{"id":118,"date":"2007-01-29T22:40:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-30T05:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fishingforcustomers.com\/a-good-ad\/"},"modified":"2017-06-22T10:36:28","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T17:36:28","slug":"a-good-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/a-good-ad\/","title":{"rendered":"A Good Ad"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Big<\/a>

Big and Tall Clothing Sign<\/p><\/div>\n

For years I\u2019ve said (and I have not been kidding) that the problem with most advertising is it\u2019s written by the advertiser.<\/p>\n

A typical small business ad makes a major feature of the name of the business. In newspaper the tendency is to make the business name the biggest thing in the layout. On radio the rule seems to be insert the name every ten seconds. Television? Put the name full screen for the last five seconds of the ad and make sure people know directions to the store.<\/p>\n

But, for just a minute, let\u2019s pretend that your business is a big and tall men\u2019s clothing store, and that I\u2019m a prospective customer.<\/p>\n

We can assume that I don\u2019t have any interest in having you try to sell me things I don\u2019t want. We can further assume that I don\u2019t want to pay more than a fair price, and that I wish to be treated as if I\u2019m important. Those are just the generic concerns.<\/p>\n

Suppose that I\u2019m six feet eight inches tall. I now have additional concerns: I don\u2019t want to shop for clothes that don\u2019t fit. I don\u2019t want to find clothing designed for a much smaller man, even if it has been manufactured in my size.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at your ad and see what it says.<\/h4>\n

Your name is the headline. You have a photo of your family, who apparently do double duty as your staff. Your ad tells me how long you\u2019ve been in business, your address, phone number, your hours of operation, and a list of the product lines you carry.<\/p>\n

What your ad has not addressed is any of my issues. Actually, your ad hasn\u2019t said anything to catch my attention. I find this amazing. You\u2019re trying to attract me, and other people like me, but you insist on talking about yourself.<\/p>\n

And suppose, for just a minute, that I\u2019ve decided I need a couple of white business shirts with French cuffs. Suppose that I see your ad, come to your store, and discover that you only stock casual clothing for big and tall men. When I discover you don\u2019t have what I want, and walk out, you\u2019ll probably claim the ad \u201cbrought in the wrong people<\/em>.\u201d

\"Don't<\/a>

Don't set me up for embarrassment. Do you carry my neck size? Say so in your ad.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

You only got lookers instead of buyers?<\/h4>\n

Hummm. Does this happen to you a lot?<\/p>\n

Of course, even bad ads will usually produce some business. If you have clothing that is in high demand, and there are enough big and tall men, some of them will respond to your ad and will probably buy something before they leave.<\/p>\n

Of course, a great many more will be spreading their business among your competitors, because their ads are interchangeable with yours.<\/p>\n

Or maybe they just chose the store with the most convenient location.<\/p>\n

Advertising is too expensive to waste.<\/h4>\n

As expensive as advertising is, shouldn’t we strive for the greatest possible return on investment?<\/p>\n

Your self centered ads are not persuasive. I don’t care that you’re the biggest, the oldest, the most popular, or that you will not be undersold. I, your prospect want you to talk to me<\/span>. I want better advertising, more salient advertising from you.<\/p>\n

Let’s consider what makes an ad effective.<\/p>\n

\n
  • A good ad is about the customer.<\/li>\n
  • A good ad speaks directly to a specific group of people, in language they use, about concerns those people have recognized.<\/li>\n
  • A good ad sells benefits, and explains exactly what each benefit does for your prospect. It is honest, and believable.<\/li>\n
  • A good ad is built on a simple concept, conveys its message clearly, and leaves one easily remembered thought in the mind of the prospect. It makes the prospect remember the product, or the advertiser, instead of the ad.<\/li>\n
  • A good ad is distinctive, and easily recognizable. It helps to build a positive image for the advertiser.<\/li>\n
  • A good ad conveys a sense of urgency. It has a clear call to action and tells the prospect what to do next.<\/li>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Suppose, instead of making your name the headline, you ran an ad that with a headline that said \u201cAre you as tall as Larry Byrd, and can\u2019t find shirts long enough to stay in your pants when you reach for the top shelf?<\/strong><\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

    I know, I know. You’re going to tell me you can\u2019t run an ad like that, because when you talk to the tall men, you don\u2019t let the big men know you have shirts for them, too, and as much as you’re spending for this ad you’re not going to leave anyone out.<\/p>\n

    So, here’s my question. Who you think is reacting to your current ad? Who feels it\u2019s speaking to them? (Hint: announcing you stock both big and tall men\u2019s clothing doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ve said anything of interest to either).<\/p>\n

    Are you ready to kick your advertising into high gear?<\/h4>\n

    Then talk to me, your prospect. Talk about the things I think are important. Talk about exactly how you\u2019re going to help me.<\/p>\n

    And please stop thinking that the only “benefit” I care about is price. You must have more to offer than low price when you’re fishing for customers.<\/p>\n

    Your Guide,
    \nChuck McKay<\/em><\/p>\n

    <\/a>\"MarketingYour Fishing for Customers guide, Chuck McKay<\/a>, gets people to buy more of what you sell.<\/p>\n

    Got questions about articulating your value, and making sure people know it? Drop Chuck a note at\u00a0ChuckMcKay@ChuckMcKayOnLine.com<\/a>. Or call him at 304-208-7654.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    For years I\u2019ve said (and I have not been kidding) that the problem with most advertising is it\u2019s written by the advertiser. A typical small business ad makes a major feature of the name of the business. In newspaper the tendency is to make the business name the biggest thing in the layout. On radio […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[154,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ad-writing-copywriting","category-strategy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2964,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions\/2964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}