Would you like to increase your marketing campaign responses by 10 to 30 percent? How much additional revenue would this add to the bottom line? To make this scenario to a reality, consider asking questions during marketing campaigns to attract and influence prospects. Questions provide the ability to immediately involve prospects in the selling process by referring to their biggest concerns.

When discussing marketing strategy, companies are often extremely good at describing their company history, product features and the corporate team biographies. However, they fail to focus on prospects’ problems and issues. They wonder why they can’t motivate more people to inquire about or purchase their technology.

Questions are very powerful influencing agents that alter thinking patterns, release energy in the brain, motivate and alter ¬, or even control, behaviour. Their power is often not implemented or even recognized. Questions will give your company significant advantages in the following ways:

Attract Attention

Marketing materials often make claims, bold statements and present images to gain attention. They originate from the advertiser and are frequently broadcast without any invitation to respond. Questions are strikingly different, as they invite prospects to offer a response, if only to themselves thereby stimulating their own thinking. The question mark itself draws attention because it is a symbol that breaks up copy.

Inspire an Immediate Reply

Marketing is measured by the response that it generates. It can be seen in the number of web site hits or phone calls received following a direct mailing. All questions inspire a reply.

Can you picture the flag of the United States in your mind? The image immediately came to mind, didn’t it? If you didn’t know what it looked like, you at least searched your memory. You might even take some action to find out, like searching the Internet or a reference book. Either way, you’re engaged.

Demonstrate Respect to Your Intended Customers

Questions show that you have audiences’ best interests at heart from the beginning of the pitch. All marketing comes down to two questions (see, there they are again) from the prospect’s perspective: “What’s in it for me?” and “So what?”

By asking questions with the word “you” in them, you are showing your prospects that the pitch is about them. There is a story about two ad men where one bet the other (let’s call him Fred Smith) $5 that he could get Fred to read a full page of information. The man won the bet by using the words, “This Is About Fred Smith” as the headline.

Break Your Prospect’s Thinking Pattern

A question breaks a train of thought and interrupts thinking patterns. Think of a conversation that has been interrupted by someone’s question. Perhaps you were discussing the implications of new production standards when someone asked where the cream for the coffee was kept. Returning to the conversation, you utter the classic phrase: “Now where was I?”

This is useful in handling prospect and client objections. By breaking their chain of thought, you have an opportunity to offer new information and influence their decisions.

Add Interactivity

Marketing campaigns are often presented in media that don’t allow an immediate reply. Print, TV and radio advertising, public relations, and direct mail are all examples. Prospects are uninvolved until they respond – if they respond at all. An appropriate series of questions makes it more interactive, generating an internal dialogue.

Reveal Prospect’s Thoughts and Beliefs

A good client rapport will reveal what they believe to be true – but often only if asked directly. Many objections in sales and marketing are based on unfounded perceptions. To succeed, they must first be revealed and addressed.

Ask probing questions to uncover these impediments to a call-to-action or for a sale. Be respectful and avoid being condescending with open-ended questions that allow the prospect to respond without feeling controlled or directed.

Uncover the Prospect’s Hot Buttons

Know your target market’s reasons-to-buy better than the competition and you will close the sale. Simply ask your prospects and they’ll tell you. During phone conversations, in person or through some other medium, pose the question, “What’s the most important factor to you when purchasing [insert your product name here]?” On the web, provide the most common responses as the hotlinks that visitors click on for more information. This one question means you’re concentrating on their buying desire, rather than just rattling off a list of product features.

Reveal Previously Unconsidered Possibilities

Expose Your Expertise

The questions you ask demonstrate how much you already know about your prospects’ industry issues. Careful selection of vocabulary and themes give a direct implication of your knowledge and active participation in their industry.

Here are some more questions. How are you using questions to improve your marketing and increase connections with prospects and clients? Count the number of questions you ask in marketing materials and sales collateral. Are they written in a way that encourages prospects to recognize a problem they may not have previously seen? Are they motivated to re-evaluate their situation and contact you? Recognize and use the power of questions, and immediately improve your marketing response rates and sales results.

Steps to Success Summary:

• 1. Attract attention with thought provoking questions.
• 2. Inspire a reply, either to you and your company, or at least through a client’s internal dialogue.
• 3. Show your clients respect by answering their questions, “What’s in it for me?” and “So what?”
• 4. Use questions to break old thought patterns and open minds to new possibilities.
• 5. Questions help clients to stop and think about their needs.
• 6. Make your marketing more interactive by using questions.
• 7. Discover what your customers’ really think and believe about your products,
• 8. Know your customer better than the competition by asking them their reasons to buy your product.
• 9. Reveal possible new solutions through questions.
• 10. Ask intelligent questions to demonstrate your industry expertise.

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