"Call now, and receive a free copy of ________!"
"Sir, can I ask you one question?"
"Let me know how I can help you!"
I've heard all of the above and I always ignore the above statements. All of these approaches try to get people interested to buy something, but usually never work. People these days have gotten so used to "The Universal Approach" that they really just ignore anything associated with any of the above phrases.
When you watch infomercials on TV, you usually hear statements like "Call in the next 5 min. and get extra _____" or "Receive an additional copy of so and so magazine," but have you ever questioned how many people actually buy into that? Probably not enough to turn a ridiculous profit on the product. It is because people need more. Consumers have heard the same incentives a few too many times.
"Sir, can I ask you a question?" I'm not sure how many times I hear this phrase every time I go to the mall, but it gets annoying. From one end of the mall to the other, there are probably 3 or 4 cell phone booths, where there are salesmen trying to sell me a contract with a different company by telling me "We can save you money." I feel like it is all a scam because they just want their commission, by selling me a contract for 2 years after giving me a one of those free phones. Though that is not the point, but instead the phrase "Sir, can I ask you a question," is a phrase that everyone ignores when they hear it in the mall by a salesman trying to sell a cell phone.
If you use Twitter, I'm sure you have got a direct message once or twice that says, "Hey ______, thanks for following, Check out my blog @ ________" or "Hi, __________, let me know how I can help you, check out my site." Now ask yourself if you actually read any of these messages or click through to the link sent in the message. I don't. In fact, I sometimes miss reading out on real direct messages people send because I get too many automated direct messages.
Now that I have established that there are a lot of universal catch phrases that people use in every industry, let's see how the ROI is on them. Considering I never order products from infomercials, I never stop to talk to the cell phone rep, and I never read automated direct messages on Twitter, the ROI on these phrases, are really bad!
Instead of using a universal approach of trying to attract new customers or new crowds to your website, try personalizing or changing things up. I'm pretty sure if that same cell phone salesman handed me a real cell phone to play around with, I would actually stay and listen to what he has to say. If a Twitter message had my real name in it, I would read it. By either doing the unexpected or personalizing things, the ROI in your time and efforts is drastically increased. Changing how you deal with each person you deal with whether it is trying to attract more people to your website or drawing more customers to your business, can really grab people's attention. By doing things the way your neighbor does them, will just give you the same outcome as your neighbor, which is nothing. People need change, so don't give them the same pitch everyone else is.
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