The 10 Cornerstone Principles of Marketing
By Catherine Franz
There are four parts to a marketing system and they rest on ten cornerstones.
Marketing results are only as powerful as your marketing systems. To build your marketing system you need to be able to do four things:
- attract
- convert
- leverage … and
- retain
With these four accomplishments and the practice of the 10 Cornerstone Principles of Marketing, success will come.
Here are 10 Cornerstone Principles to Marketing Success
1. The Principle of Packaging.
The way you package your product or service is a deal breaker. If you sell a product, it has everything to do with the packaging, the colors, the box, the container — everything. If you sell a service and offer just one service, there still needs to be packaging. Just a different time. Packaging for a service provider resides in their offer. If you offer one solution which most independent professionals do, like an hourly or day rate, then you don’t have a package. A package is a combination of items that create an offer that support the client in accomplishing their goal.
2. The Principle of Differentiation.
You want to be the red crayon in the box of white crayons. You must know how you are different from your competitors and you must be able to convey that in all your messages in a way that your prospects pick it up simply. If you think you don’t have any competitors, you do. If you know you are different and don’t convey it, you lose. You must leverage your differences.
3. The Principle of Repeat Business.
One-time buying is short-term revenue and requires ten times more work to find new clients. Keeping multiple, a lifelong paying client is your objective. If you offer a one-time event, you do not have a marketing process — you have a single sale. A marketing process sells to clients over and over again.
4. The Principle of Frequency.
The number two reason businesses fail is because they don’t stay in touch with previous clients. Frequency builds trust and trust is a requirement for a sale.
5. The Principle of Multiple Streams.
Having many ways for people to buy from you always provides the desired revenue results. This requires a combination of active sales (where you participate) and passive sales (that sells without your presence).
6. The Principle of Reciprocity.
This principle, also considered an exchange, is about relationships and networks. If you want to be alone, then your battle is gong to be long, hard, and it will fail. Build your vendor team, your Research & Development team, your administrative team, your strategic alliances, your bartering team, and your attraction will multiple. This works on the principle: ‘you
scratch my back and I will scratch yours.’ It is not just about relationships, it is about the value of those relationships.
7. The Principle of Likeability.
If people don’t know you, how can they like you? They need to like you before they will trust you and they must trust you before they buy from you.
8. The Principle of Communication.
This is the most valuable asset you have. Communication is like your bank account: when you communicate correctly, you have a deposit, when you fail to communicate you will have a withdrawal. If, on balance they get ‘insufficient funds,’ that client is gone. Always ask, ‘Am I providing value that creates a deposit?’
9. The Principle of Perception.
Your client’s perception creates the sale. So many business owners think their service or product is absolutely great and they cannot understand why it is not selling. It is because they developed their product or service according to their perceptions and not their prospects’ needs. Perception begins with what your employees think of their job, so start with their job responsibilities and titles. If your receptionist is the main point of contact for your company, change her perception of her position and your client’s impression will alter. Call her the ‘Director of First Impressions.’
10. The Principle of Emotion.
Eighty-five percent of the buying decision is made from emotions and then justified with logic. This means you must first connect with their emotions and then give them the logic to justify what they bought. You cannot do one without the other.
The 10 Cornerstone Principles of Marketing
1. Know what you have to say
Sounds fundamental, but many ads try and say too much. Stop and consider “what’s in it for me?” from your customer’s point of view. List your customer’s benefits in order of importance, that is, reasons to buy your product or service. And focus on benefits rather than features e.g. the type of springs in your new bed are a feature - a better night’s sleep is the benefit.
2. Know who you are talking to
Define your target market. Who is the prime target audience? This will help you choose the appropriate media for your message, based on the type of media that your prospect is likely to be attracted to. It may also help in developing the right tone of message. e.g. If you’re targeting teenagers, talk in their type of language, use young, contemporary graphics, etc.
3. Focus on one key benefit
Great ads usually make one point strongly. If your product or service has one key benefit worth promoting, it follows that this will be the key to clinching the sale. Resist the urge to get every benefit into the headline - it may be too much for your reader to digest.
4. A strong headline makes a strong ad
David Ogilvy, advertising guru and founder of ad agency Ogilvy & Mather, claimed that the headline is 80% of an ad’s effectiveness, or worth 80c of your advertising dollar. If your strongest selling proposition is not communicated in your headline, the ad may fail to get your cash register ringing!
5. Exaggerate to make a point
Good ads often use exaggeration to get the message across, going “over the top” to make the point more strongly. A famous ad for Rolls Royce ran the headline - “At 100 mph the only sound you can hear is the electric clock”. More effective than saying the car had a quiet engine!
6. Short copy is more likely to be read
The text of your ad should elaborate on the headline proposition, and feature other benefits or information that may help to make the sale. Be brief and concise, and avoid screeds of copy when a ‘telegram’ would do. Remember, some ads are expected only to solicit enquiry, rather than sell ‘off the page’. More detailed information about your product/service may then be needed as a follow-up to the enquiry eg. A brochure or website can tell the full sales story.
7. Make a clear ‘call to action’
Good ads always ask for the order. This may be as simple as telling the reader where the product is available, asking for telephone response or filling out a coupon. Retail ads should include store hours and clear location details.
8. Include strong branding
Be sure your ad is clearly identified with your product or company logo. It’ s amazing how many designers hide the advertiser’s logo small at the bottom of the ad. And if you don’t have a logo, set your company name in bold so it ’s clearly visible.
9. Seek professional help
Writing and designing a good ad is not a simple task. Finding the ‘big idea’ is not always easy for the trained pro, let alone a novice. But you need more than just a ‘Mac’ designer. The best designer in the world won’t help a lousy idea - or poor copy.
10. Advertising is not a cost, it’s an investment
When you book the media space you’re committing funds to promote your product/service. Successful marketers know that a quality ad is also needed to produce the best returns on your investment.
