By: Lisa Manyon “The Business Marketing Architect”

Whether you like it or not, as an entrepreneur and business owner, you have a second role. That role is to market your products, your services and your business. I often say, “A funny thing happens when you don’t market or advertise …nothing!”

When you have a BIG mission, you want to make sure you get mission into the hands (or heads) of as many people as possible. To do so, you will need to create marketing messages that truly resonate with your core audience. In essence, you need to find a way to turn your BIG mission into a palatable marketing message. 

For years marketers, advertisers and copywriters have been pushing techniques that don’t really facilitate deep conversation or change. I’ve always known intuitively that something was “off” with this approach. The intent has been to push a product, create more sales and basically treat people like numbers. People are not numbers. People are people. Since this is clearly a universal truth, doesn’t it make sense to create your marketing materials in a way that really connects on a deep level?

I’ve found that the traditional copywriting formula of “Problem. Agitate. Solve.” isn’t resonating with consumers, especially women. This is vital information because the landscape of marketing and consumerism has changed over the years. Women now make or influence 85% of all purchasing decisions and purchase over 50% of traditional male products, including electronics home improvement products and automobiles. A study shared via The Next Web claims 91% of women feel like advertisers don’t understand them. Consumers (especially women who are now wielding a majority of the buying power) don’t need to be agitated to make a decision. Women are looking for solutions to their challenges. What’s really working is my marketing and copywriting formula of “Challenge. Solution. Invitation™.”  In fact, this formula works for business, marketing and relationships (even promoting your book). 

Here are three ways to incorporate the “Challenge. Solution. Invitation™.” formula into your communications.

1. Acknowledge the challenge. When you know who your ideal client is and what their challenges are you can begin to build relationships with your products and services.
2. Offer your solution. Once you’ve identified the challenges of your ideal client you can clearly illustrate your solution. Show them HOW you can help.
3. Extend an invitation. Be sure to invite your prospects to become paying clients by clearly letting them know the next step to doing business with you. 

In the traditional marketing and copwriting formula you’re taught to highlight the problems, agitate the pain points and then solve the problem. People are in enough pain and don’t need to be agitated to make a decision. That’s why I teach my clients to market in a different way – a way that challenges the norm. When you acknowledge the challenge, provide a helpful solution and extend a friendly invitation consumers are more likely to take action. The “Challenge. Solution. Invitation.™” gives you a simple, 3- step formula to create marketing messages that really connect. This is especially important for mission-driven entrepreneurs and business owners who have a big MISSION and have, until now, struggled to create marketing messages that come from a place of true service and get results. 

Marketing is all about relationships. In order to build solid relationships you need to have strong content and strong strategy. That’s why I challenge the age-old advertising adage that copy is king. Instead, think of copy as QUEEN and strategy as KING.  They are feminine and masculine energies of marketing and just like a relationship, they must work together to get results.  Marketing is an intricate dance. You must know who your ideal clients are, what motivates them and how to connect in an authentic way. 

It’s time to make sure your mission, values and the needs of your clients are taken into consideration… It’s time to create marketing messages with integrity that come from a place of true service.  This is how you’ll engage and entice your prospects to become paying clients. 

Quick marketing message tips:

1. Copy is QUEEN and Strategy is KING. Think of them as the feminine and masculine energy of marketing. Just like a relationship, if they are not working together, it will not work.
2. Most marketing messages miss the mark because people fail to infuse values into their personal mission statement and business mission statement and intentions are incongruent.
3. By incorporating the “Challenge. Solution. Invitation™.” formula you’ll build relationships that come from a place of service first and marketing really is all about relationships. 
4. Trust your intuition. If you follow some of the traditional copywriting formulas, your marketing may just miss the mark.
5. Nothing truly flows when it comes from a place of pain and fear…

Brief Bio:

Lisa Manyon is “The Business Marketing Architect” a content strategist for mission-driven entrepreneurs. She’s the creator of the new marketing model for success as featured in Inc. Magazine. She teaches a relationship based approach to marketing with integrity with her “Challenge. Solution. Invitation.™” formula.  Her big vision and ability to see all the pieces of your marketing puzzle allows her to help you reverse engineer your big ideas into tangible action steps to turn your dreams into reality.  Lisa is a regular guest expert on Experience Pros radio, her philosophies are featured in the book Wonder Women: How the Western Woman Will Save The World and beyond. Lisa is available for speaking engagements and you can learn more by visiting her media kit lisa.instantmediakit.com. She offers free marketing resources on her award winning blog www.writeoncreative.com/blog