August 24, 2012 11 Comments

It Doesn’t Have to Be Modern to Win – The Works

I need to get a cleaning service in to give my place a really thorough cleaning. I decided to check on Craigslist, and came across this headline:

RE:”The Most Thorough Maid Service EVER Or you Pay $0″ Marli (Last 2 Spots On My Schedule For Friday M)

It was utterly unlike the rest of the ads in the whole section of Craigslist. If I’m lucky, it’s still up and this link will let you look at it yourself. If not, I have to paste some screen captures of some of Marli’s brilliance:

This is the first thing you see in the ad:

a list of reasons why she is worth it

If I had any worries, that list pretty much covered the major ones, and I felt willing to proceed. But this page was super long and filled with more information like this:

an ad graphic for the cleaning lady

This is visually a bit cheesy, and yet, I see a human face, I see information I need to proceed, and I have even more sense that this woman should have my business.

And more?

one of several testimonials

The post is steeped in lots of yellow highlighter, just like every bad sales page you’ve ever seen. But she’s using it with tons of testimonials. And in every testimonial, she has either a picture of herself, a picture of the people she serves, or both! This testimonial says “over 2 years” on it, showing that she has longevity.

Marli has serviced this customer for over 2 years

Next to last, it was interesting that she had lots of pictures of her cleaning. It was like, “This is what it will look like when I’m working with you,” though she never says that.

marli is cleaning

And lastly, she had some really old timey SEO-ish links at the bottom of the post like this:

a huge list of html links

Ugly? Yes. Better for search results? Probably.

So Why Are You Highlighting and Praising This UGLY Page on Craigslist, Chris?

Because Marli got me to take an action. I contacted her via email. Immediately, I got two auto responses back saying that I’d been received and that they hoped I included my phone number (as had been requested several times in the copy – I did!). It felt very pro to me.

Now, furthermore, it’s important to realize that there are plenty of “typical” plain text ads before and after this. Each of them have their merits and detractions. But Marli? She BURIED me in testimonials. She answered several questions before I even contacted her. She provided me with phone numbers, email addresses, websites, and much more. She gave me everything and asked for my business. She even had a special offer!

You don’t have to be some Pinterest guru to do business. You have to work. You have to put your information out there in a way that will ensure a buyer will take an action. You have to follow up. Marli did all this in spades. And for that, she wins my business.

How are you working to win your buyer’s business?

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  • http://www.JohnMichaelMorgan.com John Morgan

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…testimonials are the most under-used tool in marketing. Anything you say about your service is taken as a claim. Anything others say about you is taken as a fact. Excellent post Chris!

  • http://twitter.com/CharlesHGreen Charles H. Green

    That is a great example, I wish Marli did cleaning in my area.

    And just as good is how you dissected it and explained why it works. What rang true for me were two points you made:

    1. She answered every question you had. She didn’t force you to “call for more information,” she put it out there.

    2. Testimonials are huge. Old-school links? Fine. Just look at the list. Hard to beat a track record like that.

    I would add one more thing: I skimmed the testimonials but the one that caught my eye was the woman who would have no problem with Marli having the keys to her house. Now that’s an emotional need; most sellers get lost in their product characteristics. Marli knew how to include something that gets to the heart.

  • marketing expertise

    Marli is totally throwing down in classic “Trust Agent” fashion:

    – Stand out (headline reads: satisfaction guaranteed or you pay nothing…no other CL ad offers that kinda action)

    – Belong (speak your customers language…with a dozen customer focused bullet points – your wants and needs)

    – Leverage (a few pointed customer testimonials…pretty much say everything you need to know)

    – Network (online…highly recommend…testimonials…CL effective SEO…)

    – Soft skills (auto responders, questions answered, more testimonials offered…communication is key and she nails it, done and done!)

    – Strength in numbers (if the testimonials are any indication, I’d say she’s building an army of satisfied customers)

    Marli is definitely a Human Artist who’s Making Her Own Game – a Trust Agent for sure!

  • http://profiles.google.com/brett.morrison Brett Morrison

    Great copy and stand out ad. Does anyone really think all one must do have to have a sinlge page rank for 25 locations is to link to the exact same page with those location names from a Craigslist ad? Doesn’t anyone else think google is smart enough to spot that?

  • http://twitter.com/jackinessity Jackie Shelley

    Really love this, Chris. I love your eye for examples of a kind of ordinary absurdity. There Marli is, doing all these cheesey, homegrown, over-the-top moves, and yet it’s saved from sheer silliness by a sense that this business is truly different from all the others. I bet you’re also correct that it works! So I love that you draw our attention to her marketing and break down what exactly it is about the ad that collectively makes it effective. It’s a brilliant testimony to this business owner’s creativity and hard work.

    I can’t wait to see her reaction to YOUR testimonial, in fact!! Do you think she’ll ad it to her Craigslist ad?? “Approved by Chris Brogan!”
    It’s also great to see you giving attention to these small business owners running what I think of as “ordinary” businesses. There’s really nothing ordinary about all the lawn care/dry cleaners/housekeepers of the world. It’s great to remember that shiny tech isn’t necessarily what makes the world go round. I respect what Marli does. I felt the same way when you wrote about your taxi driver after your visit to EBay last year. I like the way you notice and celebrate marketing in ordinary and concrete contexts, not just abstractions.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com/ Chris Brogan

    The humor? She doesn’t service my area. Just got a reply back. :(

    • http://twitter.com/government_list Richard E. Furlong

      dang

  • http://twitter.com/government_list Richard E. Furlong

    I hope Marli will now prepare for new business growth. I suggest partners in my west Toronto, Canada neighbourhood who are willing to meet Marli’s standards and thoroughness, then I and others would like to consider hiring this (franchise?).

  • Kristi

    Damn! This is one of the BEST ads I’ve seen on craigslist AND for a maid service. Her use of testimonials is genius. I have to ponder this one for a minute- thank you Chris.

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    wow… cool! Thanks!

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