David Young | Branding Blog - Marketing Advice and Advertising Strategy for Local Business Owners

Don't Believe Everything You Read

Out for a walk this morning. I decided this sign would make a good blog post.
You write it. In the comments...ready, set, go.

Pencil Twirling

This video reminded me of a blog post I wrote almost 4 years ago on adding fancy-pants features to web sites just to show off. Hehehe.

 

Strategic Copywriting

When copy doesn't matter, and when it will make all the difference in the world.

It doesn't really matter what Budweiser says in their ads. They have a Path Dominant business model that allows their ad copy to coast along entertaining us with frogs or whatever. As long as it does no harm, they'll continue to dominate their category because they have purchased shelf space at eye-level in every supermarket and made sure that their products are available on tap at your favorite restaurant.

Likewise, WalMart wasn't built on the power of their advertising. They became a juggernaut through superior inventory management. End of story.

In the healthcare category, the business is called a "practice" because it usually offers custom, customer-intimate solutions to problems. They like to think that it is their surgeons, specialists and training that make all the difference. Most of the time, and stacked up against most of their competitors, they are correct.

But, there are two situations that will change the game, and if they aren't prepared to respond with the right message, they'll quickly find themselves marginalized and irrelevant.

Let's take a look at the field of LASIK. Laser vision correction has been around for awhile now. In the early days, it was a pretty scary idea.

There are chains of LASIK shops which are bombarding us with spam and other ads offering vision correction for $299 per eye. These are the discount merchants of vision correction and most consumers won't bother to investigate much further than price. They'll be drawn in by the marketing only to find out that the price includes technology that the best ophthalmologists have relegated to museums. That's right, if you want to get bargain-basement LASIK, your corneal flap will be cut with a steel blade instead of state-of-the-art computer-guided lasers. Guess what? Most patients opt for a higher-priced procedure using more modern equipment…but still not always state-of-the-art.

Most of the independant doctors are afraid to call the chain shops out on this bait-and-switch routine. They wring their hands and moan just like their old retail friends who were shut down years ago when WalMart moved to town. That's the first situation.

Many of them have an ace in their sleeve that they also fail to play. If they've invested in the latest and greatest technology, they really can offer a better outcome for their patients. But, they think that patients just won't be able to understand why their prices are so much higher than the chains. And, that's just as bad as not responding to the bait message.

The simple truth is that the procedure is more expensive BECAUSE of the newer technology and the business model of the manufacturer. Using the old methods, the only incremental cost to the chain store is buying new blades and paying the surgeons. The state-of-the-art LASIK systems incur a royalty fee to the manufacturer each and every time the laser is used on a patient. This adds MORE than the cost of the cheap LASIK to the procedure BEFORE the doctor's office has made a dime.

So, they'll tell you that it's safer. They'll tell you that their doctors are smarter. They might be brave enough to tell you that the chain stores are some kind of assembly line. But, I haven't found one yet that will tell you why it costs more. In fact, most of them avoid any mention of price on their sites.

Nobody does a very good of explaining what's in it for the clinic…by way of outlining what's in it for the developer of the laser equipment. 

I've talked to insiders. I understand the procedures and the equipment. I'd never opt for anything but the newest technology, because it makes a difference.

So, these clinics have a Proprietary Product and yet they fail to take advantage of it. It's like a BMW dealer refusing to mention the manufacturer of the luxury cars for sale at his business. It would be sheer folly for him to expect me to pay a premium price just because he's a highly trained car dealer.

I'm not suggesting that you give up talking about the skills of your surgeons, but if you have a Proprietary Product, you should turn it into the big deal that it really is.

Avery's run at 3M: Differentiate. Demonstrate. Directed Humor.

Avery (the label folks) are taking a run at one of 3M's core products...the ubiquitous Post-It note.

I like this campaign because the ads do a good job of differentiating the Avery products from the competitors, they demonstrate their use and advantages and the humor in the ads is directed in the right direction. That is, it reinforces the message rather than just being funny for the sake of funny. It's funny when the wife wipes out the guy's fantasy football board with the leaf blower and the Avery note is still firmly attached.

Sidenote: I'm growing weary of the male=doofus theme of our present society, but I'd better get used to it. Not sure what I'm talking about, start with this post from Michele Miller's Marketing to Women blog, Wonderbranding.

I think these ads, obviously targeted at women, will be enough to get people to grab an Avery product when they are displayed alongside the 3M product in a store.

Here's one of the Avery ads...the other two will be after the jump...

 

 

 

On Your Market: Open for Business

I've been working on a soft launch for a project that has been in the works for almost 2 years. The idea is to teach business owners some of the very same techniques that we use when helping our clients with their marketing strategy. I got some very talented colleagues to help out and now I'd like to invite you to have a look. We're giving some free samples and we have it priced extremely low because we're just testing things out right now. You're welcome to sign up for the free stuff and jump in with both feet if you like. It's called On Your Market.

Customer Engagement: A Kinetic Word of Mouth Technique

If you can get people involved in an experience with your product during the buying process, you'll go a long ways to cementing good feelings toward you. You'll also give your customer a reason to blab.

Chevrolet is now offering Corvette customers the opportunity to assist in the assembly of the very engine that will be put into their new ZR1 or Z06. The engine will get a custom plaque before it's shipped to final assembly in Bowling Green, KY.

Imagine if you will, how intolerable these Corvette owners will be in their insistence on telling you how they built their own engine. They'll want to show you the pictures. They'll offer to raise the hood to show you the plaque.

QUESTION: How can you offer a similar experience to your own customers? How can you involve them?

The Fabulous Price of Free...Square offers free credit card reader

If Apple had charged $49 (or even $9.95) for iTunes instead of giving it away, would they have been able to achieve their non-violent takeover of the entire music industry? If they gave the software free, but then required you to buy entire albums, would they still have been the disruptive force?

The internet is full of success stories where a key component is provided free to customers and the company makes it's fortune providing the rest of the solution. 

Square is going to grab the credit card world by the ears by following the same strategy. They are making it incredibly easy for anyone to start taking credit card payments at competitive rates WITHOUT having to shell out money for a credit card swiping machine, WITHOUT having to sign a long-term contract, with NO MONTHLY FEES or minimums, and NO SETUP FEE.

Give the customer all the tools required to use your service. Then, give them à la carte choice on how much to buy from you. Throw in a bunch of other cool features, and watch the fun begin.

Square is GIVING YOU a simple little device that plugs into your iPhone or iPad headset jack and you can start swiping credit cards. This is a no-brainer. They are DISRUPTING the model. They are attacking by taking some of the current profit centers out from under the current players. There are companies making a sweet fortune by selling machines, charging monthly fees, setup fees, etc. Take it all away from them and you have just created CHAOS in their world.

What can you do to disrupt the model in your world?

Are you on the Easy Road? What's it costing you?

I'm reading Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art" for the 3rd time. There's nothing like a good kick in the ass from Pressfield to get my head back on straight.

People talk about Fear of Failure. When you boil it all down, the simple fact is that failure is just plain easier than success. In my opinion (and I have a great deal of experience here) nobody is afraid of failing. Nobody is afraid of succeeding. It's just harder to take the path less traveled. It's less traveled for a reason: It's the harder path.

I think one of Pressfield's most glaring examples is Adolph Hitler. As a young man, Hitler studied art. Have you ever seen one of his paintings? Of course not. Why? Because it was easier to take over Europe than to work on becoming a good painter.

So, as a business owner, what's holding you back? What is the nature of the "easy" road you're on? What extra effort/money/time would it take to strike out on a road that has the potential to fulfill your dreams?

My fees typically come off of the top of the business owner's ad budget. Whenever the price of services arises, I'm asked, "What do I get for my money?" My answer: "What are you getting now?"

The easy road involves doing the same old things in the same old comfortable ways. Don't ruffle feathers, don't rock the boat, steady as she goes. If that's working for you, why are you reading marketing blogs instead of marching down your comfortable road? (ouch)

So, what are you getting now?

Will you be in the room when the good stuff happens?

There are loads of new things going on at my favorite non-traditional business school. In fact, it looks to me as if this would be a good time to just rent a place in Austin and establish some kind of semi-permanent residency.

Chris Maddock is teaching a series of writing classes under the title, Workin' It. What a great title for a series. Chris is the best non-trad teacher you'll ever get. Have I ever told you that Chris calls me several times a week, yet we rarely talk. Yes, that's the nature of our relationship.

Marketing Beyond Advertising is a revamped version of Tom Wanek and Mike Dandridge's course. Crafting policies and plans for delivering kick-ass customer experience is what you'll get out of the class.

Selling Customers Their Way is the new title for a sales course taught by Ken Brand and Dennis Collins. They've both proven their sales expertise through careers in training and coaching their own staffs.

My favorite Naked Accountant, Jean Backus is teaching Money and Cool Chicks in June.

Marketing on a Shoestring Budget is a FREE class from Mike Dandridge and Clay Campbell.

Escape The Box is downright scary. Dr. Richard Grant will spend 3 days helping you train the dragon in the other side of your head.

And, that's not all. Why don't you go check it out.

PS...For graduates, Sean Taylor has resurrected the Beagle Bugle. Keep an eye on this!

Seminar Heckler

It was the same guy, over and over.

We should have expected it when he announced during introductions that he didn’t want to be at the seminar but was attending as a favor to his radio rep. He all but told us that he fully intended to make someone pay for his inconvenience. As the 2 days unfolded, he showed us his cards.

His preference is to be a heavy-handed marketer...one of those in-your-face type of advertisers. As I encouraged people to put their web visitors in control of playing video and audio, he argued with me that he believes it’s more “engaging” to have audio and video set to auto-play when a visitor arrives.

As Tom Wanek illustrated one of his Currencies that Buy Credibility with a case study on Yvon Chouinard and Patagonia, Mr. Heckler argued that only someone who is “already rich” could possibly have the guts to draw a line in the sand and stand up for a principle.

A good debate can be stimulating. I’m all for arguing the fine points, or even the not-so-fine points over a glass of red or a couple of beers.

Why am I even bringing this up?

Because it illustrates the point of being clear on the defining characteristics of your business. This guy was clearly at the wrong type of seminar for his tastes. In fact, his tastes are about 15 years out of date for the times.

Today, it is more important to say something powerful in your ads instead of saying something powerfully. You do see the difference don’t you? A powerful message reflects key benefits of your product or service, your policies and philosophies. Delivering a message powerfully, just means using some annoying, intrusive means of delivering it in the hope that people will notice.