Couple Video Game Baby Death

For God Sakes Get Us More Customers!

“I DON’T CARE HOW you do it, but for God sakes, get us more customers!”

Frustrated, the owner thundered these words, pounded his fist on the table, and stormed out.

The conference room rang with silence.  The art director and the creative chief were stunned.

With all his creative people’s talk of a “feel-good piece” with “movement and balance” that “creates a unique atmosphere” it’s no wonder the owner cracked.

Creative directors tend to want to impress other creative directors.  Art directors like to impress art directors.  And copywriters seem to seek the approval of other copywriters.

They advertise to create great advertisements.

I don’t know why YOU advertise, but I know why you should.  You advertise as a way to obtain the results you want to achieve.

Your ads may be winning you awards but losing you customers.  Here are some tips to help you get what you want.

FIRST, DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT.  Your goal is NOT to make a great advertisement.  The ad is only the means to the end.  Good advertising is not self-conscious.  It doesn’t say, “Hey, look, I’m a great ad created by very clever people!”  Bad advertisements focus on the advertisement.

Good advertisements focus on the target audience.  What they want, what they need, what problems they need solved.

When your prospects are convinced you have the answers they need, that’s when they respond to your message.

If it’s a great ad, the reader should never know it.

So, what do you want?  Are you looking for leads or sales?  Are you wanting to educate prospects?  Are you wanting to make yourself known, build your corporate image, maintain a public presence, prove your superiority?

Give your ad people a specific goal to achieve.  Tell them to get you more customers, clients, or sales leads.  And when they present ads to you, have them explain why they think their ideas will achieve your goals.

For some ad people, creating ads is a game–something to let those creative juices flow.  But for your business, advertising may be life or death.  You can’t survive without customers, clients, or sales.

SECOND, DECIDE WHAT WILL GET YOU WHAT YOU WANT.  Prospects don’t care about you; they only care about themselves.  They want to know what’s in it for them.  What do they get?  Which one of their problems can you solve?

So you must decide which one benefit you offer is most important to the prospect.  Yes, I said one.

Concentrate on a specific benefit and hammer it home.  You can back this up with secondary benefits to help sweeten the deal.  But remember:  If everything is emphasized, nothing is emphasized.

Here’s a test for you.  How many benefits are in the following statement?  “The new QuestMeg 5000SX computer has a 5GHz processor, 2GB DDR2 memory, and a 200GB SATA hard drive.”

How many benefits?  None.

These are features.  And, yes, the reader wants to know what features the product has.  But the trick is to present these features as you translate them into benefits.

Using the above example, you would say how the computer helps the user create professional looking documents quickly and easily at the click of a button.  The prospect gets plenty of memory to hold programs for work and play, and so on. 

THIRD, DECIDE WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE.  You can’t be all things to all people.  If you try, you’ll end up being nothing to everyone.

Who is your market?  Men?  Women?  Couples or singles?  Young adults or retirees?  High, low, or middle income families?  You are wanting a specific group of people to take a specific action. 

Who are these people you are trying to attract?  Ask your ad people why they think their ideas will attract the target audience.  Why will a bikini-clad woman sell that conversion van?  The cute shot of the baby — does it really sell hotel suites?  The oddball couple that can’t screw in a light bulb — will that sell your pizza?

Never forget your goal.  And don’t be afraid to require your people to explain why the proposed ad will achieve that goal.  Let your people do their job, but don’t do it blindly.

And if they can’t explain it, tell them to go back to the drawing board and give you something they can explain.

FOURTH, DECIDE WHAT ACTION YOU WANT THE PROSPECT TO TAKE.  Do you want them to call, write, or visit the local dealer?  Should they ask for a free video, booklet, consultation, or are they making a purchase right now?

People like to be told what to do — at least when it comes to making sales decisions.  They want to know how to act to get what they want.

In advertising, the prospect must know what the next step is in the buying process.  How do I buy?  Where are you located?  How can I get more information?

Tell them how to respond now, or they will respond to your competition later.

FIFTH – NOT LAST OR LEAST – DECIDE HOW YOU WILL BE REPRESENTED.  Don’t forget that every ad is a reflection of you.  If it looks cheap, you look cheap.  If it’s poorly written, does the writer look bad?  No!  You look bad.

Make sure that every word, every picture, every image drives you to your goal.  Don’t let your advertising get in the way of your success.

Your competitors have good advertising; you must have better advertising to survive.

    

            

About the Author

JAY HULING is a freelance copywriter with 22 years of experience writing and producing marketing, advertising, and direct response materials for companies all over the country. These companies include the American Lung Association, Atlantic Marine, Barnett Banks, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Citigroup, CSX, GATE Petroleum, Regency Centers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vistakon, and many more. Find out more about Jay Huling at www.jayhuling.com.

Internet Addicted Couple Let Baby Starve To DEATH!