The Benefits of Specific Advertising

January 10, 2007 by James · Comment
Filed under: Classical Marketing 

The great Claude Hopkins (Author of Scientific Advertising) once said, “Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck. They leave no impression whatever.”

To say, “Best in the world,” “Lowest price in existence,” etc. are at best simply claiming the expected. But superlatives of that sort are usually damaging. They suggest looseness of expression, a tendency to exaggerate, a careless truth. They lead readers to discount all the statements that you make.

— A Dog & Pony Show

It’s true that people accept a certain license in ‘sales talk.’ A person may say, “Highest quality” without seeming a liar, although you realise other brands are just as good. We expect a sales person to ‘sell’ and we excuse some enthusiastic exaggeration. It’s for that reason general statements count for very little. And a person inclined to grand statements and superlatives must expect their claims to meet a healthy dose of scepticism.

However, someone making a specific claim is either telling the truth lying. We know advertisers cannot lie in the best mediums, so a definite statement is usually accepted. Actual figures are not generally discounted. Specific facts, when stated, have their full weight and effect.

— Just The Facts Ma’am

This is very important to consider in written or personal salesmanship. The weight of an argument may often be multiplied by making it specific. Say that one brand of light bulb gives more light than another and you leave some doubt. Say it gives 354% more light and people realize that you have made tests and comparisons.

A dealer may say, “Our prices have been reduced” without creating any marked impression. But when he says, “Our prices have been reduced 27 per cent” they get the full value of their announcement.

— The Pre-emptive Advantage & Specificity

In the old days all beers were advertised as “Pure.” The claim made no impression. The bigger the type used, the bigger the folly. After millions had been spent to impress a platitude, one brewer pictured a plate glass where beer was cooled in filtered air. They pictured a filter of white wood pulp through which every drop was cleared. They told how bottles were washed four times by machinery. They he went down 4,000 feet for pure water. How 1,018 experiments had been made to attain a yeast to give beer that matchless flavour. And how all the yeast was forever made from that adopted mother cell.

Now don’t misunderstand – any brewer might have easily made these claims. They were mere essentials in ordinary brewing. But this one company was the first to tell everyone about them, while the others simply kept repeating the worn out statement “pure beer.” This one brewer made the greatest success that was ever made in beer advertising.

— The Art of Leverage

Remember, one advertising statement may take as much room as another, yet a definite statement is many times more effective. The difference is vast. If a claim is worth making, make it in the most impressive way you possibly can.

All these effects must be studied. ‘Salesmanship-in-print’ can be very expensive. A salesperson’s loose talk matters little when it’s simply one-on-one. However, when you are ‘talking’ to many at great cost, the weight of your advertising claims is important.

Remember, no generality has any weight whatever. It’s like saying, “How do you do?”, when you have no intention of inquiring about one’s health. And specific claims when made in print are taken at their value.

So the next time you are dreaming up adverts and offers for your business – BE SPECIFIC!

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Attract Don’t Chase

January 3, 2007 by James · Comment
Filed under: Classical Marketing 

I just read about a marketing firm that convinced a company to rework their brand. Apparently they did an excellent job on the brand makeover. The end result was flawless. The strategy amazing.
The outcome - NOTHING. The client decided they liked their original brand better. They agreed the newly created branding was excellent, however they simply felt the current brand was still working for them and it didn’t need changing. Net result — a waste of time, money and resources.

Attract Don’t Chase

This is a typical example of chasing a client and convincing (selling) them on an idea or project. It’s far better to attract a client because when you do, the client does the convincing - not you. With a self-convinced client, they tend to be more committed to your ideas and programs.

Butterflies

Do you remember catching butterflies as a kid? I do. If you were patient, stood still and offered them some fruit or other special treat, the butterflies would come to you. Ironically the same is true of clients :)
So… are you attracting clients or chasing them?

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Wakeup Your Sleepy Clients With This…

January 1, 2007 by James · Comment
Filed under: Classical Marketing 
In a plain white, unmarked envelope it arrives. Your client sees their name through the envelope window, “What’s this?” they wonder, “It doesn’t look a bill or junk mail - it looks semi official…hmmm.”

They open it.Unfolding a single piece of crisp white paper, they check the envelope to see if there’s anything else. Realizing it’s just one page they start scanning it - deciding whether to read it or toss it.

As they glance quickly at this special letter they’re ‘trapped’ by the psychologically engaging words on the page. Continuing to read this seemingly innocent looking one-page letter, they begin to smile and read on to find out more…

Before they realise it, they’ve read the entire letter (of course it was only one-page so who wouldn’t?) And they are still smiling. If this was a letter from you, something wonderful has happened, they are thinking about YOU again!

Now THAT’S the power of salesmanship in print. If you want a letter that makes your sleepy clients wake-up and think of you, drop me a line and I’ll explain how :-)

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