9:46am Tuesday
This morning I read a Sweepstakes Letter from the Publishers Clearing House.
With a no-obligation entry I have a chance at winning $7,000 per week for life.
That’s a lot of money!
The letter spent no time trying to be clever or discussing something that couldn’t tie into the benefits of their promotion.
To Persuade, You Have To Enter Their World
Do you remember most brands behind your favorite commercials?
Maybe you do, if you’ve seen these commercials more than once.
Often, advertisements discuss things that aren’t relevant to a customer’s real world problems or desires.
So we get a laugh, but we don’t get a reason why we should care.
In his book Reality in Advertising, Rosser Reeves (backed by years of real-world research) suggests it’s better to be relevant. Shocking!
Hit each potential customer once with a clear message that says what you can do for him.
And only when your message has been seen by every potential client (or customer) is it time to reach out again.
This is contrary to the common wisdom that you have to contact someone 7 or 8 times to get a response.
Which may well be necessary, of course. Perhaps you have different aspects to hit upon, or you want to be top-of-mind when a purchase decision is imminent.
But you still have to be relevant to her needs.
“Because” Gives You a Reason
Why should someone listen to you?
“Because ____.”
When there’s a “Because” our brains find a reason to care.
There’s that photocopier story where a researcher asks to cut to the front of a line.
When she asked if she could make a few copies, she got mostly “no.”
When she asked if she could cut in line because she had to make a few copies —just like everyone else in line— the answer (in many more cases) turned to “yes.”
Just by giving a reason why.
It wasn’t even a great reason, but it helped people justify their decision.
Messages that are irrelevant to the customer’s desires don’t give people a Reason Why they might choose you — and that Reason Why Advertising is how John Kennedy helped take Lord & Thomas to the top of the agency world over 100 years ago.
And it’s still true today.
Bud Light’s “Dilly Dilly” tells us nothing. It’s funny. It keeps their water in front of us. But it’s not giving me any benefits if I buy Bud Light over another brand.
“Clever Marketing” wins industry awards.
“Relevant Marketing” wins customers.
Which do you see the most of?
Which is more persuasive to you?
Which do you use?
Be well!
Jeffrey
PS If you’re looking to focus your marketing message to the right customers, I may be able to help.
Or maybe not.
But with just a few minutes of time we’ll know if we’re a good fit together.
And the free marketing consultation alone could be worth a lot of money for your business.
If you’re looking to stand out in your market, hit me up here, https://rockpapershootllc.com/contact/