Home
>
Strategic Planning
>
GOT MEME? How to Attract Your Clients and Customers Attention

GOT MEME? How to Attract Your Clients and Customers Attention

No "meme" isn't a typo and Got Milk, the more commonly know phrase, is actually a marketing meme. If you've opened up a magazine or watched TV in the last ten years you've seen the fun and memorable Got Milk ad campaign using celebrities with a milk mustache. Chances are it got your attention and you remember the phrase, "Got Milk".

A good meme is simple, provocative and infectious. An effective meme rolls off your tongue and sticks in your mind. Others remember it and pass it along to their friends and colleagues. It's the cultural equivalent of a gene. For those of you without a national advertising budget, helping prospects and clients quickly grasp what you do and having them spread the word about your services is a form of zero cost marketing that you can use.

You may already have a tagline, slogan, or catch phrase you use in your marketing, but does it work as well as a meme? Like a gene, memes synthesize complex information, concepts and ideas and pass them along with little effort. They communicate what you do in a few words or in a short sentence. They enable you to get across the benefits of your products and services to prospects in a form they'll remember and repeat to others.

Does your current title, tagline, or catch phrase:

Tell people what you do?
Create a perception of need?
Start conversations?

NOT MARKETING MEMES

Labels such as "Trial Lawyer" or "Copy Editor" or "Computer Specialist". The problem with labels is that they don't tell anyone how you can help them, or which problems you solve. In most cases they kill further conversation.

Descriptions of work processes and methodologies. These usually start with "I ...". While at some point a prospect may want to know how you work, it is their problems and concerns which interest them the most and are the best place to begin.

Offers such as "Buy this and get two free." Your meme isn't meant to convince someone to buy but rather to get his or her interest and start a conversation.

MEMES

Effective marketing memes focus on a specific clientele and a solution, or better yet a common client problem. For example, "I help independent professionals attract more clients", identifies a market and a client problem. It also invites the follow up question "How?" FedEx grew their now billion dollar business with the meme, "When it absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight".

Whether you use a meme in the elevator, on your business card or in your mailings, it should help your prospects know whether you are taking to them and define you as someone who can help them solve a problem, and prompt prospects to ask if your products and services could help them, too.

GET MEME

The "Got Milk" campaign used both words and images to get their message across. If you are only relying on words, you may need more than two, but limit it to less than ten. Use the following steps to write your meme.

Identify your target market.

Define problems you solve for clients.

Clarify the benefits you provide.

Determine what you would like people to do after they hear or see your meme. What question do you want them to ask or what action you want them to take?

Use this information to write five conversation-starting phrases that summarize who you help and the problems you solve.

Once you have these draft memes, try them out. Some may elicit blank stares; others will prompt people to ask questions or start listing names of people they know who could use your products and services. A good meme can start a chain reaction in people's minds and prompt them to move from prospect to client. When you hear people repeating your meme to others, you'll know you've got one that works.

Coming up with an effective meme isn't easy, but its the lowest cost and most valuable tool in your marketing tool kit. You may be pushing prospects away with your current tagline instead of helping people understand what you do and, more importantly, what you can do for them. So get meme, and get going with your marketing.

About The Author

The author, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals and small business owners who are struggling to attract more clients and grow their businesses. To get the free marketing guide, '7 Steps to Get More Clients and Grow Your Business' visit www.charliecook.net or write www.charliecook.net

move in cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

Quick iPhone and Android battery optimization techniques help your device stay powered all day by turning off hidden features that secretly drain power in the background.

Kodiak Driver autonomous truck achieves perfect 98 safety score, matching top human fleets in groundbreaking AI evaluation by Nauto's VERA system.

New 401k catch-up contribution rules in 2026 will change taxes for high earners over 50. Learn how scammers exploit these changes and protect your retirement savings.

Kurt Knutsson's guide covers social media privacy protection through location settings, account privacy controls and two-factor authentication to prevent scams and data breaches.

Revolutionary retinal implant restores central vision in 80% of patients with advanced macular degeneration, offering hope where treatments once only slowed blindness.

Learn how to use passkeys on Windows and Mac computers without cameras or fingerprint readers. Discover secure authentication methods that replace passwords.

Tesla's FSD v14.1.2 update reintroduces Mad Max mode, enabling higher speeds and more frequent lane changes than the standard Hurry profile setting.

A phishing email scam targeting American Express customers shows how cybercriminals use fake urgent messages to steal personal and financial information.

Facebook's new Meta AI feature analyzes your camera roll photos to create polished collages automatically, but requires cloud processing and raises privacy concerns.

A New Jersey teenager filed a major lawsuit against AI/Robotics Venture Strategy 3 Ltd. over ClothOff, an AI tool that created fake nude images from her social media photos.

Microsoft reports Storm-2657 cybercriminals sent phishing emails to 6,000 addresses at 25 universities to steal payroll credentials and redirect funds.

Astronomers have discovered asteroid 2025 SC79, a skyscraper-sized space rock orbiting the sun in just 128 days. the second-fastest known.

The Fox News AI Newsletter delivers the latest developments form the world of artificial intelligence, including the technology's challenges and opportunities.

A cyberattack on SimonMed Imaging exposed personal information of 1.2 million patients, including medical records, financial details and identity papers.

Spotify's managed accounts for kids under 13 now available in at least seven countries, allowing parents to filter and block explicit content and songs.

Friendly text conversations about BBQs and social events can lead to WEEX gold trading scams that target older adults with fake investment opportunities.

California company Skyeports creates self-healing glass spheres from Moon regolith that generate solar power and support plant growth for sustainable lunar living.

Cleafy researchers discover fake VPN streaming app Mobdro Pro that installs Klopatra banking Trojan, giving attackers full control over Android devices.

Police departments across the U.S. and Canada are adopting virtual reality training to better prepare officers for high-pressure, real-world situations.

House Bill 469 would prevent AI systems from owning property, serving as executives, or gaining legal personhood in Ohio under Representative Thaddeus Claggett's proposal.

Public voter records expose retirees' personal details to election scammers who create targeted cons using names, addresses, and voting history data.

Instead of fearing what comes next with artificial intelligence, think outside the box. Here are high-earning AI jobs that don't require a computer science degree.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says polite words like "please" and "thank you" cost millions annually, while direct prompts may improve ChatGPT accuracy by several points.

Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat exposed intimate conversations and photos, revealing users spent up to $18,000 on AI companions before the breach.

New Instagram parental controls allow families to manage teen screen time and content limits through the Family Center with stricter safety settings.

GOT MEME? How to Attract Your Clients and Customers Attention

Strategic Planning