The Flaw In The Advertising Plan

A regional community college has just contacted the marketing rep for the local TV station.

They've spoken the words which strike fear into the hearts of salespeople everywhere: “"The advertising isn't working.”

“Tell me more,” says the rep.

“Well, we're getting a lot of calls – probably more than we've ever gotten before. We send our information kit to everyone who calls, but they don't become students. We're spending more on printing and postage than ever before, and aren't getting much to show for it.

"Seems you're wasting our money by bringing us the wrong people.”

The wrong people. Those would be people who don't buy.

The advertising plan didn't account for appealing to the "wrong people." The plan assumed the right people would respond to the ads.

Radio stations are accused of bringing the wrong people when 200 listeners show up at Mr. Car Dealer's remote broadcast but don't buy cars.

The wrong people come to the grocery store and only buy the items featured in the coupon.

And now, you're telling me the wrong people are picking up the phone and asking the college to send them information?

Why would they bother?

Who has so little to do today that he's going to pick up the phone and call an institution of higher learning for information he doesn't need or want?

The "wrong people" are common to nearly all businesses.

In the on-line world we refer to this as the “bounce rate” - the percentage of people who followed the link to your website and immediately changed their mind and went away. Its funny, but the conventional on-line wisdom doesn't blame the advertising for bringing the wrong people, it INCREASES the advertising to get more people to the site.

Bricks and mortar stores? A recent study indicates that 81 percent of the people who enter such a store will leave without buying anything. What do they say when a salesperson approaches them? “No, thanks. I'm just looking.”

In both the real world and the virtual world, people are pressed for time. They don't just go wandering around your store to alleviate boredom. They don't enter your web store just to kill time. They don't pick up the phone and call your 800 number out of indifference.

They're never just looking.

They're looking for something specific. They're leaving because they didn't find it - at least not the quality they demand or at a price they're willing to pay. If they thought they'd found it, they'd have bought.

Stop blaming the advertising plan.

Your advertising isn't bringing the wrong people. Your sales process is failing to convert them into buyers.

Its time to examine your sales process.

Begin by determining what your customers are seeking when they make contact. Then look for any impediment to prevent them from purchasing. Anticipate their questions and answer them in the way that makes them most comfortable buying from you.

Do you recognize this process as Persuasion Architecture ^TM?

There's no use blaming your advertising if you have a long list of steady prospects and you're not turning them into customers.

It could be your brochures. Maybe it's your salespeople. Either way, the flaw isn't in your advertising. You're losing them in your sales process.

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What's Your Specialty?

I have a friend who's very talented. He's an accomplished musician, writer, and marketer. He owns and operates three profitable businesses which he grew from scratch.

And yet, when people are looking to hire help in any of these areas, he's frequently passed over. He isn't the first choice when people want to hire a performer, or a composer, or a consultant.

Care to speculate why?

While you're pondering that, consider this: Proctor & Gamble manufactures detergents. They make Tide, and Gain, and Ivory, Era, Dreft, and Cheer.

Are there significant differences between these products?

Yes.

Yes, there are. But by far the biggest differences are in their marketing.

Each is marketed to a different group of consumers as a solution to their specific concern. Tide gets clothes clean. Ivory provides a gentle and pure clean. Gain makes your clothes smell clean. Dreft leaves clothes soft. Era is tough on stains. Cheer has color guard.


Why not an all-purpose laundry detergent?

Why doesn't Proctor & Gamble make one detergent which gets clothes clean, makes them smell clean, leaves them soft, is tough on stains, and guards against fading and color transfer?

Because it wouldn't sell.

Think about it. Would you choose an “our product does everything” detergent if your biggest issue was stain removal? Or would you choose a product designed for stain treatment? If your biggest issue was stains, would you choose a product that left clothes soft? Or one that smelled better?

No. You'd buy a product that you believed would solve your problem. You'd "hire" a specialist.


Why don't companies specialize?

The biggest fear people have about specialization is all of the business they believe they'll be passing up. When they declare themselves a specialist in left-handed widgets, they'll miss out on the right-handed widget jobs. Guess what? They won't get the work by not declaring a specialty, either. Those jobs will be snagged by the right-handed widget specialist.

Tide gets clothes clean. Specialists make more money.

I can hear you right now saying, “But I don't manufacture detergent.” It doesn't matter. Whatever you do, you'll do better as a specialist.


Jermaine doesn't sell music instruction.

Have you ever heard of Jermaine Griggs? He's a 25-year-old musician. In 2000 (when he was 17 years old), he formed a company, Hear and Play, to sell music instruction.

How many music instruction courses are there? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands?

Probably.

Yet, Jermaine's company, Hear and Play, grosses over a million dollars a year.


How narrow should your specialty be?

Jermaine doesn't sell music instruction.

He doesn't sell piano instruction.

He doesn't sell Gospel piano instruction.

He sells books and videos that teach you how to play Gospel piano BY EAR.

Can you get much more specialized than “learn to play Gospel piano by ear?”

Specialists make more money.

Don't be an accountant. Be an accountant that understands the specialized needs of the hospitality industry. Don't be a travel agent. Be a travel agent who specializes in honeymoon trips to Cancun. Don't be a mechanic. Be a mechanic who only works on BMWs.


What should your specialty be?

There are three questions you must answer yourself.

1.What are your passions? What would you do for free because you enjoy it so much?

2.Can you make a living doing what you love? Is there enough of a market to support you?

3.Can you articulate in a single declarative sentence what it is you do?

Tide gets clothes clean.

Jermaine helps you learn to play Gospel piano by ear.

When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.

Ban won't wear off as the day wears on.

Have it your way.

A simple declarative sentence that sums up what you do.

Answer those three questions, and take the plunge. What's your specialty going to be?

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