WHAT ARE YOU SELLING?

Do you waste your time and advertising budget trying to sell your customers on a “product”? What are you really selling?

Recently, I had the opportunity to present an advertising concept to an insurance company. They spent a lot of time telling me about their “products”. I had to explain to them that they’re not selling a product

Take a look at the print or broadcast ads for fragrances. Is Chanel Number 5 selling a product? The product is what comes in the bottle. What they are selling is a promise – the promise that you will be attractive and alluring if you use what’s in the bottle.

Many advertisers make the mistake that if they tell customers how great their “products” are they will buy them. But that is the quickest way to waste your advertising dollars. You must first determine what it is the customer wants to accomplish, and find the benefit where your “product” will help the customer achieve that need.

--Thanks for reading.

A GENERATION OF CYNICS?

Almost anything you read about marketing to the 18-29 year old crowd will tell you that one thing is for sure: they detest hype. Now, it causes me to wonder - Is hype in the eye of the beholder?

One of the advertising buzzwords right now is viral marketing. Viral marketing is like starting a rumor. You judge your success by how much it spreads and how much excitement it causes. Viral marketing does not have a direct call to action. Several years ago, a group of independent film makers caused a stir with a website that purported to show a group of teens being chased and killed by an unknown entity. Turns out, it was pretty much the first viral marketing project, and it made The Blair Witch Project a lot of money.

Lately, with the increased interest in the MySpace and YouTube websites, a certain video journal has developed a following with folks now wondering - Is It Real? or Is It An Act? Could it be another viral marketing scheme, or a bright, creative someone who has discovered an attention-getting device beyond their wildest dreams? After all, there have already been a couple of YouTube videographers who have landed development deals with the networks.

Whichever way the internet cookie crumbles, I have to wonder if that age group feels disillusioned when these online discoveries turn out to be hype for a movie, website, product or whatever. Is all hype still hype? Or are we as marketers and advertisers crying wolf ?

--Thanks for reading

DON'T ASK ME, I JUST WORK HERE . . .

I can fix some things around the house, but I'm not a handyman. I do love hardware stores, tho. I mean the old ones, where you can get lost in the shelves and shelves of every gadget, ratchet and wing nut known to man. Not only that, but the guy behind the counter had built everything in his lifetime, and could tell you about the inner workings of any number of gizmos. Those stores are fading away rapidly - I know there's at least one left in Little Rock, Arkansas - worth visiting if you're a doodad freak. Most are being overrun by the Building Supply Supercenters.

I was in one of those last weekend (I'm not a NASCAR fan, but I think they have a speedway somewhere) with a simple, or so I thought, question about my bathroom light fixture. I wanted to make sure I didn't break the fixture, or electrocute myself , and needed to ask someone what to do. The first "associate" stared at me blankly. " The second one wanted to play 20 questions asking me what I thought the problem was. If I had known the answer, I could have stayed home and fixed the problem. Neither employee was focused on solving the problem. I don't know if they had the knowledge to do that. But it kinda goes against everything this company brands themself as. Luckily, their direct competitor is right across the street. Not only did I find TWO employees who knew what they were doing - and what I NEEDED to do-, but everyone from one end of the store to the other was wanting to make sure that I'd had a satisfying experience, needed to find anything else, or required help in any way.

The successful business needs to understand that today's consumer will not tolerate poor or inattentive customer service. Today, marketing and branding is all about the experience. I plan to shop at store H instead of store L because of the help and attention I received. They made me, as a customer, feel valuable.

It costs a company more to get a new customer than to keep ten of their current customers. Some businesses are finally realizing that. Others still don't get it.

--Thanks For Reading

EIGHT UNPROFESSIONAL MISTAKES IN WRITING

Spell-checkers make it easy. Not too many of us would have been able to go the distance with the kid who recently won the National Spelling Bee.. Many Americans today can barely construct a fluent sentence. The following are those flashing neon errors that makes writers look unprofessional.
(1) LOOSE for LOSE: (loose is the opposite of tight) I always lose my keys.
(2) IT'S for ITS: (apostrophe means a contraction of two words. The other is a possesive)
It's my set of keys, vs My car has its own set of keys.
(3) THEY'RE for THERE or THEIR (see above)
Everyone put their keys on the table. That table over there. They're going to stay on the table until you leave.
(4) I.E. for E.G. : (ie means "that is", eg means "for example")
We have a device to start our car (i.e.,keys) vs I carry a lot in my pockets (e.g., keys, change)
(5) TO for TOO or TWO: I drive to the store. You can go too. Two of us are in the car.
(6) YOU'RE for YOUR (contraction of you are vs the posessive)
You're going to be late. You may lose your job.
(7) DIFFERENT THAN for DIFFERENT FROM: (comparative as opposed to greater-lesser)
This key is different from yours. Your car is better than mine.
(8) LAY for LIE: (lay is an action verb)
Just lay your keys on the table. He did not see that the keys lie on the table.

Communicate what you mean to say. Careless writing means you just don't care.

--Thanks for reading

OTHER VOICES

Radio commercials, online training courses, movie trailers...I never know what kinds of jobs each day will bring. But that's part of the magic of this profession. And there are times when -hold on to your seats now- I'm not the right voice for the project.

Sure, it would be great to take everything that comes along, but rather than give a client something that I know they're not going to like, I send them to the largest online database of voices in the world. Inveractivevoices.com was established in 2004, and now they've grown to encompass the entire industry of audio production, not just interactive. So it makes sense that their name should reflect that. Soon, Interactive Voices will become Voices.com.

So now, no matter which style or language a producer needs, it's a short and easy click away.
I'm proud to be listed as one of the voice talents on Voices.com, so now there's two places you can find me. And I look forward to working with you!

Thanks for reading --

CREATING BUZZ

You have a new product, service, idea, show or whatever it is you do. How do you get people to try it? You can ask. You can scream and shout. You can print flyers, buy advertising, hand out samples, or offer a money back guarantee. But you cant create what you need most - buzz.

Buzz is difficult to describe and impossible to manufacture. What was the factor that made TV's "Desperate Housewives" the show to watch? Was it the attractive actresses and actors on the show, or maybe the Monday Night Football intro that caused a little controversy. It's probably a combination of many factors, but I'm betting the controversy helped.

People like conflict. They are voyeurs to other folk's problems. I'm reminded of that almost everyday - whenever there is an accident or broken down vehicle on the side of the road, it causes a slowdown so everyone can crane their necks and look. It's the same phenomonon that causes reality TV to generate the ratings it does. Otherwise, why would anyone be interested in the plight of a group of folks playing games on an island? Even the Miss America pageant, whose ratings had fallen in recent years, and has switched to a cable-only outlet is planning a reality-based show next year in which the public for the first time gets to vote contestants off. Now THAT will most likely cause some buzz.

Think about the first time you became aware of something. Chances are good that there was some controversy that brought it to your attention. More folks know who the Dixie Chicks are than have heard their music because of the controversy surrounding a quote from one of the group's members.

If you are "buzz-worthy" you may get someone to try you initally, but you will have to deliver the promised benefit everytime for the buzz to turn you into a phenomonon.

--Thanks for reading

GOODNIGHT , CHET.

Some of you reading this will not remember a time when folks came together to listen or watch the news of the day. As a matter of fact, I recently spoke to a graduating class of Broadcasting students and told them I hoped they would aim for the integrity of a Walter Cronkite. But I don't think many of them knew who I was talking about.

A recent survey showed that Americans are increasingly relying on online sources to get their knowledge of news events. So it stands to reason that blogs, podcasts, and opinionated websites are becoming more of a factor in the way people think. The unnerving part is I don't think those individuals realize what the difference is between broadcast or print journalism and what is being published online.

There are ethical standards in truth, and maintaining credible sources for the broadcast and print worlds. Not so much online. Maybe the next generation of browsers and newsreaders should come with a built-in salt cellar, dispensing it one grain at a time.

--Thanks for reading