25 Marketing Operation Experiences That Will Keep Opening Your Mind (Part 2)

There is no standardized perfect solution for marketing operations . However, in life and work, there will always be some knowledge points or experiences that will suddenly enlighten you and give you a burst of inspiration.

And every time, I see such knowledge and experience, I always gain something and feel inspired!

This feeling is very wonderful for me, it's like a flash of inspiration in my head, just like turning on a light.

Last time, I shared with you 12 great experiences and cases in "25 Marketing Operation Experiences That Will Continuously Expand Your Mindset (Part 1)". Today, let’s continue to appreciate the next 13 experiences and cases.

I hope your marketing ideas can be successfully discovered!

13. 5 tips to make your article smooth and easy to read

Many articles nowadays are too difficult to read, with boring and weak language, confusing logic, lack of story, dirty and messy layout, etc.

So how do you improve the fluency of your writing?

1) Create a gap at the beginning

You can find parts that go against common sense and stimulate users' desire for the "truth"; you can point out other people's mistakes and stimulate users' desire for "correctness"; you can also use success stories to stimulate users' desire for "success".

2 ) Constantly respond to readers’ questions

Sometimes, instead of telling him the answer directly, it is better to let him have questions first, grab his attention, get his brain thinking, and make him desire the answer to the question.

Please note that letting readers have questions here does not mean asking questions endlessly. Many times questions are hidden in declarative sentences. You need to learn this writing technique.

3) The ending reflects the sense of value and resonates with the audience

It is best to summarize, refine, and sublimate the content of the article so that readers feel that the article is valuable and that they have learned something after reading it, and the beginning and the end should be consistent. It’s best if it can touch the readers and resonate with them.

4) Clear structure and paragraphs, with more refined subheadings

Divide the article into several parts, mark each part with 1234, and add more subheadings .

5) Continue to provide users with reading rewards

In addition to the content that must be conveyed, the article should also give readers something more.

For example, the article can be equipped with more high-quality pictures, or exciting videos related to the content can be inserted into the article, or some complaints and jokes can be inserted when the article becomes tiring to read, etc. This is called reading reward.

14. 7 Steps to Writing Great Copy

Joseph Sugarman's "The Copywriting Training Manual" mentions 7 steps to writing great copy:

Step 1: Become an expert in your product or service. I get more great ideas when I research everything about a product or service than from any other source.

Step 2: Understand your target customers. “What motivates your prospects to eventually become your customers?” “Who is your typical customer?” Knowing these things can broaden your horizons and spark a lot of good ideas.

Step 3: Write your title and subtitle. They must grab the reader's attention and create enough curiosity to compel the reader to read the first sentence.

Step 4: Write the copy. Don't worry about sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation—just start writing, and keep writing, putting everything in your mind about the subject into motion.

Step 5: Edit the text. Correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure errors, and remove unnecessary words that are not relevant to expressing your ideas.

Step 6: Brewing. Stop editing, put the text aside, go for a walk, or do something else enjoyable. You'll be surprised at the benefits of stepping away from words. The longer the brewing time, the better the effect will be.

Step 7: Take a final look at your copy. You'll be surprised how much more needs to be refined in this final look. Of course, you can also simply repeat steps 5 and 6.

15. New York Subway Crime Control Case

In the 1980s, crime was rife in New York City, with more than 600,000 serious crimes each year and over 2,000 murders alone. The subway was the hardest hit area, and New Yorkers suffered greatly.

However, despite the large amount of police force deployed, there has been no improvement.

However, William Bratton, the New York Transit Police Commissioner who took office in 1990, believed that the dirty and messy subway environment was a key trigger for crime, so he adopted a seemingly unconventional approach: he set out to stop and clean up graffiti in the subway. At that time, most people thought it was unreliable.

But a miracle happened. As the subway environment became cleaner and more orderly, the crime rate in the New York subway dropped rapidly.

Later, Bratton was appointed as the Commissioner of Police of New York City. He applied this method to the public security management of the entire New York, and the crime rate in the city dropped sharply and rapidly. New York has become one of the safest major cities in the United States.

It was this one key action that fundamentally reversed the entire situation!

The same is true for marketing operations . At any time, there should be only one or two key marketing behaviors. You can't do twenty things at the same time. You need to focus on a few key behaviors rather than the majority.

As long as you can find this key marketing, no matter how complex the problem seems, it will collapse easily like a deck of cards.

16. Suggestions on expressing data in copywriting

Whether it is a title or writing content, information is always required. The most common form of information today is data. So what are some tips for getting from data to users?

In the book "How the Wall Street Journal Tells Stories", there are 5 specific practical suggestions.

1) Don’t use too much data in one paragraph, as this will create obstacles for readers.

2) Transform abstract data to make it more vivid and less abstract. (Simple and vivid data expression makes it easier for readers to accept)

If the specific information of the data is not very important, "US$2.6 million" is much simpler and clearer than "US$2,611,423", "an increase of 36.7%" is not as good as "the increase is more than one-third", and "an increase of 98%" is not as good as "almost doubled".

3) Use ratios instead of large numbers. Don't say "14,654,231 out of 58,013,261 American drivers drive imported cars", but say "On average, 1 out of 4 American drivers drives an imported car". The smaller the number, the easier it is to remember; the larger the number, the more abstract it is.

4) Provide a reference object to make the numbers more vivid. Arizona, for example, is overdrawing groundwater at 2.5 million acre-feet per year. What is the concept?

To put it another way, this amount of water is enough to submerge the entire New York City in 11 feet of water. When you have this picture in your mind, your understanding of the number will be more vivid.

17. 8 Steps to Check Your Copy

After you finish writing the copy, how do you test it?

1) Does this copy directly hit the user’s pain points?

2) How many pain points were addressed? (If you mention too many pain points, it means there are no pain points. This is like: when a person has too many shortcomings, it is better to just give up.)

3) Is the statement of pain point direct and simple? (After scanning the copy, users can "find their seat")

4) Is the solution to the pain point the product’s biggest advantage or differentiation (can your product solve the pain point)? In many cases, a product can solve several pain points. But don’t be greedy and write about one pain point in one piece of copy.

5) Will people take the action you want them to take immediately after reading this copy? If not, then is it not written sharply enough?

6) If people feel the urge to act, do they know how to complete the purchase process as quickly as possible?

7) What kind of emotion will be ignited in people’s hearts after reading this copy? That is: emotional resonance. Emotions are not necessarily "longing" or "yearning for beautiful things", they can also be guilt, shame (for example: I haven't been filial to my parents for a long time, and I have less and less time to spend with my children), etc. The copywriter should think about: Is this emotion highly contagious?

8) After reading this copy, do people have a reason to share it with their friends? For example, this thing is really cheap, so we want more people to benefit from it; for example, this is really interesting, so we want more people to enjoy it, and so on.

Use the above 8 questions to constantly test your copywriting, and I believe your copywriting will become more and more practical.

18. How does Haier New Media do marketing?

The Forbidden City Taobao enjoys a good reputation in the field of new media marketing. Previously, a fan left a message on the Forbidden City Taobao Weibo, asking if they could produce a refrigerator magnet called "Cold Palace" so that putting leftovers in the refrigerator would be considered "banished to the cold palace."

At the same time, a fan also @Haier, asking when you will cooperate to produce a cold palace refrigerator. Haier's editor responded quickly and said: Let me think about it. In just a moment, Haier's Weibo post became popular, with over 30,000 comments and likes, and the comments at the bottom strongly demanded that it must be done and done quickly.

Then the new media department spent a whole morning communicating with colleagues in the refrigerator customization group, produced a thick user research feedback, and then told the engineers, "There are more than 30,000 users who want this cold palace refrigerator. Will you make it? If you don't, I will make it for XX company." Then they held an emergency meeting, and the result was that it could be done.

24 hours later, Haier posted the design drawing of the cold palace refrigerator on Weibo and @ed the Forbidden City Taobao. Within a week, the cold palace refrigerator came out, and Haier immediately delivered the refrigerator to the user who provided the design drawing.

You will find from them that new media can be played in this way, and it can truly bring reputation to their own products and rely on user feedback to promote continuous innovation and iteration of products. I believe that people who work in corporate new media will fall in love with this job from the bottom of their hearts.

19. To be customer-centric, you need to think clearly about these 5 issues

All business operators are constantly asking questions around customer value. This "customer-centric" approach is a strategic thinking in a broad sense, and should also be a principle in details.

Management expert Chen Chunhua proposed five considerations in response to this user mindset:

1) What are the customer's needs and preferences?

2) What methods can meet this need and preference?

3) What products and services are best suited to this approach?

4) What are the input factors for providing these products and services?

5) What are the key assets and core capabilities that use these inputs?

Once these specific issues are thought through, the customer value will become much clearer.

20. How to implement a “10% off” marketing plan?

We have all encountered discounts in shopping malls, 20% off, 30% off, and sometimes even 50% off. However, have you ever seen a 10% discount? There is a gentleman's suit shop in Ginza, Japan, which caused a sensation in Tokyo by offering a 10% discount strategy.

This suit shop does this by first setting the time for the discount sale:

There is a 10% discount on the first day, 20% discount on the second day, 30% discount on the third and fourth days, 40% discount on the fifth and sixth days, 50% discount on the seventh and eighth days, 40% discount on the ninth and tenth days, 30% discount on the eleventh and twelfth days, 20% discount on the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and 10% discount on the last two days.

It seems like the last two days are the best for shopping, right?

The actual situation is: there were not many guests coming on the first day, and if they came they just took a look and left after a while. They started coming in groups from the third day, and when the store was 40% off on the fifth day, customers came like a flood and started buying things. Of course, they bought all the goods before the 10% discount.

Why is this?

Since it is a surprising sales strategy, the initial publicity effect will be very good. With a curious mentality, customers will flock to it. The surge in the number of customers has increased their sense of urgency. They are worried that the things they like will be snapped up in advance, so they can’t wait until the last two days and check out and buy directly.

So, did the merchants lose money?

You see, when customers are eager to buy their favorite products, it will trigger a chain reaction of panic buying. “10% off” is just a psychological tactic, the actual discount is around 60%. Not only will you not lose money, but you will make a lot of money instead.

21. Use the pyramid principle to write articles “from top to bottom”

The pyramid principle can help authors focus on and explore the audience's needs, interests, concerns and interests.

Articles often first let readers understand certain "background" and existing "conflicts", and then readers will have "questions". Answering readers' questions is the author's purpose of writing.

When writing articles using the pyramid principle, the most common method is to use the top-down rule. The steps are as follows:

1) Propose a theme.

2) Anticipate the reader’s main questions. Think about the audience for the article and what questions the article can answer for readers.

3) According to the logic: background – conflict – question – answer (SCQA theory). First, explain the "background", combine the topic to be discussed with the "background", make the first non-controversial statement related to the topic, and point out the "conflict" in the "background" that may cause readers to have questions.

4) Engage in a question/answer dialogue with readers.

5) Repeat step 4 for any new questions from readers.

22. Why does it never have discounts and expose the cost price?

An Internet fashion brand called Everlane once held an event called “Choose your own pr ice”. Simply put, there is no discount setting. They have three different price levels to choose from, and consumers decide for themselves how much to spend.

Take a shirt that originally costs $78, for example. Everlane offers three price levels: $46, $55, and $71. The $46 price includes production and shipping costs. If you choose the $55 price, the webpage will show: This price will allow us to earn $9, and there will be some extra for the team. If you choose $71, it will tell you: "This price will allow us to grow better. Thank you for your support!"

Everlane conveys the concept of "extreme transparency". In addition, every style page of Everlane will have a price chart, marking the cost items such as materials, labor, taxes, etc. for producing the clothing, and even photos of the production factory.

This kind of "extreme transparency" eliminates consumers' deep-seated sense of insecurity to the greatest extent. Knowing where every penny they spend is spent, they will naturally prefer it. At the same time, it also allows consumers to be more understanding and less picky in future purchases.

23. Pay attention to purple cow thinking

"Purple cow" is a concept proposed by Godin, the former vice president of marketing at Yahoo . It means that among a group of black and white cows, a purple cow suddenly appears, which is very eye-catching and attracts people's attention.

Gao Ting believes that in a saturated market, it is difficult for any marketing ideas to ignite sparks because marketers have provided consumers with too many choices and consumers are already tired of coping. The world is already full of noise, and consumers can no longer tolerate more noise.

Purple Cow Thinking is very suitable for the current era of information explosion. We need to break people's expectations, go against common sense, and create various surprises cleverly and effectively.

24. P&G ’s More and Less

P&G has become the world's largest daily chemical brand, penetrating into every aspect of life. How does P&G strike the right balance when faced with so many categories and brands?

1) Many: Many brands

Take shampoo as an example, Rejoice, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, these well-known brands are all owned by Procter & Gamble. Why would one company launch so many brands?

This is the so-called "multi-brand effect". It is difficult for one product to fully satisfy picky consumers.

There are many brands, each with its own advantages. For dandruff removal, choose Head & Shoulders; for repair, choose Pantene. No matter what you choose, they are all part of P&G and can fully meet the different needs of consumers.

2) Few: Few products of each brand

Although P&G has many brands, the number of products in each brand is very small. Once Procter & Gamble reduced the number of Head & Shoulders from 26 to 15, and their sales increased by 10%.

The principle is very simple. Too many choices are not good news for consumers. Instead, they will directly increase the difficulty of choosing. Would you rather spend 10 minutes choosing one out of 20, or spend 3 minutes choosing one out of 5? The answer is definitely the latter.

It is this careful balance between more and less that has allowed P&G to remain at the top of daily chemical products from its founding in 1837 to the present.

25. Would you pay for a half-full bottle of water?

If I sell you only half a bottle of mineral water at the price of a whole bottle of mineral water, will you pay for this half bottle of water? Normally we wouldn't buy it.

However, a company called Life Water, through a marketing method combined with public welfare activities, convinced customers to buy half a bottle of water with the money they would have spent on a full bottle of water.

Life Water’s survey found that generally only half a bottle of water is enough to meet people’s current water needs, and the remaining half a bottle of water will be wasted intentionally or unintentionally.

Therefore, Life Water first specially designed seven packages with images of children from water-scarce areas printed on them, which can greatly inspire people's compassion and encourage them to do charity.

Moreover, buying water for charity is much easier than donating to the Red Cross, and you don’t have to worry about drinking water. At the same time, through their marketing activities, this bottle of mineral water can also meet the customers' noble sense of self-worth recognition needs, and they can feel it immediately.

So many times, what we want is not the ultimate product, but a certain psychological satisfaction that the product can bring to users.

Furthermore, if the utility provided by a product cannot be perceived, then it is of little value in the eyes of users.

Okay, this is the end of the series of marketing and operation experiences that will open your mind. There are 25 in total. If you swim with the waves, you can always swim faster.

I hope it can be of some use to you!

Marketing has no end! Keep learning and keep thinking!

Source: Mumu Laozei