When prospective customers read your Facebook post, watch your TV commercial or listen to your radio ad, do they clearly understand what you are selling and why they should buy from you?
A common mistake made by a lot of businesses and ad agencies is that the marketing messaging is not clear. What benefit is an ad if the customer doesn’t fully understand it, or never finds out how buying your product or service will benefit them?
First of all, don’t try to be too cute. How many TV ads do you see that you find really funny? The next day you tell your co-workers about the humorous ad but don’t remember what company it was for. Sure, that TV ad might win a creative award, but if you can’t remember who it was for, or what they were selling, what was the point?
Next time you are thumbing through a magazine, take a little extra time and look at the ads. Cover up the company name. If you can tell what they are selling and a really good reason to buy it, then it is an effective ad. If you have to uncover the company name to see what type of business they are in, then they have failed.
When looking at the message for your marketing, talk about the benefits of doing business with your company. Don’t talk about how great you are, rather, how much easier life can be for your customer if they do business with you.
Be crystal clear in what you are selling and the benefits to the customer. Keep it simple so everyone can understand. Don’t include lingo that some people might not understand. Sure it’s okay to mix in some humor, but not at the cost of clarity.