Qualified Insurance Leads, Mortgage Leads and Seminar Leads

Why over-communicate? Well, while your competitors are cutting the advertising budget and seemingly "disappearing", you are NOT. You are being proactive rather than reactive. As Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, said in his Squawk Box interview, "Do not sit under your desk and suck your thumb". And because you are staying in front of prospects and current customers—as the economy bounces back—they will know you are alive and kicking!

What does it mean to over-communicate and why is this important? It can mean: to give too much information; or to give the same information at a high frequency. In either case, it is meant to create a deluge of information. In psychological terms, many experts say this creates a sense of security—whether it is among your current customers or prospects. Think about it—the more you know, the safer you feel, the more inclined you are to invest or buy—right? Maybe...

In this tough economic storm, who couldn’t use a little security? But if you’re not careful, too much information can make it seem like your business is confused and panicky. While over-communicating in tough times is a great idea for maintaining and growing your business, let’s find the balance between the idea and the actual execution of communicating.

1.     When making the hard decisions about your budget, consider adjustments across the board
rather than cutting your entire advertising budget. 

2.     Never stop looking for prospects; even during non-traditional advertising months, consider advertising.
If everyone Zigs – then you Zag.

3.     Take the time to be personal with both current customers and prospects.

a.     Skip the email. As Don Rigby, of Integrated MARCOM, Inc. blogs,
“Letters are far more revered than emails”.

b.     Use a form that doesn’t cost much but has the illusion to take a little time
– like the post office and/or hand stamping.

c.      Be sincere; consider a softer message or informative content rather than a SELL, SELL, SELL tactic.
One blogger writes to “communicate with empathy —nurture versus sell”.
Careful to not come across as patronizing AND listen to give the customer what they want.

4.      Keep your over-communicated message focused to avoid the illusion of panic and confusion.
Here are examples of both focused and unfocused:

a.      Focused Message : creates confidence, steadiness, trust

                                  i.      The acorn will grow, give it time.

                                 ii.     In time, this little seed will become a grand tree.

                                iii.     A mighty oak tree will grow from this seed I found.

b.      Unfocused Message : creates panic, confusion

                                 i.     The acorn will grow.

                                 ii.      Let’s give the acorn water.

                                iii.      I need to fertilize the acorn.

                                iv.      More sunshine will do the acorn good.

                                 v.      Let’s go check on the acorn.

c.     “If you barrage your customers with meaningless information, they will switch off. You must seek out the killer content – that finely honed, perfectly pitched message. That’s where the value lies”, to paraphrase Gerry McGovern (McGovern, Gerry. “Do We Over-Communicate?” Return on Behavior: Edition 7).

With all of this said, go forth and prosper; get in front of your potential client base and current customers OFTEN! Let them know that you are focused, secure and ready to sell even in a slump of an economy.