Copyright 2015 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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Note 1: I don't mean any disrespect to the businesses I wrote about below.
Note 2: Some people may be (mildly) offended by the last part of this post.
Note 3: Though some people object to a method of Internet advertising I've described, I classify it as a way to present relevant offers to people. Advertisers pay to offer us products & services; that makes it feasible for content providers (information & entertainment sources) to provide us with what we want/need.
How many people can afford to subscribe (pay for content) to more 20 web sites? Without advertising revenue, content providers either close their businesses or charge money for access to their content. So what's the problem? I see the same or similar ads in multiple web sites, big deal. So far, I'm surviving.
Can businesses or people track what an individual does on the Internet? Yes, in many cases, it can be done. Think about it realistically though. An aggregate of millions of people use an aggregate of millions of computers & mobile devices. How likely is the web based behavior of an individual (ordinary law abiding citizen) to be monitored? Let's not be paranoid, OK?
I used the issue to teach about marketing & for some humor.
What's In A (Brand) Name? How much equity is in a brand name?
To some extent, I can understand business owners & executives wanting to save money & build awareness of brands. Yet, how far will some business people go to save money & wring every bit of value they can from a brand? A successful brand name should convey a promise of a benefit at a quality level consumers expect.
Example - Frigidaire Gallery 30" Freestanding Gas Double Oven Range
Frigidaire is pronounced like frigid air. When I use an oven, I don't want cold air. I use ovens to heat food. Cold air doesn't heat food to safe temperatures (example: an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit).
As the situation is now, too many "food" products are impossible to eat. The instructions are "Keep Frozen. Cook thoroughly before eating." (Has anybody figured out how to comply with this?)
Cold/frigid air can help us with the 1st part - keep frozen. But cold is the opposite of what we need for the 2nd part.
According to the Frigidaire web site - "Frigidaire heating and air systems are built to comfort your home with the quality, performance and dependability you expect from Frigidaire. Our air conditioners, heat pumps and furnaces are manufactured in the central States according to strict Demand Flow Technology standards. With a Frigidaire system, you'll experience innovative features and smart design for an ideal indoor air environment."
Huh!? What I expect from Frigidaire is frigid air.
Good Questions & Good Customer Service
Despite the brand name issue, I found something on the Frigidaire web site you can emulate on your site &/or in your store. "Answer up to 6 simple questions to help us find the right dishwasher for you." ~~ It's good way to start customer service.
The selection starts with 58 models. By using the answers, the system focuses down to 1 model. The number of relevant questions depends on the answers & the number of models that fit a person's criteria.
"How wide do you want your dishwasher to be?"
"Are you looking for a built-in or portable dishwasher?"
"What type of control panel do you prefer?"
"What color do you want your dishwasher to be?"
"What is your price range?"
The questions are simple & easy to answer, though my responses only elicited 5 questions (out of a possible "up to 6").
Based on that, the system can help people find what they want - possibly at nearby store.
Shopping for anything is stressful for somebody who has a short time to make decisions, then find & install a product. Choosing a replacement refrigerator or freezer during hot weather can be more stressful. You can reduce confusion & stress by helping customers determine their needs & they're apt to feel more comfortable when they're sure they'll be guided to the best decisions for their situations.
Store Locators "Retailer Closest to You"
If a supplier will refer customers to your store, I advise you to submit current contact & location information. After that, you should check occasionally that the supplier has posted your current location/contact information.
You may be disappointed if you take it for granted that a supplier's sales rep has your current information, so the supplier's web site will have up-to-date information.
Customer/account service software & computers in a supplier's sales department probably don't communicate with software & computers used by the web site development team.
If there's even a seemingly small change & the supplier doesn't update references to your store, you could lose some or all benefits from any possible referrals.
Example: You may think everybody in your area knows about local area codes, but you should do what you can to keep things current.
Don't bet your store on believing people will be diligent enough to look for your store after they get inaccurate information. If a defunct store is listed, people may try to contact it & not notice a listing for your store. They may be frustrated & figure other store listings may be wrong too. When they check a different brand (which you don't offer), you'll miss a sale. Suppliers should be willing to update information, so outlets can get as many sales as possible.
I checked Frigidaire's web site for "Retailer Closest to You"
The store name & address WERE (past tense) accurate. As far as I know after the store owner/founder died, 1 of the sons closed the store.
Even if the store would be still in business, the area code 414 has been invalid in Two Rivers for more than 1 decade. The current area code is 920.
Yes, I sent Frigidaire a message about that defunct store.
Computer & smart phone users have distractions to deal with. Monitor & phone screens may be smudged &/or scratched. Bright lights cause glare. They may not see "Two Rivers" (the city name) clearly or not at all. If somebody sees 414, s/he may think the store is in Milwaukee (about 80 miles to the South).
Plus, considering somebody (who wants a furnace) may think search engine results could be wrong. Frigidaire?! I want a furnace, not a freezer.
Frigidaire Refrigerator ~~ yes
Frigidaire Freezer ~~ yes
Frigidaire Air Conditioner ~~ yes
Frigidaire Dehumidifier ~~ yes
Frigidaire Washer featuring Ready Steam ~~ maybe
Frigidaire Dishwasher ~~ maybe
Frigidaire heat pumps, furnaces, ovens & cooktops ~~ huh?
frigid air - - heat producing appliances? That's not cool.
A Similar Example
Refrigerators & Freezers - Tell us what you prefer below and we'll show you a list of models!
Hotpoint: Top Freezer - Which total capacity (cu.ft.) do you prefer? 18.10 16.50 15.60
Chest Freezer Which total capacity (cu.ft.) do you prefer? 19.90 14.90 8.80
What's the point? What does the idea of a HOT point have to do with freezers?
Food Club Toilet Paper (enough said/written?)
Hey! Did Your Wife Buy That For You?
Here are excerpts from articles -
Tommy John's Nice Package - Trade Talk: http://www.apparelnews.net/blog/986_tommy_johns_nice_package.html
In the same vein as Old Spice's ads that address the ladies from 'The Man Your Man Can Smell Like,' Tom Patterson tried talking to the ladies about his undershirt line, Tommy John, after learning that wives and girlfriends do most of the unmentionables buying for their husbands and boyfriends.
'We did a survey, and we couldn't find any women that didn't like Tiffany's jewelry and chocolate. It was almost like a dessert color that kind of intrigued them,' said Patterson, who has been shipping Tommy John into department stores with this packaging design since July 2009.
# # #
Brand Finds Success Marketing Men's Underwear To Women
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eeuhDajGsUeYbMykfDfPbQcNmqls?format=standard
Working under the assumption that women often buy underwear for the men in their life, the Tommy John brand focused on creating packaging that would appeal to them. The brand settled on packaging that is chocolate brown and robin's egg blue and is designed to make women "subconsciously feel good" by reminding them of sweets and Tiffany's. The brand is now available in more than 500 stores. Business Insider (1/7)
# # #
Tommy John Marketing Technique - Business Insider # How An Entrepreneur Used Women's Obsessions To Sell Men's Underwear
A men's underwear company is taking over the world by appealing to the people who buy its product: women.
Much of Tommy John's initial success is in the packaging, Patterson told us in an interview.
"Most of the time, women are the ones buying underwear for their husbands or sons, and they simply buy the brand they always have," Patterson said.
"So we were faced with the problem of appealing to women and getting their attention in stores."
Patterson questioned groups of women to find out what made them happiest.
"There are two things all the women loved: Tiffany & Co. and chocolate," Patterson said.
So Patterson designed Tommy John's packaging in chocolate brown and robin's egg blue.
"Our goal was that women would look at the packaging and subconsciously feel good," Patterson said. "Their emotional ties to those colors were very powerful."
Patterson's strategy worked: five years after he designed his tapered undershirt, Tommy John is carried in more than 500 stores worldwide.
Patterson felt certain that once customers tried his undershirt, they would come back for more.
"I just wanted to make sure that the packaging initially grabbed the shopper's attention," Patterson said. "Once they try it, you usually get a loyal customer."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/tommy-john-marketing-technique-2013-1#ixzz2HXGc0ulk
Warning: What I wrote below may be offensive to some people. I'm not disguising the brand so it may seem like I'm hitting below the belt line.
Considering the product & how it's marketed & packaged, it's apt to be the BUTT of some jokes.
Are they serious about this "reminding them of sweets and Tiffany's"?
Brown may seem appropriate for underwear, I suppose. Some women buy products for FAMILY members. Yeah, it seems accurate. Tiffany's? As in JEWELry ... Men's underwear PACKAGING ... OK, maybe it's appropriate after all. At least, it seems to fit, even if it isn't fitting.
"Patterson said seven out of 10 men that try on a Tommy John shirt will buy it. About 60 percent of those that buy come back for more. And, sometimes, boatloads more." A woman said, "He's going to freak out if he knows I spent $36 on one shirt."
The products are definitely expensive, yet the demand seems high. Depending on the market niche size & economic conditions, I wonder if the demand is ELASTIC. I think sales may BOTTOM out at some point.
As people will probably expect, Tommy John has a PRIVACY Policy.
This Could Happen To You
An AdAge DigitalNext Blog post "The Pants That Stalked Me on the Web" by Michael Learmonth (adage.com/article/digitalnext/pants-stalked-web/145204/) & underwear sold via a web site combined & got me wondering what will happen while I wander the web.
I checked the Tommy John web site while I wrote this post. Will I be stalked now by ... OH! I hope not. That would be embarrassing when I use a chat room. "What's that you brought with you, Dennis?" I didn't BRING it, it's following me.
Since women buy men's underwear, it would be even worse for them.
Be careful guys. Think what may happen based on the web sites you visit. You may want to confess now to your significant others. My lady already knows I diligently do research about marketing & retailing. But how do I explain those other things? I have the right to remain silent.
It Happened To Me
I was reading about Macro-Economics & I got distracted by Tommy John's "Giddy Down not giddyup Stays in place, won't ride up". What does that have to do with Economics? (Are you sure you want to know?) Have a search engine look for "Alan Greenspan" & "underwear indicator".
I've also gotten offers for other things on other sites based on what my Internet habits. I doubt anybody else in a chat room would see advertising that appears in my computer - I hope not. But even if so, as Sylvester Stallone wrote & said for/as Rocky Balboa, "A man's gotta do what man's gotta do. Don't ask me to stop being a man!"
Copyright 2015 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Subject: Come On! Are They Really Serious?
OK, so they probably, really are serious, they're just not realistic.
Real (serious) marketing involves understanding people & helping them understand their situations & options better. Miscommunication is too common. Below I've used some serious examples & a bit of (what I call) "humor".
If you miss a sale today because of a misunderstanding, you may miss your chance to serve some customers in the future too.
It wouldn't be just your loss. If you offer what people want & they don't/can't get that same value from anybody, they lose too.
Highly Effective Marketing
From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey with my comments:
Habit 3: Put First Things First
You should determine what people (in your market niche) prioritize highly & do your best to track changes. This also includes the problems they have & results they want (their jobs-to-be-done in Clayton M. Christensen's parlance).
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
You should develop ways to help people get what they want/need to fulfill their priorities. Zig Ziglar said we can get what we want in our lives as long as we help enough people get what they want in their lives.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then To Be Understood
According to George Santayana, "All living souls welcome whatever they are ready to cope with; all else they ignore, or pronounce to be monstrous & wrong, or deny to be possible."
You should keep developing & expanding your understanding of your market niche so you can help people understand how to get what they need & why they need those things. If they realize they can solve a problem, they might stop denying the problem is real.
For ultimate success, it's imperative to help customers realize what their needs are & help them to accept the best solutions they can get.
Sometimes, it's a relief just to be understood & get a diagnosis. An unknown problem tends to seem worse than something we can identify. Showing you understand people & helping them identify problems is literally an act of mercy.
When people know you understand & sincerely care about them, they can feel better & start to cope instead of being in denial.
Denial is a psychological pain reliever (not a pain killer). Too often people seem to become addicted to denial instead of finding solutions.
Helping your market niche understand problems & possible solutions includes using words & grammatical syntax they're familiar with.
Yet, establishing & sustaining credibility may require a little higher level of vocabulary & grammar.
Jeff Foxworthy cited the importance of talking like people expect, not necessarily like they talk. Example - Even a redneck may lose faith in a surgeon who says (imagine this with a stereotypical deep South accent), "Now I ain't tellin' ya it ain't gonna hurt ya none. But I's {pronounced like eyes} fixin' to make ya feel better then ya could ever imagine."
Talk/Write To People Not At Them
Communicating with people is what normal people do when they communicate in personal ways. Communicating AT people is what people do too often in public statements.
This kind of message is sent AT people: "XYZ is proud to be a neighborhood store & we continuously strive to be a positive part of the neighborhoods we serve. We look forward to working with this community to create a store we can all be proud of."
Did this dull, generic "statement" (paragraph above) communicate anything worthwhile? It's just a fill-in-the-blank bunch of trash. I almost overlooked in an article until I realized, this stale stuff fits what I'm writing about.
If I'd replace XYZ with almost any retailer name, would it be meaningful or still as meaningless? If I replaced "store" with any other kind of business & put in any business name, would it express anything that would differentiate it from any other business?
Do Search Engines Ever Need Repairs?
I know it's frustrating to use search engines that find a lot of stuff (what you don't want) but little substance (what you want to find). Search engines can only find what's available. Though sometimes, I wonder if what's found really is available.
Sometimes, it seems I can type anything into a search bar then get an offer for it. Example - Dead Simple on XYZ - Find Dead Simple for less. XYZ - it's where you go to save.
This is a disguised text ad that appeared with search results. If somebody would click on it, would XYZ (whoever the advertiser is) be charged a per click fee (pay per click [PPC]).
I advise you to be careful about what you agree to pay for.
Why would anybody search for "drop dead simple"?
I heard "drop dead simple" in advertising for healthy nutrition product. I checked for other marketing attempts using "drop dead simple" & found some. There are probably more than these.
Examples -
"What if I told you there was a drop-dead simple way to support health as you lose weight? Is that something you might be interested in?"
"There is indeed a drop-dead simple way to help support exactly that."
"makes the choice to try their drop dead simple products"
"I'm dead serious!"
"the first week was dead simple"
"best of all� our drop-dead SIMPLE gut-cleansing trick"
Trick? How's that for a compelling thought? It seems like a trick to avoid.
Seriously, do these claims inspire your confidence?
It seems anything that improves health should delay "drop dead", otherwise why bother?
The general benefit of these products is supposedly better health like in these claims -
"decreased total cholesterol & blood sugar levels dropped from an unhealthy fasting blood level"
"dietary supplements to help people live better, fitter, healthier lives"
Of course, another overused word in advertising (even for health products) is "killer".
It's all hype. The claims may be accurate, but hyperbole decreases credibility.
Solid Trust Can Become Crumbling Rust
If you desperately try to gain trust, you may get the opposite. You may lose people's trust & any chance you had to persuade people. If I'm lying, I'm dying. If I'm lying, may lightning hit me on this spot, so help me ...
Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z ZAP
See what I mean?
Even if something is totally accurate, if (sales copy) claims describe anything that seems too easy, fast, strong, etc. it could be too hard to believe (seem too good to be true).
Would any drop dead claims seem to promote health?
It reminds me of a Saturday Night Live segment from decades ago, "With a name like 'Fluckers', it has to be good."
If it's drop-dead simple, it's has to be good for you!? Huh?
Copyright 2015 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Subject: Yes! They ARE Serious, But WHY?!
When I heard a beer commercial recently, I wasn't surprised to hear nothing about product benefits ... it's beer ... there's very little real differentiation.
In this "commercial", some guys overheard a conversation of some women. Each guy claimed the women were talking about him. The women were supposedly describing the men's manly traits.
When one guy talked to those women, he learned the women were talking about a new beer bottle. He tried to make it seem like he & his friends understood them & were also talking about the new bottle style.
Based on my recollection, what was the "benefit"? Is misunderstanding a conversation a benefit? Is there a benefit in being delusional? Is there a real benefit in a new style of bottle - I mean would it be a "benefit" worth investing (wasting) thousands/millions of dollars to produce & air the commercial?
If men think the women's conversation could be describing manly traits, how functional could those bottle traits be?
If you don't promote benefits, don't waste your time & money on trying to promote features or ... nothing.
Too often, marketers act as if consumers only think about what they (marketers) offer or their advertising messages are all people see or hear. Marketers don't act like this consciously, so they don't consider how inaccurately they interpret consumers' lives.
News Flash - Consumers have a lot more to do than focus on commercials until they understand the messages. Don't expect them to analyze marketing messages ... well ... like what I've been doing.
Hey! I do it because I'm teaching you something.
That's A Bunch Of ...
Commercials often are bunched into commercial breaks that last 3 or more minutes. While those commercials are aired, life keeps happening. If people hear/see a message that's immediately relevant, they may pay attention to it. Yet, even if the relevant commercial is 60 seconds long (short), the message may disappear before consumers realize how relevant that advertiser's offers are.
It's worse when there aren't any discernible offers. When there aren't any offers, propositions, benefit statements or reasons to pay attention & remember a message, consumers probably won't. Why would they remember something that's not worth remembering?
Advertising isn't supposed to be implied messages or hints, a game of charades or guess what challenges.
According to a bit of wisdom I read decades ago, "You wouldn't worry so much about what people think of you, if you only knew how seldom they do (think of you)." That also applies to remembering. In most people's lives, there are thousands of things to think about & remember every minute. As people get older, there are more things for them to remember & forget.
I've heard (& experienced) this fact: before people put much thought into which email messages to keep or read, they tend to go through mounds of email messages to determine which they should delete.
Often, the first tasks people do are those that take the least time & effort, so they can reduce their To Do lists.
When something seems like it'll be hard & probably take a lot of time, people often skip past those tasks because they want fewer tasks (shorter lists). It usually isn't the most effective or efficient way to set priorities yet it seems expeditious.
Some people feel better after finishing a few small/minor tasks than they do after completing one big/major task.
This applies to marketing because buying things is another task to do. Buying requires time & effort, especially if people feel they should seriously consider what to do before taking any action.
Paying (close conscious) attention to & remembering your messages is another thing people do if they feel it's necessary. But they have long lists of important & urgent things to pay attention to & remember. Your advertising probably isn't on their lists.
Please, don't try to force them to think. Help them constructively/positively reduce their mental loads, so they'll have less stress. You can do that by clearly stating which benefits (solutions to people's problems) you offer.
Conscious mental processes require more energy than subconscious routines. Unless people like shopping often, shopping isn't a routine for them. Thinking about what to purchase is just another frustrating task (hassle). Owning something new is a novel experience, but shopping is often an ordeal for most of us.
Repeat After Me, "Don't Take Pride In Redundancy"
Why do people repeat the same lame things they hear & read?
Garbage like this: "We're a proud sponsor of ..." It seems a bit redundant. How many times has anybody ever claimed to be ashamed of being a sponsor? If anybody isn't proud of being a sponsor, there probably wouldn't be an announcement (unless it's an apology). Besides that, it's overused - - worn out.
They're so proud of the message they keep using it & others keep imitating it.
Too many marketing & public relations messages/notices are bland & mundane. They seem so much alike, it's hard to distinguish them from any others, so people aren't likely to try. If a message looks/sounds the same as others, it doesn't seem important enough to pay attention time after time, again & again & ...
They're easy to forget or totally ignore. It's about like somebody repeating the same stuff after possibly substituting a few words. People's minds are more drawn by variety than what's contemptibly familiar. (According to a cliche - Familiarity breeds contempt.)
"We're Proud To Announce ..." "We're Excited About ..."
Well, Isn't That Special? 'Isn't That Special?' is a rhetorical question. If I expected an answer, it would be 'NO!'
'We're (to fill in the blank, you may choose one or more of the following words - pleased, happy, glad, excited, sorry, disgraced, depressed, disgusted, ashamed) to be associated with/involved in ___.'
Whoever 'We' are, they should at least write something interesting. The same worn out statements may be ignored or worse. If a promotional or public service message is lame, people may figure the featured product, service or event is/will be lame.
When announcements are made, people will figure the messages are expressing positive thoughts & feelings unless shame or regret is specifically expressed.
'We're proud to announce the 99th annual Boredom Festival.' (Apparently, they're proud of the announcement.)
Do people want to announce an event or do they just want to proclaim how they feel about the announcement or event?
If you want people to get your point, get to the point!
Media advertising staff (sales reps, continuity/copy writers, layout & graphic artists) should urge advertisers to use unique methods instead of copying others.
In general, advertisers will have better results with uniqueness than if all commercials/ads monotonously blend in with each other's 'proven methods'.
Unique marketing can have some similarities. Uniqueness doesn't have to mean strange or foreign.
The Long & Vicious Road
Today, I learned roads can (supposedly) "attack" vehicles. (Give me a break or should it be brake? It seems a bit over-dramatic.) It seems more like vehicles & drivers attack roads.
Drivers need roads, so roads aren't enemies. Holes, slush, ice-melting chemicals, sand & dirt cause problems.
Do filters, shock absorbers, struts, springs, etc. solve road problems? No, those products help drivers cope with road problems. It's best to be specific about what the problems & solutions really are.
If you want protection from an attack, hire a body guard. If you want to avoid or solve vehicle problems, buy the right products or services.
Incredible Is Unbelievable - Literally
I often (too often) hear 'incredible' or 'unbelievable' in commercials. When advertisers claim their results are incredible & unbelievable, is that truth in advertising?
"(Product name) is the one everybody is raving about!"
I'm not raving about it & I haven't heard anybody raving about it - except in the commercial. So, I wonder what other lies are in the commercial. Exaggerations are lies. You can disagree if you want. Exaggerating is stretching the truth. When something is stretched, some gaps open up in it, which means some things (like what's true) are missing. What's in those gaps? Exaggerations aren't completely true, right?
"Ask your friends who own one."
What if people ask their friends, but none of their friends own any?
Will you ever see results in 'No Time'. There's only one thing that can possibly happen in no time. Nothing (only nothing) can happen in no time. Something requires some time. Anytime anybody does anything, time is required.
Puffery isn't always disregarded. People are apt to realize puffery isn't meant to be interpreted literally. Yet, if something isn't literally true, why use it?
Sure, we shouldn't expect intelligent people to believe obvious exaggerations. So why does anybody who is intelligent try to persuade/convince people to believe a message by polluting it with anything that isn't true?
Even if 'everybody' (supposedly) uses puffery, you can differentiate yourself & your business by not using puffery.
Huff & puff & your house may be blown down. It isn't worth the problems.
How many marketers have offered 'proven methods" & "secrets"? Can anything really be both? It's all hyperbole.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2015 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
Subject: So, That's What They Think About Us
In various ways, Jay Abraham, Claude Hopkins & others have emphasized a vital point: Advertising is another form of a sales call.
The old version is "Advertising is salesmanship in print." I prefer to include both genders & other media.
To share something valuable, I'm using a good sales scenario in advertising & sales calls:
Hypothetical Sales Presentation >
As you evaluate me as a marketing consultant, I'm evaluating you as a prospective marketing client.
To form a solid working relationship, we focus on agreeing, not negotiation.
While I explain my expectations of clients, you can determine how comfortable you are with what I expect. I tell you what I want to do & how I've been doing things.
I won't reveal anything confidential about past & current clients, yet I want us to determine how well you fit my niche.
As I help you do a compatibility check with me, I'm giving a sample of how we could work together - telling you things I recommend & why.
My presentation is an example of what I recommend in marketing.
Your sales efforts should help your niche members virtually experience the results you offer. You can carefully use some humor as long as it fits their current & desired situations.
Their potential situations could be portrayed, for comparison, with & without benefits you offer. Your main emphasis should be on how much they'll benefit by working with you.
While we work together, we'll develop your messages & offers. I'll help you determine good times & places to put your messages.
If I'd imply or explicitly state I advise clients to do foolish things, it'd seem to be what I'd expect of you as a client.
If I'd say or do anything to indicate my clients are stupid or I think badly of them, you probably wouldn't want to be my client.
Now we can compare that with some commercials.
That's What They Think About Consumers!
I've been hearing some bad commercials quite often.
A cellular phone company representative sold phones & a calling plan to a man & woman. They say the occasion calls for a group hug.
Instead of firmly saying it's not allowed, the rep is passive & expresses some disgust during the hug, "we're hugging, really hugging".
Based on how her voice sounds, it seems like the customers are coated with dung.
I realize those customers have personal boundary issues & don't care when somebody wants to maintain physical distance.
Do you prefer politely assertive workers? - OR - Do you want employees expressing how disgusting they think customers are?
Would You Rather Be A Pepper Or An Oscar Meyer Wiener?
Long ago, an advertising campaign seemed to imply people, who drink Dr. Pepper, have fun.
The choreography, flashy dancing costumes & sound made the advertising POP, but it wasn't persuasive.
To answer the question, "Wouldn't you like to be a pepper, too?" No, I wouldn't.
Another campaign featured children who would rather be wieners because everybody loves that brand. I'll be FRANK, it never appealed to me.
Those campaigns relate to this next subject.
To help you understand what I've written, I could suggest checking this web page - http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Group_Influences.html
I haven't suggested that since I'm jealous about Lars Perner having a lot of knowledge & a good web site.
Would that jealousy indicate an aspirational desire?
By explaining the concepts so well, he saved me a bit of work, so I should be thankful.
I've read some of Lars's work, but not enough for a total endorsement.
In addition to jealousy, I'm not on speaking terms with Lars Perner since we've never communicated with each other & aren't affiliated with each other.
You're definitely more curious now than you would be if I made a typical suggestion.
Some promotions are based on aspirational reference groups &/or associative reference groups.
Some advertising explicitly or implicitly focuses on associative reference groups & dissociative reference groups. That method associates an advertiser with people or things a niche likes while associating competitors with people or things a niche dislikes.
Advertisers can portray situations with & without benefits they offer for comparison.
Something to remember is nonconsumption is also a competitor, as Clayton M. Christensen & others explained.
Too many advertisers seem to focus only on dissociative reference groups.
Stupidity Is NOT Confidence
An automobile manufacturer has been advertising how confident its customers are. The customers are 'confident enough' to do stupid - or at least ill-advised - things.
That doesn't inspire me to feel more confident in the company.
The commercials imply stupid people pick that company; its customers must have bad reputations. Does that make the brand a wise choice or ...?
If I didn't already operate two vehicles of that brand, I may totally avoid it.
Note: My parents bought one of those. I'm their chauffeur & go-for. I didn't apply for the 'job'. If I'd want to work for them, I wouldn't act like a confident fool.
As the situation unfolded, they know how dependable I am, but they chose me anyway. I mean they chose me because I'm dependable.
It's a bit of self-deprecating 'humor', but I didn't push it so far that they or I would seem totally foolish. It demonstrates the limit of humor I'd use in marketing.
I Think The Results Will Come Up Short Also
I'm sure most of us agree about these things: Mass media advertising is expensive. There are many information & entertainment sources (advertising venues) & it's hard to determine which of them attract our niche members enough.
In this case 'enough' means -
1 - a high number or percentage to justify the advertising cost;
2 - often so they'll notice & pay attention to our advertising;
3 - long enough to remember our advertising &
4 - buy a profitable number of our products & services.
Some advertisers use small print & Internet ads that are hard to notice & have little content.
Some advertisers are using short broadcast & Internet commercials that have such little content, I wonder if there's enough of a message to achieve AIDA.
In my area, an advertiser has been running a micro message. The message is the USP & web site URL. That USP is good in the context of the full message. As I remember, the full message is good.
This advertiser seems to run the short commercials without interspersing the full versions. I wonder if the reach & frequency are high enough to keep sales at the same level or increase.
Without the full message, the USP doesn't promise a benefit, so why would anybody be curious enough to check the web site. There are a lot of other things to do each day.
I wonder how many people either never got the full message or forgot it.
If people don't remember enough content to form links, what they see & hear now won't connect.
For people, who don't know or forgot the full message, I doubt that micro message would be enough to get them find the web site.
Short commercials & small ads can be good for reminding people by repeating short versions of established messages.
Example - If my message already occupies a place in your long-term memory, I don't need to repeat the full message.
A short message could remind you of the full message, IF you aren't already too distracted & stressed to notice my short message, plus remember my full message.
Short messages & small ads cost less to run, but if the results don't justify the expense, the money spent (to run shorter or smaller versions) is wasted.
Just When I Needed It Most - Or So I Thought
Back in the early 1980s, I needed something refreshing to drink while I was exercising. I figured Gatorade would be a good option. It didn't taste like a good option though. Yet, I figured I needed what Gatorade contained.
Its tag line was "scientifically formulated to taste best when you need it most".
If that was its best taste, then I guess I didn't need it most. The next few times I exercised, I figured I needed Gatorade. It still tasted just as bad. Would that mean I never needed it most? If so, why should I buy it?
Who am I to argue with science?
It Seemed Like A Good Idea Until ...
There are various ways to express this - Plans can be 100% effective until enemies strike back.
Anything in marketing can seem great until it's rolled out.
Marketing messages can seem great ... until ... somebody thinks about the messages from other perspectives.
Though consumers aren't enemies, they have different standards, perspectives & opinions about your (perceived) mistakes.
You & your sales copy writer may spend hours developing messages (scientifically called encoding). Consumers often get messages & perceive stimuli when they're busy doing other things.
It's vital to remember - there's a limit to people's attention spans.
Though you understand your messages as you intend them to mean, niche members understand messages based on their interpretations (scientifically called decoding).
Technically, decoding counts more than encoding.
They decode based on what & how much they perceive in a situation. Most situations are too complex (too many stimuli) to be fully perceived.
Consumers' perceptions & experiences affect which stimuli they perceive & how they perceive those stimuli.
Though you won't know each consumer thoroughly, you can be successful by increasing & applying your aggregated knowledge.
People's interpretations make sense to them, so if they don't understand your messages, it's not due to their problems. Your lack of results is your fault & problem, not theirs.
I emphasize knowing & understanding your niche as much as you can. A major reason is - You need to have your messages viewed, heard & experienced when niche members are ready to receive your messages, when they can plan to buy or take buying action.
You need to know where those places are.
You need to know the times when they're at those places.
You need to understand enough of their experiences to know which messages & offers are appealing.
Messages & offers are appealing only based on how consumers understand them.
Examples:
When everything is (or seems) "normal", something can still be bad.
I've been hearing medical commercials from health care clinics promising to get me back to normal. That isn't compelling to me since normal in my so-called life is less than optimal.
I've heard a commercial promoting a limited supply of gift certificates. The limited supply wasn't defined with a specific number. The announcer said, "When they're gone, they're gone. Please remember, you can buy as many as you want."
Somehow these statements don't quite add up.
What if I go in the first day to buy 100, but the limited supply is 40? The most I'd get would only be 40, but that wouldn't fulfill the promise.
If I go in the last day & want to buy 10, but limited supply is down to 4 or is gone, I'd be disappointed (at least) because the promise wouldn't be fulfilled.
If you don't understand anything I've written for you, please let me.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2015 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
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