Smart Marketing
Carefully chosen words lead to big sales figures
Austin Business Journal - by Mike Ogden
If you've ever written a mission or vision statement for your company, you know the importance of choosing just the right words. What you might fail to appreciate is the role that words play in the marketing of your company.
Words articulate your company's slogan or tagline, as in Nike's "Just do it." The right words in a news release capture an editor's attention and result in a story written about your business. The written word greatly defines the content of your Web site. Words combined with images in ads and commercials promote your products and build brand identity.
Unfortunately, words of this kind, better known as ad copy or copywriting, often are ignored. It's no wonder. As consumers, we're bombarded by an estimated 2,000 ad messages a day. Our mailboxes, email and postal, are filled with junk mail. A 30-minute television program has eight minutes of commercials.
As a result of the continual ad blitz on the senses, we've developed a defense system. We tune it out, hit the delete key, switch channels and reach for the trash can.
Even so, the right words can break through the information glut as well as people's defense systems. As someone who's been writing ad copy for more than a dozen years, I have a few suggestions on accomplishing this.
Relate and resonate
Good ad copy relates and resonates with the target audience.
One of the most famous headlines in the history of advertising was, "They laughed when I sat down to play the piano, but when I started to play!"
Ad readers could relate. With music lessons, a person's inherent musical talent could come through and surprise people. This ad for the U.S. School of Music appeared in 1925 and resonated with the public. Seventy-five years later, the need to relate and resonate with audiences still is key to effective marketing communications.
How do you relate and resonate?
First, know your audience. The more you know about your prospective customers, the easier it is crafting messages that really talk to them.
Consider the problem/solution approach in your ads. Feature the problem and then show how your product solves it. People relate better to the problem. They can identify with it. And if your product can solve it, you're the hero.
Finally, write ad copy that preaches benefits to the buyer rather than product features. For every product feature, ask yourself: How does this benefit the buyer? If it's unclear, don't include it.
Magic words
Some words are music to the ears. "Free" is one of them. It's overused but still golden. "New, "introducing" and "announcing" are gems, too. Another trick is to pose questions in ad text. It engages the audience in a dialogue.
Ad messages work harder when they address one person. The easiest way to convey this is with the word "you." I try to use it early and often in every form of marketing communication because it's more direct and personable and reflects an intuitive understanding of the customer's needs.
In many cases, the best words come straight from a customer's mouth. Testimonials and customer comments resonate with prospects. It's no longer the company's view but rather a real customer's opinion. That counts plenty with prospective buyers.
Copy killers
If great copy makes a difference, why don't we see more of it? That's because of copy killers such as wordiness, committees and politics.
Ad copy that sings grabs attention, preaches benefits and leaves them wanting more. However, in the approval process, a company often will start to second-guess the "less is more" approach. "We didn't say X or Y." Next thing you know, the ad text grows as each committee person chimes in.
Fortunately, print and broadcast communications have limited space and airtime, helping stunt the growth. The Internet, without such restraints, requires self-restraint. Web site content should unfold in layers, from highlights to the whole story.
Ad language also is toned down for political reasons. Text that's negative or potentially offensive frequently is nixed or diluted, although it might score high on the "relate and resonate" scale.
I once created a poster idea for a major seafood chain's bite-size shrimp special with the headline, "Knock down a bunch of little shrimps." I'd bet the farm you're smiling right now, but politics ensured that idea never was produced.
Words play an important role in your company's marketing, from slogans and ads to news releases and web sites. Most businesses fail to appreciate the crowded communication mediums and people's defense systems to promotional messages. Don't make the same mistake. Choose your words carefully, and watch them relate and resonate into leads and sales.
MIKE OGDEN is president of Pipeline Marketing in Overland Park, Kan. He can be reached at (913) 397-7473, or visit (http://www.pipelinemarketing.com).
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