What a square pizza will teach you about marketing

It’s the crucial one-two punch for your online marketing. You can’t have one without the other -- like spaghetti and meatballs, peanut butter and jelly, or rock and roll. Amazing content coupled with an outstanding call to action will generate leads. Lots of them!

Content is the engine that drives eyeballs to your website and ultimately to you. I’m not talking about product literature or a meaningless “here’s why we’re great” page on your website.

It’s simple really. People have problems and they want to solve them. Sometimes people have a desire to acquire something or a curiosity as to if there’s a better way to do something. Many times they are trying to solve a very specific dilemma.

Here’s food for thought.

Maybe, you’re kicking around the idea of going out for pizza tonight. However, you don’t want the same old worn out dining experience you had the last time you ate at a pizzeria.

Then a thought pops into your head. You wonder if anyone nearby makes the square pie you loved as a kid.

So, you go online to search, but not for “pizza”. Instead, the term you use is “square pizza” along with your location. And, it turns out that there are three places not too far from you.

Here’s where things get interesting. One of the Google descriptions says, “Square pizzas made the old fashion way: what you need to know.” This is a no-brainer and you click through to this website first.

Yet, instead of going to the homepage of the pizzeria, you land on a page that has a headline declaring that the short video below is of the restaurant’s owner explaining how a square pizza is different than a round one and why the ingredients, oven temperature, and bake time have to be just right to get a yummy taste and great texture.

You are drawn in further and watch. It’s just like you remember as a kid.

It gets better. Below the video is a big button that says, “Place Your Dine-in Order Now.” Just under this button it notes that a table reserved in your name will be waiting!

You can see where this is headed.

No matter what type of products or services you sell, there are three rules for improving your lead generation results.

Strong messaging and amazing content. Our pizzeria owner didn’t have some fancy landing page or hyped up claim. Yet, the message and content were extremely relevant. With a clear and simple message aligned with the search term, success was close at hand. The content was authentic and helped the visitor to learn something about what they were searching for. The entire page focused only on the square pizza and nothing else. Never confuse prospects as to why there are on your landing page. Keep the “friction” low -- no distractions and a content and message flow that keeps them moving in your direction.

An outstanding call to action. A call to action prompts visitors to take your desired action -- subscribe to your blog or email newsletter, request a product demo, and in the case of our pizza restaurant get a hot pie now. Explain the benefit of the offer as part of the call to action and be as specific as possible: “Place Your Dine-in Order Now”. Use action-oriented language. Once they click, take them directly to what you promised -- in this case a very short form with fields for your name, email address, and time you’ll arrive along with directions. Make sure you include full details for your offer so that there are no surprises.

Bonus: follow-up for even bigger profits. The pizzeria’s owner reaped a windfall. Contact information was collected. Plus, a reservation was booked. Now, the soon to be customer is signed up to receive coupons and special offers. That’ll get diners back in and build revenue. For your type of business, more than likely you’ll have to add another type of valuable offer in exchange for the contact’s information -- such as a report, free trial, or webinar. Have a schedule that you follow to keep your company and its solutions on the top of your customer’s mind. If you want to close a sale, follow-up is an absolute must.

Ultimately it’s a one-two-three knockout punch – content, call to action, and follow-up. Maybe it’s more like meatloaf, mash potatoes, and ketchup!

Ron Stein is President of FastPath Marketing (www.marketing-strategies-guide.com) and the author of the Rapid Impact Marketing & Selling Playbook. As a speaker, coach, and consultant he works with small business owners helping them to accelerate the path between their vision and the actions needed to reach, win, and keep customers. Ron is the creator of the FastPath to More Customers Now! 7-step marketing system based on more than twenty years as a successful business owner, corporate CEO, business development executive, and salesman. He is also a mentor at two nationally recognized business accelerators. Ron offers one-on-one and small group mentoring, conducts seminars, and consults. He can be reached at 727-398-1855 or Ron@FastPathMarketing.com.