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Practical Marketing – Issue Two, December 1999
Welcome to another issue of Practical Marketing. I've gotten some great feedback after the first issue (though I
was told I got a bit long winded and it was too much to digest in one issue! I'll try to keep it briefer this time out!). I want to welcome all our new subscribers. My apologies for being a bit
late with this issue – I had a deadline crunch getting a client's project to press. Now that I have some time to breathe, I can devote my attention to this issue. So, without further ado…
Last issue, I talked about the basics of marketing and some things you need to think about before you launch a new campaign. This time, I'll expand a
little more on some of those points as well as giving you some new ones. If you missed the last issue you can read it here.
One of the things I suggested was taking a hard look at exactly what it is you want to market. You may think you already know this – especially if it's a
product or service you've sold for a while. When launching a new campaign, however, you should try to step back and take a hard look at what it is you
are really selling and why someone would want to buy it.
People new to marketing often fail to consider the customer's point of view. Your product may be the best widget ever made, but why is that important?
Why should your customer buy yours instead of brand x? Why should your customer buy a widget at all? You may know all the reasons, but have you
communicated them effectively in your advertising & marketing material?
The key thing to remember is that you aren't selling the product – you are
selling the benefits to the customer of buying your product. People buy things that will do one of the following six things:
- Make life easier or better for them
- Make them more money
- Give them peace of mind
- Make something they have to do faster or easier
- Give them pleasure
- Give them something better than their neighbor or colleague
Appealing to your customers on one or more of these levels is a far more powerful marketing approach than touting the benefits or features of your
product. Yes, features and benefits are important and shouldn't be totally ignored – but emotional responses based on one of the above is far more
persuasive to the average person. Hook people on an emotional level, and you have a customer.
Look at the television commercials on tonight. Is American Express touting their benefits? No. They touch the emotions by showing you the sense of
freedom and adventure you'll get to go on that great European vacation, buy all new clothes if you loose your luggage, or solve all your problems for you.
Insurance companies tout the peace of mind you'll get knowing your family is protected if something happens to you. The cell phone commercials make
you want to keep up with your neighbor and enjoy the same freedom (and status symbol) they do.
So, look at your product (or service) from the point of view of your
customer. If you were looking to buy a product of that type, why would you choose your brand? If you weren't in the market for it, what would make
you decide to buy it? How can you tie in an emotional response?
Talk to your friends, relatives, employees. Why would they buy your
product? Take a look at your competitor's ads…are they appealing to people on these levels? Look at every ad around you regardless of the product. See how they fit into this idea.
Think in terms of the 6 points above. How can you make your product appeal to people on these levels? Try to include as many different points as
possible, then write it into a one paragraph summary. This is your mission statement…the thing that will set you apart from your competiton.
Write a headline that supports this concept, and you have the basis for your next marketing campaign.
Have a comment about this article? Or an idea you'd like to explore or
share? Please email it to me at mailto:pawtographics@scifispace.com.
Until next time, keep an eye on the advertising and marketing around you
every day and think how you can apply the best ideas to your product or service. And have a great Christmas!
Lori Anne Brown,
Editor
Practical Marketing is published the first Monday of every month
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Reprint rights are granted as long as text is not edited, credit and subscription information is included, and a copy of the publication in which it is reprinted is sent to Practical Marketing.
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