Time and again you see it. This isn’t just something new marketers do, it appears in the entire spectrum of business. I have seen marketing directors at Fortune 500 companies and one person operations do the same thing.

What is this mistake and why is it so devastating?

First a little history lesson. In the past there were not so many television channels and radio stations. Many more households bought a newspaper and it was pretty predictable which paper they would subscribe to. Advertising was a case of getting your message out and watching the sales come in.

With few distractions and fewer choices even the most mediocre advertising would find an audience. Like cattle at a trough, “consumers” had no option but to buy what was on offer and advertisers didn’t particularly have to engage or even be entirely truthful.

Fast forward to today and we have an ever-growing number of distractions, not just from a constellation of TV channels and the internet but in every facet of our daily lives.

We are constantly bombarded with marketing messages and todays word of mouth travels at light speed.

Old school prime-time broadcast just doesn’t cut it. The old TV ad man mentality of shoving whatever they want to sell in customers faces is getting more expensive and less effective. It’s the famous Superbowl spot. Or should I say, infamous.

Broadcast techniques from yesteryear might not work but there were marketers from the golden age that we can learn from. Direct marketing copywriters learned how to sell a ton of product by appealing to the true wants and needs of their market. Unlike the TV folks with their “because we say so” attitude, the direct marketers were persuading, influencing and offering solutions.

Which brings us to the number one mistake even modern marketers make; talking at prospects rather than to them.

Consider your marketing message:

• Do you key in to your audiences problems and desires or are you just bombarding prospects with features?
• Have you spoken to customers to find out what really makes them tick?
• Are you using real testimonials or relying on tired and fake “spokesactors”?
• Is your marketing located exactly where it is going to be most welcome and therefore most effective, or carpet bombed hoping some of it will stick?

If we do not tune in to our customers and meet them where they live our campaigns bomb.

At worst the campaigns are not just ineffective, they actually serve to damage future performance by teaching prospects the brand is irrelevant or out of touch with their needs.

Today more than ever before we have to be smart about how we speak to our customers. They are savvier and have many more choices than previous generations, and do not tolerate anything less than clear messages that address what they want.

People will not do just what you tell them, you have to explain what is in it for them in a way they will understand. If you want people to take interest in your offer you have to introduce it where it is most relevant and address what they need right now. Match the message and delivery to the audience mission. It is no good serving up music and games, no matter how beautiful and award-winning, if your prospect is searching for flash photography advice or for ways to convert PDF to excel files. On the other hand if your prospects are surfing, browsing or looking to be entertained they might prefer cartoons and humor rather than lectures and wordy articles.

Find out what your prospects think, want, need and deliver it to them where they hang out, in their language.

Do you see marketers making this mistake? How do you talk to customers real needs? Share your thoughts in the comments …

Tags: advertising, conversions, copywriting, marketing
Posted in Sales & Marketing