Once the concept of a product has been fleshed out, developed and finally transformed into an actual tangible item for presentation to the public, the next step is marketing and sales. If you’re launching a new product, one simple marketing material you must create along the way is a product sell sheet.
Description
A product sell sheet is a one-page sheet used in sales to attract attention to a new product. The sell sheet is commonly distributed through the mail, presented at a meeting or provided via email to interested parties. The goal of sending out a product sell sheet is to make the other party interested enough to call the manufacturer to discuss terms of buying or publicizing the product.
Elements
The sell sheet should contain full-color pictures of the product — preferably from all angles. Include a short description of the product, as well as a list of specifications. It must also list the product’s most attractive features and benefits. To allow interested parties to order the product, the sell sheet should also include the product’s SKU, UPC or item number.
Applications
A product sell sheet is useful when you’re preparing a media or press kit. It is also a useful addition to a product marketing plan. When you are selling a product to retailers and distributors, they need to see these important details to make a decision on whether to carry it in their stores. When you are seeking publicity for the product, know that media contacts will want to see a sell sheet so that they can accurately report on the product.
Suggestions
When you make a product sell sheet, take the time to make it look professional, neat and simple. Some marketers make the mistake of trying to fit many different types of products into one sell sheet. The ideal format is to have one featured product with the item’s full specs listed on the back. However, if you have other products to sell, put the featured product on one side with a few of the others listed on the back. Print your sell sheet in full color on paper that is slightly heavier than the type you see in a standard printed catalog.
The heart of your business success lies in its marketing. Most aspects of your business depend on successful marketing. The overall marketing umbrella covers advertising, public relations, promotions and sales. Marketing is a process by which a product or service is introduced and promoted to potential customers. Without marketing, your business may offer the best products or services in your industry, but none of your potential customers would know about it. Without marketing, sales may crash and companies may have to close.
Getting Word Out
For a business to succeed, the product or service it provides must be known to potential buyers. Unless your business is known in the community and have communication with your customers readily available, you have to use marketing strategies to create product or service awareness. Without marketing, your potential customers may never be aware of your business offerings and your business may not be given the opportunity to progress and succeed. Using marketing to promote your product, service and company provides your business with a chance of being discovered by prospective customers.
Higher Sales
Once your product, service or company gets on the radar screen of your prospects, it increases your chances that consumers will make a purchase. As awareness becomes a reality, it is also the point where new customers start to spread the word, telling friends and family about this amazing new product they discovered. Your sales will steadily increase as the word spreads. Without employing marketing strategies, these sales may not have ever happened; without sales, a company cannot succeed.
Company Reputation
The success of a company often rests on a solid reputation. Marketing builds brand name recognition or product recall with a company. When a company reaches the high expectations of the public, its reputation stands on firmer ground. As your reputation grows, the business expands and sales increase. The reputation of your company is built through active participation in community programs, effective communication–externally and externally–and quality products or services, which are created or supported by marketing efforts.
Healthy Competition
Marketing also fosters an environment in the marketplace for healthy completion. Marketing efforts get the word out on pricing of products and services, which not only reaches the intended consumers, but also reaches other companies competing for the consumers’ business. As opposed to companies that have a monopoly on products and services that can charge almost any price, marketing helps keep pricing competitive for a business to try to win over consumers before its competition does. Without competition, well known companies would continue to sell while lesser known companies or new companies would stand little chance of ever becoming successful. Marketing facilitates the healthy competition that allows small businesses and new businesses to be successful enter and grow in the marketplace.
Considerations
Although marketing is hugely important for a business to succeed, it can also be very expensive. In its first year, a company might spend as much as half of its sales on marketing programs. After the first year, a marketing budget can reach as much as 30 percent–sometimes more–of the annual sales. A marketing program that gives your company the best chance is a healthy mix of different forms of marketing, such as website development, public relations, print and broadcast advertising, design and printing for all print materials, trade shows and other special events.
Recently, I had the chance to do a presentation for my weekly networking group. It’s a daunting task. What does one talk about? What can I say to inspire my colleagues? What knowledge can I share that can help tell my story and more importantly what can I say to inspire them to grow their business? Yes, as business people we all need a logo, a business card, website, and letterhead. We all need collateral materials, brochures, product literature and branding to stand out from the crowd, and the ability tell our story of what makes us great business people but… How did we get where we are? Where are we going?
Ivan Misner the founder of BNI talks about the 7 Core principals of BNI. I’m not going to go into all of those, but I do want to mention #4. Traditions plus Innovations.
Huh? Traditions plus Innovations?
That’s counter intuitive!
Well, traditions of an organization or family tell us where we come from and lay the foundation of who we are, but we must always be innovative as professionals in our respective fields or as members of the human race so that we can move forward with advancements both professionally and personally. Think about that for a minute. It’s true!
In my field it is my job as a marketer to see communication issues and offer solutions to create awareness for brands, products, and businesses. Without understanding the “traditions” of myself or of an organization I cannot help “innovate” for myself or for a client.
Take the following three points and think about how they each relate to traditions plus innovation.
Look Broader. Look Closer. Think Younger.
Look Broader: When tackling a communications issue there’s a lot of moving parts. If you can take a step back and look at what the product or service is, who is the target customer you want to reach and why your product or service is the best for them?
Look Closer: Look closely at your business. Look honestly at your business. Is your business where you want it to be? What can you change to make your services or products a better experience for your customer? Customers buy on need but they also buy on experience. What is your customer’s experience?
Focus on the tiniest of details and ask yourself “Is this the best way of doing this or are we doing it this way because we’ve always done it this way?”
Think Younger: Everyday I’m around my kids and they ask all kinds of questions and give reasons as to why they think something is the way that it is. Sometimes some of these thoughts and questions are really smart. Sometimes my answer is “I don’t know… That’s just how the world works.” But my kids are 10 and 8. That’s not an acceptable answer to them. They haven’t been around long enough to go with the flow. Sometimes when they run into a problem you can immediately see the gears turning and watch them try to find a way or an answer. Sometimes, just sometimes they even find a better way to do things. Young minds can be some of the most creative minds. They don’t have the references that “seasoned” veterans have. They haven’t been habituated. To them it’s new.
Have young minds on your team. Talk to young people about your product or service. Learn from them. Doing this will force everyone to think younger and will cause you to discover a new way to be innovative or a different way to do things. Don’t overthink it! Simplify it!
Logos can be quite a mystery to anyone outside of the creative industry. Small business owners can wonder what the difference is between a ‘home made logo’ and a ‘professional corporate identity’. Why should a small business owner hire a professional designer when there are hundreds of cheap (or free) logos available?
The answer is simple… your customers will analyze your logo with their own concept of what is ‘professional’, can you be trusted to supply their wants and needs?
A simple variation in an ‘off the shelf template’ will ruin the message you are trying to convey to your target audience and you may come across as being unprofessional. A logo is often the first impression that your potential customers will have of your business. A good, well designed logo can build credibility, help increase sales and attract a wider share of your target audience, but only when it meets your customers’ pre-conceived ideas of what a professional corporate identity should be – not the business owners!
Several key areas define success for small business owners and brand perception is an important one of them. When looking for someone to create a professional logo brand for your company, make sure they understand how to create an identity that will appeal to your customers and promote your business as someone that your customers can trust.
A professional logo will impact greatly on whether your potential customers will pick up the phone and speak to you!
I recently came across the greatest dog bed in the history of dog beds — seriously, it felt like it was made of clouds. And after asking the dog owner about it, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the same company also made regular beds. (Score.)
Needless to say, I’m now the proud owner of the human-version of said dog bed.
You see, when a friend or family member recommends a product, you’re more likely to take their endorsement seriously. In fact, Nielsen reports that the most meaningful form of advertising is recommendations from friends and family: 83% of consumers in 60 countries say they trust these recommendations over any other form of advertising.
The story of how I bought my mattress is a great example of social proof, which refers to the theory that people tend to adopt the opinions or actions of people they trust. And to help illustrate how brands are using this persuasive technique in their marketing, we’ve put together a roundup of social proof in action below.
What Is Social Proof?
Social proof is the idea that consumers will adapt their behavior according to what other people are doing. It makes sense, right? When we see a line of customers waiting to eat at a restaurant or a photo of a celebrity drinking a certain brand of coffee, it lends an air of gravitas and quality to the product, doesn’t it?
But there’s more to it than that. In fact, according to Buffer, there are actually five different types of social proof:
1) Expert Social Proof
Expert social proof is when an industry thought leader or influencer approves of your product. This could take the form of them blogging, posting on social media, or being quoted or photographed as a product user.
2) Celebrity Social Proof
Celebrity social proof typically takes the form of a celebrity using a product and promoting it on social media or in public. This form of social proof is especially meaningful if the endorsement is unpaid.
3) User Social Proof
User social proof consists of positive feedback from actual users, typically taking the form of customer reviews and testimonials.
4) “Wisdom of the Crowds” Social Proof
“Wisdom of the Crowds” social proof appeals to our sense of Fear of Missing Out(FOMO): When lots of people are using or buying a product, others want to follow suit.
5) “Wisdom of your Friends” Social Proof
“Wisdom of your Friends” social proof refers to the phenomenon I described previously: The recommendations from people we know and trust carry far more weight than other types of promotions or advertising.
Which Types of Social Proof Work Best?
The (social) proof is in the pudding: Social proof in your marketing and advertising can have a huge impact. But what type of social proof works best?
While this will likely depend on the product or service you are marketing, the folks at ConversionXL conducted some research to help shed some light on the situation.
Below you’ll find some noteworthy statistics from their research about the types of social proof that perform best, and what you need to know about convincing your prospective customers:
86% of female shoppers say they put the most trust in product recommendations from real people — either industry bloggers or people they know — more than celebrities.
Nature Made uses the expert certification of the USP (U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention) to speak for their vitamins instead of describing their quality themselves. The image of the seal of approval also echoes the text in their Facebook post.
Workday’s Newsroom features an article in the Harvard Business Review about their company culture, which is a smart use of social proof: By featuring a well-known university name and publication with expertise in business, they impress site visitors from the moment they try to learn more about the company.
Fitbit lets health and tech industry experts speak to the quality of their products in the “Buzz” section of their website. It adds a lot of weight to claims of Fitbit’s success when multiple publications are saying the same positive things they are. That could be why Fitbit is often rated the top fitness tracker on the market.
Education SaaS company 2U uses expert social proof to lend gravitas to its homepage. Highlighting press mentions on your website commands authority and lets visitors know that important voices are talking about you in the press. (Check out this handy PR guide for more on the power of press.)
When celeb Kirstie Alley signed on as Jenny Craig’s spokeswoman, she lost a well-photographed 50 pounds on the program, helping to skyrocket the brand’s popularity in a crowded market: It’s one of the top three diet plans in the United States.
Here’s Cisco using celebrity social proof to add wow factor and storytelling to market their IT systems, which aren’t typically the most exciting commercial topic. The celebrity adds a human element to a highly technological space in a way that’s memorable and inspires recognition. (Who doesn’t love Obi-Wan Kenobi?)
Gwyneth Paltrow is a longtime fan and friend of Tracy Anderson and her exercise program, which she frequently posts about on social media. This isn’t an official celebrity endorsement, and its authenticity helps drive more people to Anderson’s program: The Tracy Anderson Method is now a multi-studio, DVD, and live streaming fitness empire.
I had never heard of Manuka honey until I watched this episode of Broad City, but it exploded in popularity after Kourtney Kardashian started using it on her reality show, and then became a celebrity ambassador. This is a particularly successful celebrity social proof because Kardashian’s longtime use of the product lends more authenticity than a celebrity endorsement alone would.
Website builder Wix uses Heidi Klum for celebrity social proof in their commercial. It works in two ways: to add a high-profile name to a business in a competitive industry, and to demonstrate Wix’s pitch (that anyone can build a website).
Wix also used Kung-Fu Panda (fictitious celebrities count, too) in their 2016 Super Bowl commercial, which garnered more online views than any other commercial at the game.
Yelp relies on user reviews to rate restaurants, bars, and business, and the use of social proof is beneficial for their company and for its users searching for customer reviews. Yelp generates roughly 145 million visitors each month and is one of the most popular websites in the United States.
IMDb visitors can consult their review directory to learn what other movie-goers are saying about films they’re interested in, and its savvy use of social proof helped make it the top movie review sites online today with 250 million unique visitors per month.
Customer reviews and testimonials are one of the strongest forms of social proof, and Amazon provides another great example of how they can be used. In their review sections, they publish the breakdown of the different ratings so visitors can easily see if the majority of purchasers were happy or unhappy with what they bought.
Customers can also publish reviews with specific comments and photos of their purchases, which are more eye-catching forms of social proof for visitors than testimonials alone.
G2 Crowd is a business built on user social proof: It offers businesses a database of reviews and recommendations before making a software purchase. The reviews feature verified users of the product, their LinkedIn career information, and the logo of the product being reviewed, which is a research-backed strategy for promoting greater viewer recall and retention.
Here’s a thorough example of user social proof from BuzzSumo. Their website features customer testimonials and case studies so visitors can read about the full story behind the product they’re considering without any question of its impact on real customers and organizations. This transparent user proof is extremely compelling for visitors and potential customers.
Copyblogger has a fantastic blog, and they use the CTA above to get readers to subscribe by encouraging them to join a larger community of people with shared interests. If 334,000 other people are finding value in the content, it must be good, right?
Netflix takes advantage of user trends by suggesting new TV and movie options based on popularity. This clever use of social proof helps them keep people binge-watching instead of navigating away when they finish a movie or season — a great retention strategy, if you ask me.
Much like when things are trending on Twitter, trending suggestions aim to pique the interest of users and persuade them to tune in.
TrackMaven’s blog features a “Most Popular Content” sidebar shown above to show blog readers other articles that are generating lots of reader traffic. This feature encourages visitors to go with the crowd and spend more time on the site, where TrackMaven can prompt them with calls-to-action and content offers to generate leads.
Facebook suggests Pages and articles for users based on how their friends are interacting with the social media platform. This form of social proof is supported by our inherent trust in people we already know:
Remember, we take our friends’ recommendations more seriously than any other type of advertising.
Ticketfly pulls customer Facebook data to show them which of their friends are attending the same events as they are. It also uses social share buttons so users can share what events they’re attending to garner more interest among their social media networks.
Stitch Fix recruits new customers for its personal shopping service using social proof by offering a hefty $25 referral bonus for sending friends to the site. It’s a cost-effective method for retaining me, their current customer, and recruiting my friend, who could become a new one.
Now that you’ve learned all about social proof, check out our article to learn how to take your social proof to the next level. Happy brainstorming!
‘How Do Doctors Think’ is a NIH-funded study, run by University of Pittsburgh researchers, designed to assess the ability of an adventure video game to influence physician decision making in trauma.
They are recruiting emergency physicians who work at non-trauma centers in the US to participate in the trial. The study uses two apps to give Doctors an inside view of what a Trauma unit might be like.
77 Design Co. was selected to help revise the branding and materials for this year. We created several pieces including booth banners, coroplast signs, labels for the iPads, documentation, handouts and flyers.
Our expertise allowed us to examine their needs and create a cohesive package that will communicate exactly what the research study is about and how Doctors can learn more about Trauma.
