Video Marketing Success For Small Business Owners

Being referred by some as the “newest marketing revolution”, video marketing is definitely gaining a lot of popular audience. So what is it that sets video marketing apart from other marketing paradigms? What are the main benefits of using video marketing over other conventional and well known ways of marketing? In this write up, we try and explore the answers to these commonly asked questions and try to evaluate and analyze the essence of video marketing in general.

First and foremost, video is one of the most interactive ways of interfacing with your prospect. The whole feeling of watching someone live and talking gives the clients a more reassuring effect and thus, it bolsters your brand image in the minds of the client. As the common phrase goes, people these days tend to believe what they see and video therefore, happens to be one of the best mediums to stamp your point across to your prospects with authority. The simplest way to picture this concept is by putting yourself in their shoes. Imagine you are reading about a product, lets assume that product is a used car. Now, if the same car is being listed by another dealer, who is willing to send you a video of the vehicle, it is eminent that you would favor buying the vehicle from the dealer who is willing to share some videos, photographs and other media with you.

This is as simple as saying, you just don’t trust anyone owning a blog and claiming to sell a product, claiming to be effective, until and unless you see the product and its claims right in front of your eyes.

Another reason as to why video has gained considerable popularity amongst marketers is because it gives the marketers more space to test their creative juices. What I mean by saying that is, that it is not possible for all marketers to pen their thoughts down and some campaigns do require video demonstrations. Therefore, those marketers who find it difficult to jot their ideas across on a text pad and paste it on their websites, find it easier and better to use video marketing to put their points across to their prospects in a cleaner, more interactive and youthful way.

Besides, thinking from a prospects point of view, which medium would you like   to be detailed through? Interactive, moving pictures depicting a story, or boring mundane lumps of text written in stereotypical language, describing a product that is not actually present there for you to review? Think about it, I am sure you would be prompted to move onto video marketing to strike that special chord with your clients.

Mike Saunders provides Small Business Marketing Ideas and coaches clients in his firm Marketing Huddle LLC and also is a Marketing Consultant with the Denver Small Business Development Center (SBDC). By visiting http://www.MarketingHuddle.com you can get his 2-hour Marketing Coaching System FREE and view the “interview with Mike” to learn more about his unique approach to marketing tools and systems.

What We Do At Ontario Video Production

1. We don’t do weddings or dance recitals. We focus primarily on Sales Videos, Marketing Videos, Internet Sales Videos, Travel Videos, and Training Videos. We’ve increases sales 1000% in 6 months with internet. 230% in 9 months with ONE single tactic out of our menu of 387+ marketing tactics. Our clients are governments, corporations, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. We use videos at various stages of the sales cycle … from company positioning, to needs assessment, to demonstrate corporate capabilities, and to train staff and affiliates with “best practices” videos.

2. In internet selling, videos have become a hugely important tool for conversion. Here’s why videos make sense: The whole purpose of a website is to STOP SEARCH. To arrest the interest of both the serious and casual visitor. To tell him within few seconds: “Hey, I’ve got what you are looking for, here’s how it works, and here’s how you can get it”. It’s that simple.

The Conversion Miracle: The typical retail site conversion is 2.6% (source Internet Retailer). Now, if using videos on you site (remember 5 out of 6 people would rather watch than read) you up your conversion to 5.2% … you have just DOUBLED YOUR SALES. Conversion of 5.2% is not that far fetched … many top-ranking corporate sites convert in the 20%-24% range.

3. Videos are powerful tools in critical differentiation … you see, there are really no competitors, just failures to differentiate.

The average human can handle a short list of 6 items (it’s not an infinite universe of competitors — 6 maybe fewer!). When he works through the purchase-decision matrix of comparing suppliers, capabilities, designs, prices, features, benefits, warranties, after-sale support … he edges to the supplier he feels emotionally and rationally as the best fit for his needs. (Million-dollar tip:) If you are able to differentiate your offering in such a way that direct comparisons are impossible, and you overwhelmingly demonstrate through emotional/rational video why they should a) buy from you,  b) buy from you now, you get the sale; you win over your competitors.

4. Being family guys with kids ourselves, we are keenly interested in setting up automated sales funnels for you. Here’s why: running a small-/medium-sized business is fun only when you don’t have to be duct-taped to it 24-7.

You gotta be able to spend time on vacations, family, traveling … while the business runs itself or is managed by other people while you are taking time off. You gotta set up systems … you cannot trade time for money for the rest of your life.

Want to talk more … call John at 1-800-535-4999

See also our related sites:

InternetSalesAgency.com

MassiveMarketingPackage.com

SalesAgent-1-800-535-4999.com

The24HourSalesman.com

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Critical Differentiation Using Videos

Your prospect is looking at two proposals – one from you and one from your biggest competitor. With minor differences, the proposals look about the same. What’s going to get the prospect to pick you over your competition? In other words, what’s your tiebreaker? In Becoming a Category of One (Wiley, 2009), Joe Calloway writes in the second edition of his best-selling book: “Relentless, attention-getting, differentiating consistency of performance. This can be your ultimate tiebreaker … do what you do, extremely well, every single time, with every customer,” writes Calloway.

Calloway tells the story of a plumbing company that decided to own being on time. The company staked its brand on this one customer expectation. Its advertising “hammers you over the head with this one focused, precise differentiator,” says Calloway. Sure, it’s a basic customer service, but in an age when people are more pressed for time than ever and waiting hours for a repairman has become a national joke, punctuality is a huge differentiator – and the company’s revenues show it.

Now, how do you think is the best way to communicate this to hundred prospects at a time … across time zones, across borders, even across language barriers.

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A professionally made corporate video can greatly enhance your company profile and can be used in a variety of applications. Listed below are a number of the most common uses for corporate video.

Promotional Video Production

A promotional video is a dynamic, fast moving commercial, often with a musical accompaniment, and can be used to promote any of the services or products that your company has to offer.

Promotional videos are used for a variety of purposes. They can be used to engage the audience at the introduction to a multimedia sales presentation, conference, or training seminar and are also very often used running on a loop on exhibition stands and in company reception areas. These promotional videos can also be incorporated into CD ROMs and DVDs as an introductory piece.

Promotional videos can be highly effective and powerful at communicating your company’s strengths in a dynamic and exciting way. The same video promo can also be used for a variety of applications, thus reducing filming expenses.

Executive Broadcast Video Production

One of the biggest problems facing directors of large multi-national companies or plc’s is attempting to communicate on a personal level with their immense and geographically diverse audiences. Executive broadcast corporate videos enable the senior member, or members, of a company to dedicate a couple of hours of their time to being interviewed, and tackling any major questions or issues which may have come to light. By using a corporate video, they save themselves the huge cost, and time, of travelling from place to place attending conferences in order to achieve the same result.

An Executive Broadcast can be used for a multitude of corporate and training video applications, from welcoming new employees to a company, to communicating new management strategies or simply sharing your vision of the companies’ future with your staff. Corporate video production can provide the ideal means of explaining your businesses core values to the customers, and can even be the perfect medium for communicating price sensitive announcements to city institutions and the press etc. There are many other uses for executive broadcasts and video production companies will work with your business to create tailor made executive broadcasts to suit your company.

Customer Testimonial Video Production

Customer testimonial videos are recorded interviews where a customer is asked to give their feelings on a product or on a company’s service. Customer testimonial video production is becoming increasingly essential in the current business climate. Customers often like to hear the opinions of their fellow consumers, and customer testimonial corporate videos can be the ideal way to communicate this information.

Customer testimonial corporate video can be in the form of short clips of customers describing their reaction to a product or company, or maybe longer interviews of customers dealing with specific or more in depth viewpoints.

Customer testimonial video production can be used for a variety of purposes, from forming part of a video promotion, as an endorsement on exhibition stands, as part of a general sales presentation, or even to be used on an e-business card, and then given out at events, exhibitions, meetings etc. Customer testimonial videos can even be useful when assessing one’s own business, as they can be used to create video case studies of customers, and thereby assess the product from the customer’s side.

Conference and exhibition Video Production

Conference and exhibition video production can take the form of entire programmes of their own, or just as short clips to be incorporated into another, longer corporate videos that report on conferences or exhibitions that companies have held.

When a company has a large event, or exhibition, it is not always possible for all the people who need to attend to be there, but with so many issues being discussed and products being demonstrated, with conference and exhibition videos, these events can reach a much broader audience. The relaxed environment at these type of events, enable a much more laid back attitude to come across from the people being interviewed, and it is easier to get an honest opinion, something which can never be undervalued in any business.

Once filmed, conference and exhibition videos can either be put onto DVD for video presentations, or distributed on CD-ROM, through the internet or via your company’s intranet.

Once an event has been filmed, it can be put to a variety of applications, from the obvious use of providing a record of the event for all who were unable to attend, to taking simple sound bites of interviews for incorporation into sales and marketing presentations. Conference and exhibition corporate videos also provide a great opportunity to capture presentations from guest speakers that the people who couldn’t make it to the event would miss out on. A good corporate video production will reflect the atmosphere at the event, and can be an excellent way to encourage staff and/or customers to come to these events in the future.

Video Production for Tourism

The medium of video is unequalled in promoting the full tourist experience to potential visitors, with video production being an ideal way of marketing the amenities, attractions, and individuality of a city or tourist destination on an individual, local or even international level.

In the form of a CD ROM or DVD, the potential scope for video production for tourism is immense. A video will allow viewers to interactively explore a given destination, take a virtual tour around a hotel or enjoy a guided trip around a city with a well known presenter.

Most reputable video production companies will offer to create a tourism video, DVD or CD ROM as part of a larger marketing package, creating eye-catching packaging and inserts to complement the promotional program.

The 24-Hour Salesman: Sell worldwide, across borders, across timezones

The 24 Hour Salesman will … harvest leads 24 hours a day 365 days a year … and immediately respond to prospects who are looking for your products, pre-qualify your leads,deflate common objections on the spot, differentiate your products, tell the company story to millions, expedite your sales cycle, open up new markets across North America or the world, speak any language of the internet, sell every single day of the year without as much as a coffee break — a Salesman that knows no office politics; instead, helps andsupports everyone on your marketing team…

A local manufacturer increased sales 1000% in 6 months. Instead of the small local market, they now sell to 300 million people across North America. They now sell more in a single day than they sold in a week before. A little bit of magic and a whole lot of mathematics. The staggering size of the internet market can change your business in a few months. Not only is it possible, it’s being done every day.

Five ways to Increase Sales:

1. Increase the number of customers—consider ‘Webworking’ Go from local to regional to continental to global. One small manufacturer sold to consumers in a local market of about 4 million people mainly through newspaper ads, trade shows, and referrals. Then we created a 24-hour Salesman and placed them in top positions on Google, Yahoo and MSN in both organic and PPC rankings.

2. Increase the average ticket of your sale Tips: Build more value and raise your prices. Cross-sell, upsell, and develop a range of back-ends. Create irresistible product bundles. Offer related items at check-out stage. Use “Customers also bought …” on product pages. All are proven methods to increase your average ticket.

3. Increase the frequency of buying Frequent buyer benefits. Purchase points. We’ve had tremendous success with intelligent communication, by never underestimating the intelligence of 07/18/2006 10:21 AMSales Video Production the buyer, by skipping the usual transparent ad-talk that irritates and gets filtered out. Instead, we focus on providing information, educating, and teaching customers in a fun way.

4. Power Growth through Acquisitions (franchising, multi-units) The most potent way to grow fast — the billionaire strategy — is through acquisitions, franchising, replicated storefronts or web sites. There is no faster way to grow than through acquisition of smaller (or larger) companies — just read the billionaire profiles on Forbes. It’s the size of the game you play that makes a huge difference.

5. Growth through affiliate sales. Create a network of resellers that get a commission on each sale they make. Ideally, you only make a payment to them when they make a sale.

Videos As Remote Selling Tools

Video As Remote Selling Tools.

Use videos as remote selling tools—globally 24/7/365. Using video with telephone sales, you can sell Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas within hours without airport security checks.

You can direct the client to watch the introductory video, then go to Problem Questions and Implication Questions on the phone. You’ve already dissolved a number of objections, and you can close faster. Save on travel. Why travel when you can use technology to get up-front and personal.

Create a series of videos, chats, emails that bring the prospect as near the decision as possible — without being there. No travel, no hotels, no wasted time on the road. Use the 20/80 Pareto rule and eliminate the prospects who are still hunting for the dodo bird. Work with progressive, up-to-date technology people (chances are they’re your best 20% anyway).

Support newbies. Every year, one third of the sales force is new sales people. But even a newbie can get way more effective with the proper support tools. Give them some good tools and then work on the finer points of selling. Maybe they too learn to love selling.

The $97 Power-product: DVD+booklet

You could take any book, create a DVD and short booklet out of it. Selling this $97 product could earn fabulous amounts of money … $300,000 … $700,000 … quite easily, plus there are two more steps to this four-product formula.

Selling books is tough. 95% of the books out there sell fewer than 100 copies. Can’t get rich selling books as many authors have discovered.

Convert that book into a $97 Power Product — a DVD with a booklet that fits into the case.

What could you package into a DVD and Booklet? Here’s your motivation to think about it … FatLoss4Idiots made $21 million as a ClickBank product. Again, what knowledge, wisdom, know-how could you put into a DVD and booklet format …?

We help you produce and market it. 1-800-535-4999 Online affiliate products: Affiliate marketing is very, very hot these days. And here’s why: selling other people’s products you don’t need a web site, no inventory, no shipping, no search engine optimization … you can simply direct link from Yahoo and MSN (and Google if they like the landing page) with a few pennies and reap rewards like you never dreamed.

Make Once Sell Thousands (M.O.S.T.) products where you turn your expertise to cash. Last year, Fatloss4idiots sold $21 million through ClickBank affiliates, and there are literally 1000′s of open niches where you can create a video + booklet product and sell to the 1.6 billion people out there.

IMPORTANT: Once you have a physical product, you can sell it on eBay, too. eBay no longer allows downloadable info products. But no worries, a physical product you can sell a higher price than a bunch of PDFs and there are a lot of poeple who really want something they can hold in their hands and put into their DVD player or computer. To learn more creative uses for video in your sales, drop everything and call John 1-800-535-4999 to get the ball rolling. Idea is like a pin, don’t sit on it.

Video Press Releases

For quick product announcements, you can’t beat simple video press releases. Cheap, powerful way to spread your message.

Video Press Releases: These are short video announcements that can go on local television news, and all over the internet, YouTube and 50+ other video sites.

IMPORTANT: Once you have a physical product, you can sell it on eBay, too. eBay no longer allows downloadable info products. But no worries, a physical product you can sell a higher price than a bunch of PDFs and there are a lot of poeple who really want something they can hold in their hands and put into their DVD player or computer.

Online Catalogs Now Created with Show-n-Tell Video

Online catalogues with embedded product videos can increase your conversions.

Some products are simply easier to market with show and tell video that shows the product in use. It’s a no brainer.” — online catalogs — no distribution cost — online catalogs — no printing and bindery cost — online catalogs — add video to show product in use — online catalogs — add audio narration and product sounds.

Here are some generic principles of catalogue design. Before you start using a catalog for your business or even just adding them to display your product line, there are a couple of things to consider when preparing for this adoption. The adoption of print catalogs can be hindering and seem overwhelming without a clear and concise plan.

However, this article presents a process outlined to ensure a smooth design. Must Have Some Sense of Style A strong purpose and style that has already been prearranged and sought through ensures easier implementations of detailed decisions. In addition, this step involves deciding the size, whether or not to include a table of contents or index, and quantity.

When choosing the right style, the audience must be acknowledged so that each design element can be catered to their interests. Second, the print catalog must be clear with your branding and image. Consumers should be able to distinguish your offering and your business just by looking at your magazine. Hire Some Designers If you are less experienced, utilize professional designers who are skilled in catalog design.

Provide detailed notes on your style so that the hired designers can create the desired look of your print catalog. Communicate with the design team ahead of time to increase your chances of hitting the deadline on time. This print catalog designing process could take several months from designing to printing to mailing.

Information Overload Organize your product offering into similar categories adding titles of items, pricing, numbers, and short descriptions for the design team to create a clear layout. Adding descriptive text is also an option if your products require more detail. Prop Image Provide quality images of the products. Do not try to cut cost by grouping products in photos. It’s proven that individual photographs sell items better. Keep in mind some items are more appealing if shot in scenery or/and with models. At times, try to consider using no background with a soft shadow inventory images.

Catalog Printing Find a reliable online catalog printing company that can offer high quality for a bargain. Before ordering, be sure they can print out your certain style of catalog. Take advantage of their customer support and ask about their catalog printing process to have a better understanding of their offering. The main point here is in order to improve the catalog production process, you have to simply sit and focus writing out a strategic plan. Preparation will help you improve communication with everyone involved, which in the end will help you meet your deadline.

This article is written by Semie Lee and brought to you by PrintingCenterUSA.com, a Professional Printing Company. They specialize in brochure printing, calendar printing, catalog printing, and much more. Visit them online at printingcenterusa.com for more information about their online printing service and custom printing solutions. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Semie_Lee To learn more creative uses for video in your sales, drop everything and call John 1-800-535-4999 to get the ball rolling. Idea is like a pin, don’t sit on it.

IMPORTANT: First Ask These Video-Marketing Questions Before You Do Anything!

In Real-Life 101 we learned that only a super-small percentage of products rise to the hotcake status of “they sell themselves” — the top 1% of products (probably more like 1 out of 1,000,000 products) become the fads (Elmo, Crazy Wall-Walkers), the cool stuff (iPods, Wii, Blackberry, iPhone) that everyone MUST have. The rest need work: 99.9% of products and services have to be marketed when there is no organic demand for them.

4 Un-Reasons for Marketing:

1) Product is unknown, new to the market, or needs to be re-positioned. This is a task of increasing awareness (and differentiating) through hundreds of tactics like press releases, publicity, advertising, casehistories, CNN, Oprah spot, even Twitter links. Remember this: To attract the mice, you gotta make noises like cheese.

2) Product is undifferentiated. The affluent markets are inundated with all sorts of products …do we really need 437 mp3 players? Or 20,000 brands of beer? Probably not. But marketing comes into play when there isn’t enough demand because buyers cannot tell your products apart from the many competitors. This is a task of educating the buyers to understand the differences between products and why these differences are important. Marketers throw around concepts like USP uniques selling proposition, PBTs personal buying triggers, tested selling sentences, and Ries and Trout concept of ‘positioning’. Remember this: Failure to market is largely a failure to stand out in the mind of the buyer.

3) Product is unremarkable. Design is ho-hum. People who run the business are burned-out. Product quality isn’t quite there. Corners were cut in manufacturing and raw materials; it might be the Chinese bargain, cheap but … you get the idea. If your service is ho-hum, there are very specific steps you can take to improve the perceived quality in the market place. Remember this: Yes, glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

4) Product is unsupported by the market for these reasons: Not enough buyers, Not enough money, Not enough interest. Common problem is that the market you are talking to is just too small in size to give you the number of sales you need. They may be small in money and cannot afford the product (selling Mercedes 500 SL cars in rural Uganda). Remember this: Find a parade and march in front of it. Go where the fish swim.

Ask These Questions

What is the overall communication objective of your marketing — is it to increase awareness, to differentiate, or to improve the perception in the marketplace? Action Step: Write one sentence: What communication OBJECTIVE is the most valuable to your clients and you right now, which singular message do you need to bring into the minds of prospects? What message are you going to yell out standing on a soap box in Central Park? What would impress your prospects?

DON’T USE UNHEARABLES … words and concepts that you’ve heard a million times before. It has to be FRESH, innovative, provocative, and action-stirring. What specific ACTION do we want them to take after they have viewed the presentation? Realit is there is no money if they don’t take the action. Aim all your communication to that first step: Mr. Prospect Take This Action Now.

SHORT-TERM: What do you want them to do in the next 60 seconds after they have viewed the presentation? For example, do they call, fill out a form, place an order, arrange an interview, explore the web site, etc. What action do they need to take at the end of the presentation?

LONG-TERM: What do you want them to REMEMBER 12 months from now? We humans see great commercials and have no idea what the product was. We listen to seminars and forget most of it within 24 hours. Now, what ONE concept, idea, slogan do we want them to remember for the rest of their lives?

Some action slogans seem to stay with us forever: How do you spell RELIEF? R-O-L-A-I-D-S (This campaign slogan was so powerful that one half of the southern school kids spelled relief … you guessed it … R-O-L-A-I-D-S).

Who is this campaign for — dealers, distributors, staff, prospects, existing clients — what is their familiarity with the company and the products? If known, what are the target audience psychographics (lifestyle, attitudes, religion, politics), demographics (age, sex, income, geographical factors), and ethnographics (race, ethnic background, etc.)?

Hoover vacuum salesmen worked with typical persona of a buyer. I forget what Mr. and Mrs. Consumer were called, but it might help to apply the Pareto rule and see which 20% of your customers are giving you 80% of your business.

Problem-Agitation-Solution (PAS) Model of Selling: We like to work with the PAS model of selling because of its beauty of simplicity: Three components: Problem that your service or product solves, emotional Agitation of that problem to the degree where the prospect realizes that change is absolutely necessary, and the Solution you offer.

What is the PROBLEM you solve? How does the problem manifest in their lives? How does this problem show up in their daily lives? Is the problem large enough to justify action? How much does this problem cost in terms of lost revenue, lost speed, lost productivity?

What is the Agitation we can provide? The majority of sales fail because the buy-now solution is introduced too early. Presenting a solution before the buyer is emotionally engaged, before he is ready to buy, will result in low conversions. We need to drive the motivation-to-buy deeper, ideally to the level of emotion that purchase is the only logical (and emotional) solution. How can we make his problem worse, how can we introduce ideas that lead HIM to believe that he needs to make a change?

THE MOST CRUCIAL STEP: What is the Solution’s Unique Selling Positioning (USP)? Compare yourself to your competitors. What does your company provide that is truly UNIQUE (no competitor offers it), that is important to SELLING (a differentiator important enough to make or break the sale) and can take the top-of-mind POSITION in the decision matrix of the buyer. 99% of purchase decisions are made with a fewer than six variables; often one single differentiator makes the sale (and becomes a “tested selling concept”). We need to enter into the buyer’s mind and eliminate all other alternatives (“kill” competitors) and to direct the buyer’s attention and interest to your company’s unique solutions. What are the hard differentiators (objectively measurable: price, size, weight, speed, compatibility) and soft differentiators (matters of judgement: quality, responsiveness, standards of service). What is truly unique about you? What makes the sale? What factoid can rise to the top-of-mind?

What are the 3 reasons why prospect should buy this product / service?

What are the 3 reasons why prospect should buy this from you rather than competitors?

What are the 3 reasons why prospect should buy now?

Selling by education (you educate the customer to the important features and benefits of your products; e.g., via newsletter, white paper, online video, DVD) has incredible ROI (one manufacturer got $81 in sales for every $1 spent). What can you teach? What is the insider’s angle? You and your staff probably know more about the product, its application, and its performance than 99.99% of the population ever will. What can you teach the audience?

What can you tell him that makes his eyes light up? What makes him say, “Wow, I didn’t know that”? What can you tell them that makes a huge difference? How can you educate them? What is the “insider’s angle”? What “secret” knowledge will surprise them? One maxim that applies here is: “Be Interesting or Be Invisible”.

Tested Selling Sentences. Many companies have script books—specific words and sentences that sell. What are the buying triggers, what are the concepts, ideas, words that “click” in the mind of the buyer? These are often mental concepts that bring a near-close prospect to a close and a purchase decision. What is your ultimate closing statement?

What 6 specific irrefutable facts can you say and get him to agree with you without hesitation? What are the 6 minor “yesses”. As we build the ‘framework’ for a sale, we want the prospect to engage emotionally and agree with us before we attempt bring him into a close. In your industry / product line what are the minor yesses he cannot disagree with? Use industry metalanguage or industry lingo if possible. Example: High-altitude towing is harder on the engine because of thinner air. Thin-air power loss can be as much as 30%. An RV-trailer tow vehicle with that extra 70 horsepower can handle high-altitude Kentucky hills better.

Your vision of the presentation: What absolutely needs to be shown and explained in the presentation? Describe what you see happening in your mind’s eye — from start to finish.

Your additional comments: Here you can talk about TakeAwayClose, what will the prospect lose if he does not make a decision now, timed offers; CalamityClose—what if he does not buy and calamity strikes, what are the costs of indecision; HitstheFanClose — what are the costs of litigation if company set up done poorly (esp. franchises, ventures, stock promotion, offshore deals).

Search terms: What are the typical search engine terms your target audience might use to seek your type of services or products? Think of as many words and phrases as you can. Trade journals, magazines, portal web sites: What does the industry read? What are the industry forums?

Name and Describe your major competitors: Who are they? Web site URLs? What are their estimated sales volumes, market shares? Are they private or public companies? Do they publish annual reports? Where can we gather competitive intelligence on them, e.g., trade journal article?

Post-sale cognitive dissonance: Research shows that car buyers actually read MORE car brochures AFTER they bought their car than before. Once a sale is consummated, the buyer often enters a cognitive dissonance phase—Did I make the right decision? What communication can we make available to him immediately after the sale to abate the discomfort of decision making. What can we communicate to him that tells 1. He made the right decision, 2. His decision is perfectly timed, 3. There are thousands of other people who made the same decision and happy with their decision.

Opinion Leaders, word-of-mouth, affiliates, partnerships: When a buyer is happy with the outcome of the sale, has moved past the cognitive dissonance phase, he can often become your best salesman as an Opinion Leader — especially important in group settings, regional sales, vertical industry sales. Opinion Leaders influence and shape the attitudes of their peers. He can become a powerful testimonial by word of mouth, an affiliate, as an influencer. The higher his “source credibility” is the more powerful his influence—cf., Insider tutoring on Manhattan real-estate transactions: Donald Trump vs. Richard Simmons? What “weight” do your buyers carry in the industry, region—and how can we solicit their help in further sales?

For further information, please contact

John Kumpunen, M.A.

1-800-535-4999

john@krin.com

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