If Consumers Don’t Like There or That, “Been There, Done That” Advertising Is Wasteful.

Consumers are there doing that already. Does your advertising promise advancement? How does your advantage offer make THAT a better option for specific people while journeying to & being THERE?

Offer Example: 'Whether life is one journey or a series, you deserve the best options for benefiting from your journey & destination. Discount customers accept less value while preparing to achieve goals, so efforts are harder & achievements are less satisfying. Journey successes required high-quality in each product & technique. At (Store), let's define your success criteria so your plan integrates knowledge, skills & products. Before you buy resources, compare offers & participate in a (Store) consultation about your needs & desires.'

Retailers stagnate as competitors' fresh superior offers attract consumers. If you expect consumers to believe you offer progress, don’t imply “Been there, done that” with your advertising.

I’m risking rejection by writing how local retailers limit progress by resisting risks. Can retailers achieve long-term success by repeating or copying declining practices? Can retailers advance if their "authoritative" information sources are biased against exploration?

People refuse trying "new" things by rejecting anything not "proven" to "work". For them, new=unfamiliar; proven=beneficial/profitable; work=dependable.

Without specific goals, retailers don't notice declining dependability soon enough for remedies.

Because people's priorities change, advertising tests & adjustments optimize profitability. Retailers fail professionally by failing to change congruously with consumers.

Testing is necessary since consumers like or ignore ad versions.

Why do retailers complain about consumers rejecting or ignoring new, unproven offers? Retailers & consumers reject what's unfamiliar. Stubborn retailers won't guide customers in effectively using unfamiliar products.

Which of these is more logical: 1) Explain how to use products to create benefits &/or reverse declining results; OR 2) Expect uninformed consumers seek products & determine uses?

If you don't inform consumers about your offers, who will?

Instead of labeling consumers as fickle or worse, retailers should test offers consumers can evaluate for relevance.

Relevant offers fit perceived opportunities or problems. Offers are irrelevant if consumers don’t know how products/services fulfill opportunities &/or remedy problems.

Knowledge incentivizes consumers to buy empowerment offers to create positive changes.

Advertising should induce AIDA: 1) Awareness of opportunities/problems & products/services; 2) Attention to consequences; 3) Interest by explaining consequence remediation; 4) Desire by explaining how consumers can use offers to bring positive changes; 5) Action by explaining reasons for starting promptly.

Advertising can fail without each factor.

How Do Your Offers Answer People's Question: "What's In It For Me?"

Are retailers offering value for consumers' lives or expecting charity sales to sustain business? As lives change, testing should include conversations to compare consumers' expectations with products & methods.

Expanding advertising reach & frequency might increase expenses without effectiveness.

Develop relevant offers instead of expanding what doesn’t work.

Analogy: Effectiveness & efficiency decline when workers keep sharing stale air. Stale offers are ignored.

Principle: Insanity is expecting better results from repeated actions. Consumers realize the same outdated products & techniques won't bring superior benefits, so they ignore stale advertising techniques.

Why should consumers pay attention to irrelevant ads? Relevant retailing differentiates competitors & positions stores in consumers' lives where problems exist & opportunities can be maximized? Powerful positioning isn't passive. Maximum success comes from actively benefiting customers.

Reject Stagnancy, Offer Innovations

Is store location really the most important factor? Retail failures claim competitors put them out-of-business. Can local consumers evaluate offers & choose retailers or do competitors people? Do discounters prevent local retailers' innovations? Read retailing news about big retailers advancing by maximizing successful tests & adjusting after some experiments fall short.

Since people ignore or reject unfamiliar innovations, meaningfully explain how advanced products & techniques bring & maintain progress. People want to understand how to avoid losses while focusing on gaining advantages.

Current & future successful innovators are often ridiculed until ridiculers embrace innovations or become less boisterous. Successes fade without maintenance & failures aren’t final for those who rise again.

Be More Like Birds Than Cats

Analogy: Cats, squirrels & birds eat at ground level without risking falls.

To escape cats, sometimes squirrels & birds go up trees before descending after cats climb trees. If cats won’t jump down or reverse climb, they’re stranded. Would-be prey can see what's ahead at ground-level & might survive by outrunning cats.

Potential prey doesn't see possible dangers in tree canopies but often survives by doing what cats can’t/won’t. Are known, ground-level risks worse than unknown risks up trees? Instead of betting their lives on one technique, animals can test by ascending incrementally to observe cats & look higher into canopies. Next moves are based on updated indications.

Business & wildlife survival isn't accidental. Techniques are learned plus innovated as necessary.

Big competitors don’t suck in every dollar. Discerning consumers want value & accept guidance in assessing how products solve problems & support opportunities. Successful competitors test to improve ads & methods.

Though experimenting includes tripping & falling, different approaches are necessary because consumers’ preferences & needs change.

Analogy: Toddlers trip & rise multiple times before eventually cruising between furniture to rest, regain balance & plan next steps before walking. When competitors walk along with consumers & respond to trips & falls, are you there too?

Whether consumers step hesitantly or boldly, are you or competitors there like encouraging parents?

Who’s More Hesitant: You, Competitors or Consumers?

If you refuse to provide information, don’t criticize consumers for hesitating without guidance. Without information about conditions, products & techniques, how can consumers know if your offers are relevant?

Offer Example: 'You might feel more comfortable with products & techniques others use. But their conditions, resources & goals are different. (Store) offers insightful knowledge with products to help you choose products & adapt techniques for your abilities. As you use incremental processes, you'll have guidance & evaluation criteria for determining next steps & starting on-time. Let's review your goals, resources & conditions to make your plans effective & efficient. (Store) doesn't claim perfection but provides realistic step-by-step success.'

Since June 2022, we've avoided human stereotypes by anthropomorphizing bears & salmon while extending Marshall Goldsmith’s analogy to avoid success delusion & spawn insights.

No Plan Survives First Contact

Habits are NOT sufficient plans. In oceans, salmon are predators & prey. They’ve avoided predation & missed prey because faster swimmers escape in deep water. Salmon return to rivers without considering the shallower water flowing among obstacles. To fish, rivers are water, how bad could they be? Predators watch for salmon leaping over obstacles or getting stuck.

Situational familiarity doesn't create detailed awareness. Knowledgeable observers might ignore or forget familiar things while searching for opportunities & threats.

Single-minded watchers look mainly for expected things & might disregard the rest. With limited time & energy for seeking, they overlook distractions (potential threats) as if nothing else matters.

Option Awareness Aids Flexibility.

Flexible procedures are valuable. Flexibility from options won’t matter if people aren't aware & prepared with plans plus alternatives.

Whether moves are defensive or offensive, plans or planners won't survive unchanged. Planners can use options to adjust plans if planners observe what fails plus are aware of & accept options while available. Imagine salmon thrashing bears’ mouths & asking, “What are my options?”

How will you sell products after warning consumers about threats? Offer functional hope with the maximum possible functionality.

Salmon proceed as if they have direct connections to spawning areas. They return to natal rivers. Even if external conditions are like those the salmon fry left, these adults are different. Predators notice bigger fish needing bigger spaces to swim through.

Customer integration creates or recreates connections by offering advantages of customizable resources & techniques.

Adjustments are important while options are available & can be optimized. However & whenever plans are made, option optimization is challenging like building & repairing jets in-flight. Start with structural integrity then observe progress & changes.

Find & optimize options while you can or you won't have viable choices. People are more apt to fail by refusing to test small & incremental options. Don’t bet all on any options including current methods.

Risk-averse people act as if they're apt to step-off cliffs. When people start early, small tests reveal beneficial steps so people probably won't need to risk hazards. Risk-averse people might avoid setbacks, but risk eventual total failure without progressing.

Since distant risks & problems aren't direct experiences & don't feel connected to "real" life, people focus on current pain. People confirm quick relief, even if it's retail therapy. Remote relief doesn't feel powerful enough to offset painful payments.

Without quick relief, functional hope lacks impact. Current & past comparisons can show functionality. Example: Because Option-X was used to create Result-Y, Benefit-Z was improved & preserved.

Communicate how investments contributed to benefits & how problems would remain or worsen without beneficial investments. Example: Instead of focusing on current feelings, focus on how you'll feel without relief plus progress. If you bought cheap discounters' stuff to fix XX, are you in the same, better or worse circumstances now?

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2023 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

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