I'm not a wizard at this, but I've got some very simple systems you can steal and make your own that would probably get you further down the road. As this is the month of Personal Leadership at Owner Media Group, I figure this is a great time to teach you how leaders get their goals finished.
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“Unicorn.” If you read the business press these days, it is a term you simply can’t avoid. The analogy of a mythical creature to describe a very real phenomenon — the startup that has reached a valuation of at least $1 billion.
So what makes or breaks a startup? Why do some succeed magnificently while so many simply fizzle out?
There are many answers to that question, but one key element that unicorns have in common is an effective value proposition. On the flip side, venture capitalist David Skok wrote that one of the reasons startups fail is, “There is not a compelling enough value proposition, or compelling event, to cause the buyer to actually commit to purchasing.”
To help you create an effective value proposition, MECLABS Institute (parent research organization of MarketingExperiments) has created the Value Proposition heuristic. This patented heuristic is a thought tool, meant to help you optimize the factors that increase the force of your value proposition.
One key element that helps create a successful value proposition is the exclusivity of the product or the offer (denoted by “Ex” in the heuristic).
Exclusivity in product and service development
I was listening to the Re/code Decode podcast, and host Kara Swisher asked, “Were you wondering why Buzzfeed hadn’t done this? Or someone else?”
Stop here. Before I get to the interviewee’s response, consider this.
One of the reasons startups fail according to Steve Tobak, who runs Silicon Valley-based Invisor Consulting, is that “competitors with existing solutions don’t give up so easily.” And according to a post-mortem of 135 failed startups by CG Insights, the top reasons for failing were clustered in the category of “Arrogance.”
All pointing to the need to create products with an element of real exclusivity in order to be successful.
So I was glad to hear this response to Kara Swisher’s question from Dev Flaherty, co-founder, The List App — “I did, and I did my homework, and we looked at a bunch of products that tried to do related things. There wasn’t any close parallel though.”
Exclusivity in product and service offers
Fundamentally, you want to be like Dev and create products from the ground up with exclusivity, to help build a strong value proposition.
But you also want to make sure you message that exclusivity through your offers in your marketing and advertising, because marketers often do not have full control over the products they promote. And even when the exclusivity is clearly baked into the product, it is not always clearly communicated to the customer.
For example, in an experiment run by MECLABS Institute with a mailing list company, the optimization team found that many of the claims in the offer were very vague, and did not communicate any aspects of exclusivity.
However, the main point of exclusivity was there. It was just buried in the copy.
The MECLABS research team brought out the exclusivity more clearly to potentials customers in an optimized treatment.
The result — a 201% increase in conversion.
Exclusivity in balance
“Exclusivity is very difficult to achieve in an appealing way. You may be so exclusive that no one else is interested. Most customers want what everyone else wants,” Kylie Hyer, Curriculum Design Manager, MECLABS Institute, said.
Of course, exclusivity isn’t the sole factor that creates a value proposition. As you can see in the above heuristic, exclusivity must be coupled with appeal.
That overlap in customer perception — wanting a product that can only be attained from your company — creates a powerful “only factor” that helps power an effective value proposition.
How to create forceful value propositions with exclusivity
To sum it up, here are a few key ways to leverage the power of exclusivity:
Once you look past the hype and focus on clearly communicating value, you may find exclusivity in a surprising place. My favorite example comes from Denny Hatch, who was sold by the exclusivity communicated in Amar G. Bose’s obituary by Glenn Rifkin in The New York Times.
You can follow Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content, MECLABS Institute, @DanielBurstein.
You might also like
Boost Your Online Ads: Strengthen your value proposition by focusing on your “only factor” (interactive Research Brief)
Value Proposition Development online course [From MECLABS, MarketingExperiments' parent company]
The Marketer as Philosopher book
Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular due to its ability to produce electricity at home with no monthly fee. Strategically located on its property, a solar panel company will ensure that the panel absorbs sunlight and provides power 24 hours a day.
The production of energy from the solar panel can be translated into costs of your electricity bill. If your panel generates 75% of the required electricity, the monthly payment of its electricity will also be reduced.
In the long term, the solar panel will create added value to your home as an asset. If you decide to sell your home, your investment in a solar panel to pick a healthy return.
When looking for a residential solar contractor, look for someone who has extensive experience in the installation of a solar panel and make sure they are licensed and insured. It never hurts to ask if both are accredited by the BBB.
The longer someone has been in business, the more experience they have and other tips and tricks you know. It also tends to be a reflection of good business due to bad company do not stay for long! Probably also they experienced more problems than a person who has been in business for a short time in order to have the knowledge to help avoid these problems.
Feel free to ask questions or ask for references. A good contractor will be happy to provide you with everything you need and take the time to explain all the details and make sure you are comfortable. Learn about financing options and ask if you can show an estimate of energy savings over time. A reliable and qualified contractor offering residential solar financing options include lease with zero down so you can save money on electricity costs immediately.
There are state and federal incentives programs that can be tapped to help finance the cost of your solar panel. Ask what kind of incentives are available in your area, a competent contractor update this information.
Ask about warranties and learn about the best manufacturers – not all solar panels are created equal and are manufacturers. You want to make sure to protect your investment by using a top manufacturer and receives a guarantee not only of the panels, but also the installation and manufacturing.
In case you haven’t heard, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not dead. In fact, SEO is an absolute must for successful content marketing, but gone are the days where the first two words dictate how you execute the third.
Ever since Google dropped its Penguin update in 2012, user experience has become the primary focus of good SEO. Yes. Today’s SEO is about finding the perfect balance between user-centric content and convincing search engine crawlers that your content is supreme.
Now, I’m pretty confident that everything I just said isn’t news to you. However, actually accomplishing that perfect balance may be something you’re still working on. And that’s where I aim to help.
Below are some best practices and tips for optimizing your on-page content for human users and search engines:
Researching and understanding your audience’s needs and intentions will help guide your keyword strategy and content creation so you can provide the best information for your prospective customers—and search engines.
If you were searching for your product or services, what information would you be looking for? What would you search queries contain? What are your pain points? How can this product or service help address those pain points?
While keyword stuffing used to be a common and acceptable practice, that’s no longer the case. Keyword stuffing adds nothing to user experience, and as robots become more advanced, your risk of being penalized for following such practices increases.
All of the items below are essential parts of on-page SEO basics. The content for each should be unique and incorporate the keywords appropriately.
If you drive users to your content with one promise, and then don’t deliver when they reach the content, you’re creating a very bad user experience. Any text—keywords or otherwise—included in the title, meta, H1, image alt tag or URL should accurately describe what a user will find when they land on your page.
Crosslinking your content to other pages on your site is an absolute must. Not only does it add relevance to pages, it also keeps people moving through your website and can send traffic to your priority pages. (Tip: Make sure your crosslinking strategy matches where you are in the sales cycle. This will ensure you’re moving people along the sales funnel in the right way.)
There is no denying that we are in an age of information overload. To combat content fatigue for your users, it’s essential to give them content that is easy to digest. A few ways to create ease of use for your audience include:
If you’re sticking with all the other guidelines above, this shouldn’t be a problem. Keywords and keyword variations will naturally occur throughout the body text, the content will be visually appealing and easy to read, links will help guide users to other areas of your site and search bots will be able to easily crawl the page.
What it all comes down to—as TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden would say—is ”Being the best answer.” Your content should provide the best possible information to your audience. And having that content optimized to today’s SEO standards will allow search engines to deliver those pages to your audience.
What are your biggest challenges for creating content that’s full of SEO, but also great for users? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Did you like this article? Then you may also enjoy “5 SEO Considerations to Win with Both Customers and Search Engines.”
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© Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2016. | 7 Ways to Optimize Your Web Content for Humans & Search Engines | http://www.toprankblog.com
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