Last week I posted about two keys to creating relevant marketing copy, one of them being the need to address tradeoffs. This week, I’m writing about something related—addressing indirect competition.
Marcia Yudkin, citing work done by Anne Ramstetter Wenzel, observes that prospects can buy your product or service. Or they can choose an alternate way to meet their needs.
If you consider alternatives that are not immediately obvious, then you can craft an approach that deals with (and perhaps subtly debunks) them. Weight Watcher members will immediately recognize this as the “I can eat this horrible, fattening cookie, or I can go out and take a heart-healthy walk” stratagem.
When you recognize and aim your message at indirect competition, you get the jump on the tradeoff dialogue going on in your prospect’s head and increase your chances of winning the business or at least getting the serious consideration that can fuel a sales dialogue.
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