Jan. 16, 2024
How to Market an Unsexy or Unglamorous Brand
Marketing Distilled opens up their virtual mailbag and answers a question from Jeff Parrott, owner of a debt collection company.
He asks, "how do I market an unsexy or unglamorous brand or business?"
On the show you'll learn:
- How to reframe ones thinking about unsexy or unglamorous brands
- Discover the features, benefits, and emotions of a business
- A sampling of frameworks that someone can use
Finally, after a short commercial break, our Master Distiller, Jonathan Gaby, gives some actionable tips and ideas on how to put into practice some of the theory behind the marketing challenge, including websites, social media, and email marketing.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript
ON this episode of Marketing Distilled, I open up my virtual mailbag and take a question from a listener, Jeff Parrott.
Jeff writes:
I am in the debt collection business. It's a contentious industry that often stirs ire and discontent with both creditors and debtors. But like insurance, it's a cost of doing business for many. I recently created Centixx as a fixed-fee DIY solution, to aid businesses in collecting their own receivables before sending the challenging account to a third-party collection agency or attorney. Centixx allows creditors to send 'one last shot over the bow' before forfeiting the account's profit and control to a third party.
We have several USP's over the traditional service providers and have identified our target market. My challenge is this: How to market the attributes of the service in a positive light, as an effective solution to an otherwise contentious subject? Most creditors seek collection services when their internal attempts have failed, so they are 'mentally over it' and no longer want the grief and aggravation of collection. This is when Centixx becomes relevant.
Please share how you might : 'market an unglamorous/unsexy business solution'
Thank you,
Jeff Parrot
First, let's reframe our thinking
You might think that debt collection is unsexy or unglamorous and I'm not about to say it is. But just because a product or service is perceived as not being sexy or glamorous doesn't mean that they don't have value. I think that you'll have to determine and elevate the value that collecting on debt owed to the business (your potential client) will have. After you determine the value then you can start to determine the emotional benefit your product provides.
I think a perfect example of how to reframe the thinking on this is to borrow an illustration from a famous marketing legend Peter Drucker.
Drucker, in one of his college classes, asked the students what someone was buying when they bought a drill bit from their local hardware store.
Students had a range of answers, a Tool, an accessory, a sharp piece of metal? , until one student blurted out, "A hole!?"
Drucker latched on to this answer and decided to probe more. Ok, what's a hole? The student said, well, with a hole you can put things on the wall?
Drucker kept "drilling" the student, and kept asking questions, Ok, what can you put on the wall with a whole? The student said, pictures, shelves, anything really.
What's in those pictures? what could you put on those shelves? The student said, well, I can put pictures of my family, friends, I could frame my diploma when I graduate, my award I got from my job. I could even put my Michael Jordan signed basketball on it to show off to people.
Drucker knew he was on to something! Why would you frame and hang a picture of your family?
Well, because I love my family?
What about your diploma?
Well, I worked hard and I'm proud of my accomplishments
What about that signed basketball?
Well, I was one of the few people who got to meet Michael Jordan that day and he signed my basketball with a personal message. I'll never forget that day.
In this paraphrased, loose example, we can now see what's in a product (or service) is more than just sharp edges or a tool or accessory. The features of a drill bit lead to benefits and those benefits can reveal emotions like love, pride, status, and bragging rights.
It's the same with an unsexy or unglamorous business. A drill bit is not one bit sexy, but with the example we just "turned" it on it's head, and then found all sorts of things we can use to market the drill bit. Your job will to be to find the emotional benefit that your services provide.
Now that we've rethought this, let's get to work.
What's the value and emotional benefit?
The business of debt collection is not glorious I'm sure, but what's at stake for your client (the business)? Shooting from the hip here, but I'm pretty certain that if a business has debts they are owed it puts a strain on cashflow, receivables, and the business suffers. Further, businesses that have too much debt owed run the risk of having to lay off or let go staff. Eventually, as cashflow dwindles as more clients don't pay, businesses might need to close. What's worse is that businesses have to allocate staff to collect, which is mere overhead, not billable, not a revenue generating activity in the traditional sense.
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The value debt collection brings is more cashflow and keeping businesses in operation
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The benefit you provide is keeping businesses afloat and staff employed
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The emotional quality is that you bring peace of mind, stability, and
These are the two primary levers you can use to market your business
Third, apply some frameworks to market yourself
There are a number of frameworks I would use to market your debt collection services. The first I would recommend is the The Story Brand framework, developed by Don Miller. In story brand you view your customer or client as the hero of their own story and use around seven elements of a story. It goes like this:
A character (your client) has a problem (collecting on debt) who meets a guide (Centixx) who gives them a plan (your debt collection services) and calls them to action (signs up for services, contacts you, etc.) that results in either success (collecting more debt) or failure (not collecting debt)
The second would be to utilize Ray Edwards' P.A.S.T.O.R. framework. It states
P. Person, Problem
A. Amplify (the problem)
S. Story and solution
T. Transformation (what your client will experience)
O. Offer - what you are presenting your potential client
R. Response - you call your potential client to action and tell them exactly what they will get and how to work with you.
The Third would be using the Big Picture Marketing Framework. It's a bit heady to cover in this podcast episode though.
Now, with our mindset shifted and some frameworks in place, let me review your website.
Homepage
Right off the bat I can tell you that I don't know what exactly it is that you do. I'm confused. You're not clear with what you provide. I'm pretty sure that your website is selling drill bits, not the hole, and certainly not the emotional benefits, to borrow a Peter Drucker reference.
What I mean is that you're not going all the way in showing your business owner or client experiencing peace of mind in knowing their debt collection is being taken care of or they are keeping business running because they don't have to deal with debt collection. I would rework your website to show a business owner at peace in the blue area of your website.
The two buttons is confusing too. Make your visitor do one thing, not two. Present them with one thing to do, the next thing in their journey is to learn more or to book a call or something else to encourage a visitor to take another action. In your case it might be "register" but be consistent with the one thing you want them to do. Perhaps booking a call with your company would be the way to go. in all cases, ask your visitor to take only one action.
Drop your testimonials below the banner or redesign the box to be more visibly seen and read. It's not utilized well at all. Your categories (Property Management, etc.) might not need to be there. Use the elements of StoryBrand or PASTOR to rework your sections. Make sure you're clear on what the problem is, what's at stake, what your previous clients have said, and then present them with an opportunity.
About Us
Let's flip the script on the about section. Instead of talking about your why, your experience, and how much your charge and the timing of all this, talk about your target market, and do it so well that they believe that you know them better than they know themselves! This builds trust. It builds empathy, and it will establish your credibility amongst your competitors.
Social Media:
I wish I had more to share about your social media channels. Sadly it doesn't seem that you keep it updated! You've never posted on LinkedIn and your last post on Facebook was on November of 2022!
Advice here is to always follow the regulations of your industry for advertising if any, but, one such place I would look for a resource is Gary Vaynerchuck's book Jab Jab, Jab, Right Hook. It's an oldie but a goodie. It's premise is that you give great valuable content 1-3 times before asking for a sale.
Maybe you're just using social to get ads in front of people, but you realy should be figuring out your social media first.
Email
If social media doesn't appear to be your jam, then might I suggest Email. How do you get leads? Well, try a quiz for an owner to take to find out how much they are spending on debt collection and give them a proposed solution that sure, saves them money and time, but it's not about those things, it's about keeping their business afloat and more than just the basics.
email them tips, case studies of how you have helped others. Testimonials, anything that provides them value to them and could eventually lead to a conversion.
Operations
Well, you should have enough to keep you busy for a while, but let's add more to the plate. I can't tell anything about your customer's experiences when they interact with you in person or online. I would offer to you that you treat every customer or client as if they were the only ones in your business and treat them so well that they would have second thoughts about going with anyone else for their debt collection needs. Whatever promises you make in your marketing materials make sure you deliver in your operations.
Word of mouth is powerful and you can harness it if you treat your clients well and with dignity and respect. Surely the business you help know other businesses who could benefit from your services. Make sure they speak well of you when they do!
Conclusion:
Marketing an unsexy or unglamorous business is possible if you reframe your thinking about what you're actually marketing. Think about Peter Drucker's Drill - Hole - Picture Frame - Emotion /status example. Find out the emotional benefits that your business provides and drill those down in your marketing material. Update your website, reengage your social media, make sure you deliver on the promises you make in your marketing collateral.
Well, that's it!
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