 There are five oil change places in your town and they all offer basically the same service. There are four movie theaters and they are all showing the same movies. There are 10 gas stations and they are all pumping the same gas at the same government mandated minimum mark-up. There are three coffee shops all serving coffee from the same wholesaler. There is so much competition and everyone seems to be selling the same thing.
You want your business to stand out from all of the rest so you look for a unique feature or benefit that you think will set your place apart from all the rest. You respond by taking a minor feature of your product or service and making it the main point of your ad. In doing so however you may miss why consumers are buying your product in the first place.
You may not think that what is so familiar to you has much interest to potential customers since you live it, breathe it and work with it everyday. To the average customer however who doesn’t think about your product every living breathing moment of their life even a very basic benefit or reason for using your product can be very compelling.
Years ago on the east coast Thomas’s English muffins built a very nice business talking about “The muffins with nooks and crannies” All muffins have nooks and crannies but Thomas’s was the first one to point out these obvious product features. They did it with a great level of frequency and with very compelling, visually appealing ads that demonstrated how the nooks and crannies made it easier to spread and hold jams jellies and peanut butter. Even though their competitors could have said the same thing it would make them appear to be copycats if they did since Thomas’s already had carved out this space in people’s minds.
Bel Kaukauna has used quality ingredients in their cheese spreads for years. Several years ago the owners of Kaukauna did some consumer research and discovered that even though they knew they had all real cheese in their products many consumers thought that because their products were spread-able and came in plastic tubs that their products must be processed. The solution was for Kaukauna to offer very simple straightforward visuals showing real blocks of cheddar cheese being chopped up with the message “Cheddar made Better.” This obvious message worked exceptionally well since they were the first in their category to say it and they did it with levels of television advertising that were heavy enough for consumers to see and hear it.
Both of these organizations were very successful not just because they stated the obvious benefits of their products but because they were the first to say it. They said it the loudest and they said it consistently.
A great tasting hot cup of coffee, a 15-minute oil change and first run movies viewed from comfortable chairs all seem like pretty good products to me. If you want me to use your products just tell me why your products are good and where and how I can get them. Remind me often, and do it in a straightforward non-confusing manner.
About the Author – Scott Francis is President of Topline Development LLC a Strategic Marketing Consulting Group that provides helps companies determine how they can make the most amount of money with the least amount of resources. To learn more about Topline Development LLC visit their web site at www.ToplineDevelopment.com or contact Scott directly at scott@toplinedevelopment.com. |
