I stared intently at the ad. What bothered me about it? I wondered.
The ad was a strip across the bottom of the front page of the local newspaper. An inch high, the ad was full color. The dimensions did not allow a great deal of space for the message. All in capital letters, the headline screamed, “We Want Your Trade!” Underneath the headline was this line: “Selling and Servicing All Models.” That was followed by “Check us out at the business’s Web site.” The word check was not used. Instead a check mark preceded “us.” To the left of these three lines was the business’s logo with the city and state under it.
After pondering the ad for a while, I realized part of what bothered me. How did a customer contact the business? The only way that I found was to go to the Web site or to go online and Google the business or site. There was no phone number in the ad. There was no e-mail in the ad. There was no street address in the ad.
Years ago, I read that in every piece of information about your business you are wise to offer the customer three ways to contact you. This could include a phone number, an 800 number, a street address, and an e-mail. All of these are direct ways to reach the business. All of them make it easy for the customer to contact the business.
Going online to find out more about a business either through Google, a Web site, or some other platform is not direct. It places another step between the customer and the business. It is not easy.
About the time I had realized the three ways were missing, I recognized what else was bothering me about the ad. What was in it for the customer to do business with this dealership? Was it the fact that the dealership wanted trades? Was it that the dealership sold and serviced all models? Was it the Web site? I could not detect one hint of what was in it for the customer to contact the business.
So what if the business wants your trade? What will you get for that trade? Will you get money? Will you get a better deal? Will you get more money toward another vehicle? What is in it for you, the customer, to trade your vehicle there?
Why would you go to extra lengths to contact the business when you don’t know what you might get out of doing so?
I concluded that this was an ad thrown together without the customer in mind. The businessperson wanted to get trades and said so. He didn’t stop, look at the message from the customers’ point of view, and make adjustments. He also didn’t think about how the customer would contact the business. He just got an ad in the newspaper and hoped for the best.
Assemble your ads from your customers’ point of view. Include three ways for them to contact your business easily.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is How do you include your customers’ point of view in your ads? E-mail me your answer.
The ad was a strip across the bottom of the front page of the local newspaper. An inch high, the ad was full color. The dimensions did not allow a great deal of space for the message. All in capital letters, the headline screamed, “We Want Your Trade!” Underneath the headline was this line: “Selling and Servicing All Models.” That was followed by “Check us out at the business’s Web site.” The word check was not used. Instead a check mark preceded “us.” To the left of these three lines was the business’s logo with the city and state under it.
After pondering the ad for a while, I realized part of what bothered me. How did a customer contact the business? The only way that I found was to go to the Web site or to go online and Google the business or site. There was no phone number in the ad. There was no e-mail in the ad. There was no street address in the ad.
Years ago, I read that in every piece of information about your business you are wise to offer the customer three ways to contact you. This could include a phone number, an 800 number, a street address, and an e-mail. All of these are direct ways to reach the business. All of them make it easy for the customer to contact the business.
Going online to find out more about a business either through Google, a Web site, or some other platform is not direct. It places another step between the customer and the business. It is not easy.
About the time I had realized the three ways were missing, I recognized what else was bothering me about the ad. What was in it for the customer to do business with this dealership? Was it the fact that the dealership wanted trades? Was it that the dealership sold and serviced all models? Was it the Web site? I could not detect one hint of what was in it for the customer to contact the business.
So what if the business wants your trade? What will you get for that trade? Will you get money? Will you get a better deal? Will you get more money toward another vehicle? What is in it for you, the customer, to trade your vehicle there?
Why would you go to extra lengths to contact the business when you don’t know what you might get out of doing so?
I concluded that this was an ad thrown together without the customer in mind. The businessperson wanted to get trades and said so. He didn’t stop, look at the message from the customers’ point of view, and make adjustments. He also didn’t think about how the customer would contact the business. He just got an ad in the newspaper and hoped for the best.
Assemble your ads from your customers’ point of view. Include three ways for them to contact your business easily.
This week's marketing trivia challenge is How do you include your customers’ point of view in your ads? E-mail me your answer.
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