By Brett Lloyd Abbott, MYM Austin Inc.

7 Secrets (small 3D).jpgA couple of years ago, I wrote a 42-page e-book called “7 Crucial Marketing Secrets Every Pool Builder Should Know.” I went into fairly lengthy detail regarding…well… seven crucial marketing secrets that I think every pool builder should know. I covered such things as the power of properly “telling your story”, and the right and wrong ways to use social mediain this industry.

At 42 pages, it’ll take the better part of an hour to read. (And worth every minute, I might add.)

But if I only had 60 seconds to offer you my advice, here’s what I would say:

Start with just THESE THREE THINGS:

1. A killer website.
2. A “Low Risk Offer”
3. An automated follow-up system.

The reasons you can survive and be successful with just these three marketing tactics are really quite simple:

FIRST: Everyone knows that MOST people who are thinking about buying something expensive will go to the Internet to get more information about it. So obviouslyyou need a good website.

SECOND: MOST people who visit your website will LEAVE without giving you any of their contact info. That’s because:

  1. SWP DVD1.jpgMost people spend MONTHS (if not years) THINKING about buying a swimming pool before they actually pull the trigger and give you that down payment.
  2. Most people who AREN’T ready to buy something DON’T want to talk to a salesperson. They want to educate themselves first, in preparation for the day when they are finally ready for that face-to-face sales meeting.
  3. Thus, out of 100 people who visit your website, maybe only five of them are ready to schedule a meeting. The other 95 just come, look, learn a little, and leave. (And from there, they no doubt go have a look at several other pool builder websites, and do the same thing.)
  4. That’s why you need some sort of “low risk offer” on your website – a brochure, a downloadable report, a free DVD, etc. Now, the 95 people who aren’t ready for a sales meeting will still give you their contact information – so that they can get your “free thing.”

NOTE – A “free estimate” is NOT considered a compelling “low risk offer.” That’s because while it may be free, it’s not “low risk.” The homeowner still has to meet face-to-face with a salesperson, and they’re not ready for that. We need to offer them something that is worth giving up their contact info, but doesn’t require a sales meeting.

automaticfollowupimages.jpgTHIRD: Once you’ve got their contact info, you need to “drip, drip, drip” on them with automated follow-up messages that continue to educate them about (1) the joy of owning a swimming pool, and (2) why they should buy it from you.Emails are good because they are cheap and fairly easy to create. The downside is you may reach only 50% of your audience, or less.

Postcards, by contrast, will reach much closer to 100% of their recipients. There is no “spam filter” at the US Post Office, other than the homeowner who has to pick up your postcard and look at it first, to decide whether or not they want to throw it away.

And here’s what’s interesting – any person who is in this months-long (or years-long) journey of considering a new swimming pool will be INTRIGUED by any messages they receive related to swimming pools. (That includes emails, postcards, billboards and more.) Thus, just about any email or postcard with a swimming pool on it will get their attention, no matter who it comes from.

THAT’s why I say that you need (1) A killer website with (2) A low-risk offer that (3) Triggers an automated follow-up system that will drip, drip, drip on them “until they buy or until they die.”

I could share a lot more formation about the power of this three-pronged marketing strategy, but I’ll share the details for a future email.

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