How to communicate your sales message
This How to communicate your sales message Info Guide will help you to effectively communicate your unique selling points and key products features to your target customers.
Your unique selling points (USPs) are what make your guesthouse or B&B different. For example, the history and heritage of your business may be one of the unique selling points which you need to communicate to your customers.
Example of a USP
In 1798 the rebels hid in this house for ten days before the battle. Our riverside restaurant sits on the very spot where they rested.
Example that is not a USP
We have a restaurant with great food and excellent service in comfortable surroundings.
Revisit what you are promoting as your unique selling points (USPs) today and ask yourself if they are really unique, and if they would attract your target customer.
Remember!
People create atmosphere. Good design and comfort merely facilitate that. The secret to a successful tourism business is to develop your points of difference. Develop what you do best, what you know best and tailor it for your target customers.
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Today, more than ever before, sales take many forms. If you can’t meet with your customers face-to-face, consider any of the following communication routes:
- Typed letters
- Hand written letters
- Greeting cards
- Branded cards
- Email
- Email attachments
- Text messaging (SMS)
- Social Network Sites, eg Facebook, My Space
- Professional Network Sites, eg Linkedin, Eacademy
- Websites
- Twitter
- Blogs
- Ezines
- Newsletters
- Brochures
- Mail drop flyers
- Mobile phone
- Land line phone
- Skype
- Online chat
- Message boards
Choose carefully the tools which best suit your mission, your purpose, your brand and most of all, your customer. For example, a 70 year old is unlikely to regularly use Facebook but a 20 year old will. On the other hand, a 20 year old may not open a letter but a 70 year old will admire a handwritten letter.
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Once you have decided how you will communicate with your customers, the next question is, ‘What will we say when we connect with them?’ The words and the images used on your website, and in sales and promotional brochures, together with your promotional videos, must fit your business. If your brand promises fun but your message is stern, you won’t succeed. If it is relaxed, your message should be relaxed. If it is formal, your message should reflect this. If it is cheerful, your message should be too.
Examples
You would expect a:
- kite surf club to be fun, cheerful and young.
- guesthouse to be warm and welcoming.
- five star hotel to be discreet and professional.
All communications should be polished and up-to-date. If your images, website or promotional video look cheap, don’t expect to attract a quality following. If your letter has the wrong address, spelling or name, prepare to fail.
Remember!
Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they just remember the impression you make.
William Bernbach
American Advertising Executive
Communicate product features and USPs
Review your sales and marketing messages and make sure that the messages which are communicated to customers match your business brand, and that your USPs and product features are highlighted in all communications, including telephone, face-to-face conversation, websites and print communications.
For more information on product features and benefits, see Know your product and your market
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Remember!
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.
George Bernard Shaw
Irish Playwright
What you write and how you write reveals a lot about your business and your standards. Avoid jargon and long, poetic messages which get lost in translation. The simpler the message, the easier it is to understand.
Examples
1. Luxury deluxe bedrooms with premium furniture, high-quality fittings and exquisite views
2. Luxury bedrooms
The first is too long and overly descriptive, the second makes it clear.
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