Use the Force To Triple Inbound Calls.

Is there a super-secret-magical marketing method to increase your inbound calls? Yes. And no.

No, it’s not mystical knowledge that only a chosen few have been gifted and now wield, but yes, there is a method to the madness.

On average, our agency triples inbound calls for our clients during campaigns by following the tenets of BrandJitsu: find, shape, and share your story (in that order).

The order is important because before you share your story (advertising) you first need to find and shape who you are (Brand DNA + Personality) and how that aligns with your ideal customer (marketing).

Okay, you want to increase the number of people who are connecting with your brand. For a moment let’s forget the number or multiple of new engagements — the title of this article is not the limit of your reach, it’s just what we’ve seen happen consistently — and focus instead on what needs to happen to increase the awareness of your brand, and its connection to the market.

The connection to the market.

Blarg, what a garbage subtitle. What it should read is, “Your connection with the hero,” because herein lies the secret to increasing inbound calls: It’s not about you; it’s about your customer, the hero of the story.

You are the Yoda to their Luke Skywalker: they need The Force® to complete their quest, and you are the one to give it to them. You have The Force, they need The Force. After they get The Force from you, they will continue on their merry way and successfully complete their story because of your help.

Now, before all you Star Wars purists Force Choke me for suggesting that The Force can just be given to someone, please understand that I know that, but for this analogy to stay simple I’m going to say that it can be. Thanks.

There are four ways you can help your hero if you are clear on who you are.

You are Yoda. You know who you are. You know what you do, why you do it, who you do it for, and why they care (BrandJitsu Tenet Numero Uno: Your Brand DNA which is covered in my books and talks and articles). You walk, talk, act, and dress a certain way. You’ve got a personality and a way of communicating with the world that attracts heroes to you.

Help them, you must.

Here’s a simple formula you can use for your campaigns: Product or Service + (Brand Personality + Hero’s Journey + What’s In Front Of Us) x unique perspective = Memorable Offer.

There are four simple rules to follow that will help you increase the number of inbound calls and sell more stuff:

(1) Know thy hero.

Your customer (the hero) is on a journey, and to be successful in that journey they need your help.

Let’s take a look at a quick campaign we did for O’Canada Soapworks in October. The pain our hero was experiencing at this time of year was DRY SKIN. This just so happened to occur around Hallowe’en.

A Special Hydrating Soap + (Smart and Quirky Canadian Soap Company + Dry Flaky Skin + Hallowe’en) x What Else Has Dry Skin = The ‘Dry Skin is The Worst’ Campaign.

(2) One Offer At A Time.

Don’t overwhelm your potential customers with too many options. In the aforementioned “Dry Skin Is The Worst” ad there were at least a dozen different soaps, seltzers, and creams we could have added, but why? We didn’t need to. We just needed to connect emotionally with the customer, show them that we understood their pain, and offered a solution. Autumn Crabapple did the trick, and that built instant trust because there was a clear truth we could all agree with, and we paired it with a simple solution.

(3) Tell Them What To Do.

Don’t over-complicate this step. Just tell them what to do to stop being in pain. Call you. Email you. Click a link. Use a code. Buy stuff. Here’s the copy from the Instagram post that went with that ad.

Shortest horror story: “dry skin”It’s definitely the worst!

Keep it supple with our Autumn Crabapple Soap bar — it has a delicious aroma with a hint of spice from the rhubarb root leaves you feeling calm and soft.

Use code OHALLOW10 for 10% off on your order

(4) Be Consistent.

The 7-Touch Exploding Brand Technique™ is a real thing but it’s also not a real thing. It used to be that before a consumer (hero) would take action (buy a thing) they needed to see it seven times in a specific period of time (18 months) — this concept was named “The Rule of 7” by Dr. Jeffrey Lant.

In the new age of media bombardment these numbers shift dramatically, but what we do know is that before someone buys anything from you, they must trust you. For them to trust you, you need to show up consistently and truthfully.

During the course of these campaigns, we saw a 600%+ increase in sales. We can attribute this to O’Canada Soapworks embracing their inner Yoda (Brand DNA + Personality) along with recognizing the pain their heroes were in (Dry Skin) and giving them a clear and consistent way to eliminate that pain (Cool Soap) — an amazing product that delivers on their promise.

Yes, there is one more rule (a Fifth Element, if you will) that will continue to triple your inbound calls: deliver on your brand promise every single time, without fail. We’ll explore that further in future articles, books and talks.

Don’t forget to register for our free seminars to learn more BrandJitsu™, and if we don’t have one scheduled for your timezone just let us know and we’ll make it happen.