How To Create Compelling Offers (Unconditional):

Overview: Why have an offer? Because Offers (or incentives) make people sit up and take notice. Offers should stop the reader dead in their tracks and make them say "I want that!" If you don't have an offer, it's too easy for the reader to turn the page and move on. Even if they're interested in your product, they won't stop to do anything about it because they're just too darn busy. They'll probably say, "That looks interesting - I must get around to getting one of those."
And of course, that day never comes. So how does it actually work?

Learning Outcomes:

In this article, we'll cover:

• Why offers and incentives are vital to getting a response
• How they work
• How to motivate a consumer to ‘take action'
•  5 versions of unconditional offers you can use

The principle behind Offers is very simple:

1. Offers stop people from moving on.
2. Offers force the reader to take action.

Once you have intrigued your reader enough to keep them reading until the end of the ad, you need to get them to DO something.

This could be any one of the following:

• Fill out a coupon/form
• Make a telephone call
• Click on a website
• Send an email
• Go to a store

What they all have in common is that they involve an action. That's our objective - to get our reader to do one or more of these things.

But the big question is:

How do we get the reader to be sufficiently inspired to want to take action? Well, we need to motivate them.

How do we do that? It's simple. We think about who they are, what they need, what's important to them and come up with an idea that's relevant, timely, interesting and genuine.

Here are some examples:

• A carpet cleaning business may offer a 4th room cleaned for free
• A fitness centre might offer a free dietary consultation or a free personal training session upon joining
• A florist may offer free chocolates with every Valentine's Day purchase
• A hairdresser might offer a free 15-minute head massage with every colour
• A hotel might offer a free meal in the restaurant with every weekend package purchased
•  An interior designer could offer a free booklet about colour co-ordination for the bedroom

The secret to creating great offers is to offer the reader something interesting and relevant to their needs.

There's no point offering a free carpet cleaning with every gym membership sold, or a free 15 minute head massage with every bunch of flowers sold.

Neither of these offers are targeted or relevant to the consumer.

You'll also notice that all the offers listed above cost very little to provide, yet have great intrinsic value to the customer.

How to make a customer choose your product over the competitors:

In many cases, what we're trying to do is convince the customer to come with us; to buy our product. There are other competing products out there, bursting to get noticed, so all we have to do is offer something that they're not offering, and we've won our customer over.

Sometimes it doesn't take much to convert a customer over to another supplier but there always has to be a reason for them to do so.

Providing a great offer can help bring that customer over. What's more, it doesn't have to cost a lot to create a compelling offer.

Example:

Including a few chocolates with the Valentine's Day flowers may cost under $5 but the value of the entire purchase of flowers could be well over $100.

The gym membership offer of a free dietary consultation may cost up to $30 but the gym membership could be worth well over $500 per year, or more.

People love to get something for nothing, no matter how small the offer might be.  Never forget this.

Types of Offers:

Here is a wide selection of Offers that you can choose from:

1. Unconditional Offers

These are designed as lead generators i.e. they get prospects (people who have never bought from you before) to say, metaphorically speaking, that they ‘are interested'.

There are no strings attached to unconditional offers. You simply fill out a coupon or phone a number and you receive the offer free - usually a free report, information pack or a free seminar.

Unconditional ‘lead generating' offers are highly effective for attracting leads however you must bear in mind that a large proportion of these leads will be unqualified.

You see, a percentage of the population is simply responding just to get the offer and not because they're in the market to buy your products/services.

Responses tend to be high with this approach so even though you generate a proportion of unqualified leads there are certainly many qualified leads in there also.

Why do it? Because it provides you with a mailing list. If you keep in touch with these people there's a good chance they'll do business with you down the track.

Who should use them?

Unconditional offers are ideal for businesses that are in a start-up phase where their aim is to get a large amount of exposure in a short space of time.

Here are some examples of unconditional offers:

a. Free report or information pack

If you offer a product or service that is reasonably complex or requires some knowledge, a free report or information pack is ideal.
How does this help? It builds your credibility by offering advice, and it educates your prospect as to what sort of things they should consider.
Information packs containing tapes, DVDs and videos can be very effective too because people perceive them to have a high value, even if it only costs you a few cents to duplicate. And you get to promote your business as they're listening to you!

Stores like Bunnings offer Fact Sheets. This helps the store build credibility and refers people back to the products in the store.

b. Free consultations

Accountants, interior designers, financial planners, marketing consultants and other services benefit greatly by offering a free consultation. Once you've met with a prospect and had a chance to show your wares, you're in a much better position to build a relationship and hence, a sale.

Some will be looking for freebie advice but that's okay. You'll quickly identify who they are and move on.

c. Free trial

Newspapers and magazines use this offer very successfully. If you agree to receive a free copy, chances are you'll get to like it and then continue to buy it.

d. Samples

Women's magazines use these to great effect. It's been said that sales of their magazines triple if there is a valuable sample attached to the front page, like a lipstick, perfume or a blush brush.

e. Free lessons

Free lessons help people overcome their initial inertia in getting involved with a product. Teachers, schools and other educational institutions often hold open days to attract new people.

This is a great way to add value to prospects and customers. An open day will involve ‘how to' demonstrations that show prospects how to build, create or make things that relate to the products you sell. It helps people experience the product before they buy, thereby reducing their risk of making a bad decision.

Summary:

For many businesses, it's very difficult to find a Unique Selling Proposition, ie. something that sets them apart from the competitors.  But by creating a unqiue, relevant, cost efficient offer, you can make your business stand out from the crowd, without spending a fortune.

All you have to do is offer something that they're not, and you've won the customer over.

Bernadette Schwerdt is the founder of The Australian School of Copywriting. She is a freelance copywriter and business coach. She can be contacted on +61419891932 or at info@copyschool.com. Visit http://www.copyschool.com for details about seminar and home study courses on copywriting.