Portland marketing – Page 36 – Phil Bernstein's Advertising, Marketing, and Sales Training Blog

A Missed Opportunity

Over the holiday break, this ad ran in the Oregonian at least twice. My guess is that it ran all over the country, and the people who designed it didn’t feel like customizing the ad for specific markets.

Which means they blew it.

Brooks Brothers wants their prospects to respond in one of three ways: ordering online, calling their 800-number, or visiting their store. Logically, the retail store is where people would go if they wanted to try on a suit and get it altered. But Brooks Brothers doesn’t tell you where the store is.

The downtown Portland Brooks Brothers store has only been open a few months, in a mall that’s seen some hard times, and a lot of their target customers don’t even know it’s there. This would have been a perfect opportunity to tell them about the new store, lure them in to save money on shirts — and measure them for a suit or two.

It would not have been hard to leave room for store addresses in each market that had a retail store. But someone at Brooks Brothers couldn’t be bothered, and they’ll never know how much money they lost.

Today’s lesson is: if you want your prospects to do business with you, make yourself easy to find.

By the way, you can find me at 503-323-6553.

The Anti-Cliche Movement Strikes

Each year, the folks at Lake Superior State University ask the public to submit expressions that have become cliches. And on New Year’s Day, they issue a list of those expressions that are heretofore banned. More than 2000 cliches were nominated, and they’ve been whittled down to 23 used-up words and phrases.

Smart move on the part of their Public Relations staff — there must be thousands of college-bound students (and their parents), who only know that Lake Superior State University exists is because of this list.

Although most of the expressions on the list aren’t likely to be used in advertising, it acts as a timely reminder that “friendly and knowlegeable staff” should never be in your copy.

You can see the whole list here.

___________________________________________________________________________

I’ve written a white paper called The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them. It’s a study of some of the most common ways that companies waste their advertising dollars — along with suggestions to make those dollars work harder and smarter. Request your free copy here.

Cute Elevator Speeches

One of the mainstays of sales training is the “Elevator Pitch” — a 30-second summation of what we do that we’d give a prospect if we had the prospect trapped in an elevator. The idea is that when someone at a cocktail party asks what you do, you can respond with a succinct value proposition rather than just a job title. Which, in theory anyway, will pique the interest of anyone who might be a prospect.

For example, if a business owner asks what I do and I say I sell advertising, the conversation might be over very quickly. He probably hasn’t been dreaming about buying advertising. If, on the other hand, I say that I help local businesses find tell their stories, find more customers and make more sales, there may be something to talk about.

Over at the SW Washington and Portland Small Business Blog, Michael Thompson of Market Accelerators wonders if cute elevator pitches work.

No one in our group had a particularly cute one but we all could remember someone who did. You know the “I’m Rachel the Realtor and I’m Really Reliable” or “Harry the Healthy Heart Alternative or whatever. Some folks even dress the part with a particularly impressive hat or big flashing button — you know who you are.

It was interesting because we all could remember someone like that and often it turned out to be the same person. So obviously it works from a remembering point of view but none of us felt particularly like we would buy from someone like that. There was a hesitation for some reason.

I’m all for a memorable hook (I use “Portland’s Finest Media Rep”), but the problem with a cutesy rhyme is that it smacks of trying too hard. And the folks I’ve encountered who use handles like that are so pleased with the alliteration that they forget the rest of the value proposition. The best elevator speeches are like any other form of advertising — they tell potential buyers how the seller can solve a problem. Skip that part, and a rhyme isn’t going to save you.

___________________________________________________________________________

Like what you’re reading? Download my free white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How To Fix Them.

What Other Problems Do Your Customers Have?

In the wine department of the Hollywood West Fred Meyer store is a device that looks kind of like a clothes hamper full of slowly circulating ice water. A sign on the device says,

“Free Chilling Service — 25 Times Faster Than a Refrigerator”

You just put the bottle in the water and come back in a little while. 3 minutes for “cool”, 5 minutes for “cold”, 7 minutes for “ice cold”.

Somebody at Fred Meyer realized that for some of their shoppers, a good wine selection solves one problem — what to serve at the party — but leaves another potential issue — the guests are arriving in less than an hour and the white wine’s warm.

By offering to solve this second problem at no extra charge, Fred Meyer’s positioned itself as the first option for this segment of customers.

We’re all in the problem-solving business.

People with transportation problems go to car dealers.
Homeowners who need to find a buyer hire a real estate agent.
People who believe they look old or unattractive go to a clinic for botox or lipodissolve.

In many cases your customers are consciously aware of the primary problem they need to solve, but may need to address other issues as well.

Sometimes these issues are a barrier to doing business. The Red Cross, recognizing that many people feel they’re too busy to give blood in December, recently announced a program called “You Give, We Wrap.” Donors bring their holiday gifts to the center, and Red Cross volunteers will wrap the packages while the donors are giving blood.

Sometimes these secondary problems can even be an opportunity for extra profit. When you buy a gift from Amazon.com, they’re happy to wrap it — for an additional $3.99 per package.

Whether you’re trying to generate extra revenue or just position yourself as the first choice for your clients, it makes sense to ask — what other problems can I solve?

_________________________________________________________________________

Like what you’re reading? Download my free white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How To Fix Them.

When People Complain About Your Advertising

“Most ads aren’t written to persuade, they’re written not to offend.” — Roy Williams

Not long ago an ad agency pulled a home improvement commercial off the air in Portland and Seattle because several listeners had called the client to complain about it. The client was concerned that he was offending potential customers, and the agency is now scrambling to come up with something else.

So what happens when some people don’t like your advertising?

Sunny Kobe Cook, whose relentless pitches for Sleep Country USA in the 90’s irritated thousands, once told a seminar audience that she would occasionally work behind the counter at one of her stores.

Customers would walk up to the counter after choosing a bed, hand her their credit card, and then do a double-take. She described the typical encounter like this:

Customer: You’re Sunny Kobe Cook!

Sunny: Yes, I am.

Customer (leaning forward, whispering): I hate your commercials!

“They’re standing in my store,” said Cook, “and making a purchase for a thousand bucks or more. I want everyone to hate my commercials like that!”

Cook annoyed people with her voice and relentlessness. Rob Christensen, by contrast, deliberately pushes the envelope of good taste. Christensen runs Apple Auto Sales of Charlotte, North Carolina. In his TV ads, he plays “Reverend Rob”, a televangelist who will “HEAL your credit.” They’re cheesy, poorly-acted, and have the ability to offend on multiple levels.

They also sell cars. You can watch one here.

According to Mike Drummond of the Charlotte Observer, Christensen has been running these ads since 1997. Viewers have complained, and some stations have refused to run the spots.

Christensen airs the commercials on stations who will accept them, and takes his money to the bank. “I’ve had people tell me they hate my ads — hate them,” Christensen told Drummond. “And yet they still bought a car from me.”

Roy Williams echoes the sentiment:

Ninety-eight point nine percent of all the customers who hate your ads will still come to your store and buy from you when they need what you sell. These customers don’t cost you money; they just complain to the cashier as they’re handing over their cash.

A caution is in order here: An annoying campaign may get you noticed, but you can’t forget to sell within the commercial. The Sleep Country and Apple Auto Sales commercials were more than just exercises in irritation. Each one contained a powerful sales message and a call to action.

But you shouldn’t reject an idea simply because some folks might not like it. They don’t have to like it — they just have to buy.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Got a question? Wanna argue? Email Phil Bernstein here.

Become a Phil Bernstein Portland’s Advertising Expert Facebook Fan here