Do Your Ads Make You Look Cheap?
April 5, 2012
I opened up the bright blue Val-Pack envelope this morning like I sometimes do, more out of a Marketer’s curiosity than anything else. I don’t use coupons; it’s too much of a hassle for me to save a few bucks. So I leaf through the coupons just to see who’s advertising, what they’re advertising, and if can find anything in there to blog about. Just kidding. That’s just and added bonus today!
So as I’m perusing endless pizza and carwash coupons I noticed a huge difference in how the bigger companies advertised compared to the small local companies.
Holy Cow – this is exactly what I am always ranting and raving about and here it is in print.. in full color even! Eureka, I’ve struck marketing consultant gold!
But before I get into analyzing the coupons, let’s see if you can spot the difference. I’ll give you 60 seconds… Ready? GO…
OK, time’s up. What did you come up with???
Give up?
I can best sum it up in one word: VALUE.
Did you notice that the local companies automatically assumed that all we care about is PRICE? And the bigger national companies spoke to our need, want, or pain??? Do you see that?
Petrillo’s says: “Professional Automotive Repair – For Less.” Translation: We say we’re professional but we don’t expect you to pay us like professionals. We expect you to pay us less than you’d pay a professional…
Lucky Cleaners says : “Stop paying too much for dry cleaning… We’re the Finest Quality Cleaners in Town!” Translation: We are the finest quality cleaners in town, but we don’t expect you to pay us like we are.. you can pay us less than you pay the other, not-so-fine, not-so-quality cleaners.
Now in the real world, aren’t “quality” and “cheap” mutually exclusive? Really. Be honest. Think like a consumer not a business owner. Can you really get quality and cheap? Not usually. That’s why we buy name brands instead of generic and why we choose Starbucks coffee over McDonald’s, and Safeway over Food4Less.
Cheap to me says it’ll taste bad or it’ll break in a day. Quality says, it’s better, it’ll last a while. So how can a company be “quality” and cheap? It can’t.
Now compare that messaging to what the national companies say:
Sports Authority: “Got what you need for Spring? Find all the gear you want here…” Translation: We know what you need and we know you’re willing to pay for it. But because this is Valpak and you expect it, we’ll give you 20% off. But nowhere does it say, “Shop us because we’re cheap” – And anyone who has shopped there knows that even with 20% off, it’s far from cheap.
Anderson Windows: “Why deflate your home’s value with cheap, ugly windows?” Translation: You don’t want your home to look ugly do you? So then why would you buy cheap windows? We charge more – but we know you’ll pay it because you want to protect the value of your home and you don’t want ugly windows.
Lesson:
The bigger companies understand VALUE. They understand that when they communicate to potential customers in their words, on their terms, and with products and services they really need they don’t have to be the cheapest to get their business.
The reason I do what I do is because I’ve worked with huge multinational corporations and I’ve worked with small companies and I wanted to take the tools and practices that the huge companies use and teach small businesses how to stop wasting money chasing bad marketing. This example makes that point perfectly.
Doing the groundwork is crucial. Studying your customers, your competition, and your market are fundamentals. Knowing your target market and why they buy what they buy is critical. Figuring out how you’re different from your competition is essential. And learning how to communicate these things effectively is mandatory. Or you will always have to fall back on price. Who wants to compete on price? Who wants to be CHEAP? Wouldn’t you rather charge what you’re really worth and be known as the Quality company?
What does your advertising say about your company? Tell us!
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Go back to the Newsletter.
Welcome to the Fortune Friday Free Marketing Tips Featured Article!
November 17, 2011
Why Your Business Shouldn’t Advertise Like McDonald’s
See, with a multi- million – or even billion – dollar marketing budget you can buy the “know, like and trust” needed to make your business work. Human psychology is a funny thing… the more we hear or see something, the more we begin to trust in it (as long as what we hear and see isn’t negative); regardless of what our common sense tells us.
Why Infomercials Work
Think about how you’ve responded or reacted to certain product / brand messages over time. Those annoying 
infomercials are a great example of how constant bombardment of messaging can work. The first time you see one you think “what a crock, who would buy such a thing?”, or “that could never work”. Then, the 15th or 16th time you catch a glimpse of the extra fancy schmancy all-in-one fried chicken, quiche, and Bundt cake maker you’re intrigued.. “Hmmm. What does this do, really? Maybe I’ve been a little too hard on this extra fancy schmancy all-in-one fried chicken, quiche, and Bundt cake maker”.
Before you know it, you doubt your original impression of the product. Then, by the 50th or 60th time you see it, your brain starts telling you you might actually need one! (Come on, admit it, I know that’s happened to you too!).You may even have half a bottle of that “amazing, scientifically proven weight loss formula” in your medicine cabinet. Or that super-duper, extra cool tomato slicer stuffed away in a drawer somewhere. Or how many times have you been going about your day, minding your own business when you see an ad or a billboard for a Big Mac? And then suddenly, maybe without even realizing it, you’re craving McDonalds…???
Ok- so, yes, this type of advertising can “work”… depending on how you define “work”. But can you spend millions of dollars to be in front of everyone 24/7? Of course not! So then why are you trying to? Wouldn’t it make sense to find a marketing strategy that works for a company like yours; not like the McDonalds’ and Toyotas of the world?
Things you need to consider before trying to advertise like McDonald’s:
- Can you afford to invest in “awareness” advertising? There are a couple of different ways to advertise: there is direct response advertising (an offer) and “awareness” advertising (some people call it “top of mind”). Awareness advertising is about putting your name out there to raise awareness. If you aren’t’ doing this constantly and consistently it’s a waste of time and money.
- Do you have the budget to advertise consistently over time? A person will need to see an ad at least 3 times before remembering seeing it- and another 10 or so times before she starts to believe in the legitimacy of the company, product or service. If you don’t have the money to invest in a long-term consistent advertising campaign, you are throwing money out the window. One ad here and there isn’t going to do anything for you.
- Do you have realistic expectations about what the ad can do for you? Ok, so you have a few hundred bucks burning a hole in your pocket and want to place an ad. So you put a coupon in the paper for 10% off your product or service, turn on the “Open” sign and wait for the crowds to line up around the block…. And you wait… and wait… Nothing happens. As stated in #1 and #2, advertising is a process and must be done consistently and repetitively. Don’t expect to place one ad and have the products fly off the shelf and the phone to ring off the hook. Unless you are using the 2 Step advertising approach you probably won’t get the response you expect.
For more information about Marketing and how to make it most effective visit: http://FortuneMarketingCompany.com
Don’t Say That!!! How to Improve Your Image by Keeping Your Mouth Closed!
July 10, 2011
One thing I realized during my 9-5 career is that the things you don’t say can oftentimes be way more powerful than the things you do say. I remember telling my boss, the VP of Sales, a story about a how another VP of Sales in a past job took a huge account that I had landed away from me and transferred it to a senior rep because he felt I couldn’t handle it. I told this story as a w
ay to prove that I was capable of bringing in big accounts. But as I told it, I realized that what I was really doing by telling the story was instilling doubt in his mind of my abilities to effectively manage a large account. If another person in his position had made that call, then maybe there was some validity to it.
I vividly remember sitting there after having spilled the beans, immediately regretting it; realizing that although I was trying to make myself look capable it really did quite the opposite… It was a valuable lesson and I learned to be a lot more mindful about what I say – and don’t say! And that is a skill that is definitely useful in developing marketing communications….
Now cut to yesterday…. I stole a couple of lazy hours on a Saturday afternoon to watch some mindless TV. And on comes a Nutella commercial. I rarely watch commercials these days, but as a marketer when I do, I pay attention. In this particular Nutella commercialI noticed how they positioned the product as a fun, easy, and healthy choice. I didn’t quite buy the “healthy” claim so I went to my laptop to look up their ingredients. Guess what??? No so healthy…! But it got me thinking again about Marketing and Advertising and clever big corporations are with their messaging – like politicians, they are great at focussing on the good and ignoring the “bad”. So I thought I’d point out what Nutella did in their commercials to help small business owners know what to say – and NOT say!
Here are some lines from their commercial that I thought were interesting uses of marketing messaging. I also included lessons that all small businesses can learn from them.
“Serve it on whole wheat toast or even whole wheat waffles.” - I love this line. Without saying the product is healthy, it leads you to believe it’s healthy simply by associating it with something that is healthy! Using this strategy, you can slap 20 tablespoons of sugar on whole wheat bread and voila! It’s healthy! Lesson: In your business, what can you associate your product or service with to make it more appealing to consumers?
“My ki
ds love it and I feel good about serving it.” - Translation: I don’t have to force my kids to eat healthy stuff they hate- yet, it’s healthy enough that I don’t have to feel guilty about feeding them junk. Lesson: What emotional affect does your product or service have on consumers and how can you make them feel good about using it?
“Nutella is made with Simple, Quality ingredients; like hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa” –How can you go wrong with nuts and skim milk and just a ‘hint’ of cocoa??? Sounds so nutritious and wholesome and good, doesn’t it? What they don’t say is that the first ingredient is sugar and the second is palm oil (which is proven to increase bad cholesterol). Lesson: How are you showcasing your best qualities (and down-playing your not-so-great qualities)?
“No artificial colors or preservatives” – What they don’t tell you is there are artificial flavors, but because they say “no artificial colors or preservatives” you forget to ask about artificial “anything” and assume it’s “artificial”/junk free! Lesson: As small business owners we sometimes feel the need to apologize for the little things we don’t do- or the services we don’t provide… but instead of apologizing for what you don’t offer, focus on what you DO – and more often than not, people won’t even notice what you don’t do!
I’m not writing this to pick on Nutella or to tell you shouldn’t smother it all over your whole wheat toast for breakfast. I wrote it to use a real world example of how an effective marketing strategy and careful marketing messaging can transform your product or service. Happy Marketing !
(And one more thing, can you really call it a Hazelnut spread if hazelnuts are only the THIRD ingredient? Wouldn’t it be a sugar spread?” – I guess it’s all about packaging!)
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!! Leave your comments here.
By the way, if you liked this post, I’d really appreciate your Retweet!!! Thank you.
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+Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company
- Carolyn Higgins, President of Fortune Marketing Company specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses get the customers they need to sell more, increase profits and achieve all of their business and personal goals. We do this by implementing and managing marketing systems based on data and strategy - there is no guess work. For more information visit us at: FortuneMarketingCompany.com. We'd be glad to help!
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