Low Risk Offers
Last week, I defined “What is a compelling offer?” Now “What is a low risk offer?”
An offer in the advertising world is to present to someone a perceived special that will encourage them to buy or use something you either have or provide.
A low risk offer is an offer that the prospective customer, and even the mildly interested prospect, will be interested in finding more about. These are NOT generally coupons or everyday specials, although sometimes they are. Here is the difference:
Most marketing pieces only appeal to the “ready to buy” customers. That is only between 1 – 5% of all prospects. The low risk offer will attract those that are even mildly interested, even those that are perhaps interested a year from now, to pay attention. This can increase your response by 2-5 times. Let me give you an example:
A real estate agent is trying to sell homes. He runs a standard ad that tells about some homes he has for sale. They have been reduced in price or have just been listed. These types of ads will attract those few that are in the market now to buy a home
A low risk offer could be a report like these:
– 10 things you can do to prepare your home to sell and get the highest price possible.
– The 10 biggest mistakes people make when buying a home that costs them $1,000’s more at closing.
– Comparing family friendly homes in the South Valley area. Ask these 12 important questions to make sure you are getting the right house in the right area.
– What should you be asking realtors before you sign with him/her?
There are many more. You get the idea. The report needs to be real and give information that will help the prospect make a better buying or selling decision. It makes you also the expert in the field.
Reports are not the only way to give them a low risk offer. I have seen many times an offer like “A study that helps people lose weight, is now looking for individuals that qualify for our study and we will pay them to participate.” Another is an ad that gives the questions that people should ask to qualify companies. “Ask these 15 questions to make sure that your heating and air conditioning company is qualified to install them.” This is like putting the report in your ad.
The advantage to these offers is that you attract the attention of those ready to buy but more important, those that have even slightly considered buying or selling – and everywhere in between. This is considerably more than just the normal response for a real estate agent that is ready to buy/sell. Many people begin thinking of selling or buying months and sometimes years before they are ready to act on it.
You also get the opportunity to continue to market to these prospects until they are ready to buy, building your image and their trust in you. You have, after all, given them very valuable information. You have helped educate them on making a better buying decision.
We have had a dentist that for 2 years ran ads that were articles written by he and his staff about the dental industry. These included articles about Why have a check up every 6 months, What will insurance pay for and why (this was a two or three part article), Silver vs. the new natural colored fillings, How bad is plaque, Can gum disease really be that dangerous?
These were low risk for the people reading them and got their attention. He got to the point that is was a three month wait for a new patient to get in to get x-rays and a cleaning. This dentist just can’t take any additional patients.
Low risk offers are great when you don’t have a product that lends itself to being a compelling offer. In the last newsletter I talked about a Free Donut offer for just coming in. While this is compelling, it is also a low risk offer. No obligation, just come in and indulge. The advantage to this offer is that once a customer came in, you were hooked on the deals and other products that they have. The key though is to keep coming up with low risk offers that will keep you in mind.
The next newsletter will give you the 6 most common offers and discuss how effective they are. Which one gives you the biggest return and how to use percent off offers?
Best Wishes,
Boyd Petersen
Certified Marketing Coach