many visitors, but few actually communicate with you. How do you thank them for their time and action? If you have a landing page, do you summarize your offer? Do you have a P.S. postscript (many people who scan long web pages simply read headlines, look at graphics, and postscripts).

After you meet someone, do you request their business card or contact information? Do you quickly move along to someone else or do you genuinely thank them for their time? If you promise to follow-up with them, do you?

In your emails, what’s in your signature line? Do you sufficient contact information? You want your email recipients to easily contact you.

In your correspondence, does your last sentence summarize the points in the letter and provide a clear call to action?

In your advertising, is your contact information clearly displayed, the offer concisely described, and the “after-image” of your advertising memorable and tied-in to your company? You want viewers to be able to quickly associate your image and company.

When you answer the phone, do record the gist of important conversations and have a system for following up with callers?

When you leave a message, do you repeat your name, company name, and phone number at the end of the message clearly?

When you give a presentation, do you summarize your main talking points, and give the audience a clear “take-away” to remember your talk by?

People make snap judgments in all their interactions. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, you have two seconds before someone jumps to a conclusion. You have two seconds to state your initial marketing message.

On your website, you have two seconds to convey who your web page is targeting. Make it obvious through the use of headlines, layout, menu names, and graphics your exact message.

When you meet someone, how you dress, where you look, your facial expressions, your tone of voice, and the words you use all quickly tell people about you. Make yourself easy to approach and give each person your full attention.

In your emails, make your subject line both interesting and accurate. Most people look through their email in-boxes first by seeing who sent the mail, and then the subject of the email. If it doesn’t pass their internal filter, the email is often deleted even before it’s read. You don’t want emails from you to be equated to spam.

In your correspondence, make your opening sentence on-target. If your letter doesn’t give me a reason to continue reading, then I’ll quickly toss it, and read my next letter.

In your advertising, the image and headline you choose will either attract or repel the reader’s eye. The image should reflect your copy, headline, and branding. An image that doesn’t jibe with the copy quickly becomes eye candy, and reduces the believability of your message.

When you answer the phone, do people feel welcomed? Do you speak slowly enough to make sure the caller knows if they dialed correctly? Do you clearly say the name of your business?

When you leave a message, do you say your name, company name, and phone number at the start of the message clearly? Do you leave a concise message, containing all the relevant details to avoid telephone-tag?