| |
Guarantees with Oomph
by Marcia Yudkin
Not long ago a real estate
appraiser asked my opinion of his new brochure.
"'Guaranteed on-time appraisals,'" I
read out loud. "You mean that if it's not
on time, the customer gets a refund?"
"No, I couldn't do
that," he replied. "So many times
things get delayed for reasons outside of my
control."
"What do you mean, then,
by 'guaranteed'?"
"Never mind, then. Strike
that out. We couldn't give people their money
back every time an appraisal was late."
|
Learn to Critique,
Reorganize, Rewrite and Upgrade Web
Sites
Discover how to serve the vast,
barely tapped market of companies with
poorly performing web sites. After
taking an acclaimed new home-study
course on web site marketing makeovers,
you'll know how to help improve the
structure, clarity, sales flow and
persuasiveness of both ecommerce and
corporate sites. It's lucrative
and interesting work, in high demand.
Web site
makeover course. |
He'd come close to landing his
business in serious trouble. The word
"guarantee," like the word
"free," has a specific meaning that
the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys
general enforce. Without any explicit qualifiers
attached, "guarantee" means that the
customer has the right to a 100 percent refund
if the product or service disappoints them - no
"ifs," "ands" or
"buts."
Further, because of the
well-known strength of the word, a guarantee
holds a powerful potential to increase business.
I explained to the appraiser that an on-time
guarantee would probably boost his business
enough to cover the occasional refund. We then
restated his guarantee to read, "We
guarantee that we'll deliver your appraisal by
the promised time, or it's free." He'd
cover his flanks by being careful about the
promises he made.
|
Learn to Write
No-Hype (Yet Dramatic and Effective)
Copy
New home-study course teaches
you to wow people into buying through
the power of well-chosen words.
Includes challenging and varied
assignments to practice on, with answers
from the instructor and participants.
Home-study
copywriting course. |
Like a sharp knife, guarantees
can cut through a prospect's skepticism and
fears. Handle them with care, but include them
in your business's toolbox.
-
Try a long guarantee. The
longer the guarantee, in fact, the fewer
refund requests a business receives. If your
competitors offer a 30-day money-back
guarantee, extend yours to 90 days, a year
or even a lifetime.
-
Depending on your
business, consider a performance guarantee
instead of promising a refund. For example,
a termite-control customer might prefer your
promise to make the problem go away, no
matter what it takes, to getting her money
back if the treatment doesn't wipe out the
pests.
-
If you can stand behind
outrageous-sounding guarantees, go for it,
as in, "We guarantee that your
credit-card application will be approved by
one of the listed banks, or we'll return
every penny you paid us, plus $10.00 extra
for your trouble." Since this company
knows that only 4 percent of applicants get
turned down, their offer motivates without
bankrupting them.
|
Eliminate Wordiness - Guidelines and Exercises for Practice
Learn how to get your point across in one page or how to satisfy a strict word count for magazine or newsletter editors. Find out how to identify and cut repetition, eliminate excess verbiage, make your point fast and convey a wealth of facts in a small space. My longwinded clients asked for this!
Become more
concise. |
Copyright 1999 Marcia Yudkin.
All rights reserved.
Read
more articles about copywriting.
Gain
more in-depth information from books and reports
on copywriting.
Hire
Marcia Yudkin to write or rewrite sales letters,
brochures, web sites, flyers, press releases or
other marketing materials.
Learn
to become a well-paid copywriter/marketing
consultant.
|