THE ROBIN ROBINS REVEAL
The ONLY Opinion
That Matters
“ If you want to dramatically increase your response [ to your marketing campaigns ], dramatically improve your offer .”
That was just one of the maxims of marketing genius Axel Andersson , a Swedish entrepreneur who ran a hugely successful home-study school in Hamburg , Germany , before coming to live in the U . S . Axel hired one of his successful students and put the student ’ s office right next to his so he had to walk past his office every day . He did this because he “ wanted to actually see one of my customers every day .” He also hired a professor from a local university as a consultant . Axel wrote :
“ Before I would test a new ad , I would run it by my former student and also give it to the professor for her reaction . If the student liked it , I would go with it . If the professor liked it , I would change it .”
So often , I hear about new clients taking a marketing campaign from one of our programs , and , instead of just running it , they first give it to their techs or their spouse for an opinion before sending it out . Big mistake . Second to that is giving it to a client for their opinion . Yes , Axel did this , but that was a client-turned-employee who was motivated to find a winning ad and who was selected , trained , and mentored by Axel on direct response advertising , giving him the ability to provide a qualified opinion , which is the point I want to drive home .
Only Trust The Opinion Of People Who Are Qualified To Give It
If you wouldn ’ t pay an individual for their advice and if they are not a seasoned , qualified professional in marketing , advertising , and sales advice , then why would you care what they think about a campaign ?
Keep in mind that you , your techs , and your spouse are not your customer . You have an entirely different understanding of what you sell and a biased appreciation for it . You have different motives for investing in technology than your average customer . If you write ads that appeal to you , that your techs like , and that your spouse thinks are “ nice ,” it ’ s very likely they will miss the mark with your prospects .
Another key point in deciding what good marketing is to test it .
True marketing pros never guess ; we test . We might spend weeks developing a campaign , an offer , or a message . We might run it by our seasoned marketing colleagues . But ultimately , we know the only way to truly know if a marketing campaign , copy , and offer will work is to roll them out to a bunch of prospects — not focus groups or current clients — and see if they ’ ll buy .
10 | MSPSUCCESSMAGAZINE . COM • VOLUME 1 ISSUE 9