BRIAN WEBB BLOG

Why do people buy what they buy? Many marketers assume that buying decisions are made fairly logically. A prospect for a service adds up the cost, and benefits of one service, compares it to another’s, and chooses the service with the better score… right?

But seemingly sophisticated prospects for even sophisticated services do not behave this way, as the strange case of Visa versus
American Express clearly suggests. Consider the evidence.

Visa cards are accepted in almost 3 times more locations than American Express cards. You can pay back Visa immediately, or over time. You must pay on an American Express card at the end of each month or suffer substantial penalties. You pay $20 for a basic Visa card, and $55 for one from American Express.

Now… what “truly rational” people want from a credit card is utility relative to price. “Truly rational” people want to pay as little as possible for credit card benefits. A “truly rational” person; in other words, chooses a Visa card. Perhaps all of Earth’s rational people do choose Visa… but that leaves 25 million Americans who use American Express cards. Why?

Because of prestige, apparently. This is to say… American Express emphasizes that “Membership has it’s rewards.”

“What’s the point,” you might ask?

Appeal only to a prospect’s reason, and you may have no appeal at all.

This is an excerpt from one of my favorite books, Selling The Invisible, by Harry Beckwith. I highly, highly, highly recommend that you buy it, read it, re-read it, then read it again.

I am currently going through the book, The Tipping Point, by Malcom Gladwell. In this book, he shares the following…

Mark Granovetter; an American sociologist, once performed a 1974 study that became a classic… “Getting A Job.” He studied hundreds of professional and technical workers that lived in a Boston suburb. He discovered that 56% of people in this community who found jobs, found them through a personal connection. 18.8% found their jobs through formal means… newspaper classifieds, advertisements, headhunters, etc. Another 20% roughly applied for their jobs directly.

This is not surprising. The best way to get in the door is always through a personal connection. Granovetter found that of these personal connections, the majority were weak ties. Of those that used a contact to find a job… only 16% saw that contact often. 55.6% saw their contact only occasionally, and 28% saw their contact rarely. People weren’t getting their jobs through their closest and dearest friends… they were getting them through their acquaintances. What’s the point?

When it comes to getting information, leads, ideas, and business connections, weak ties are always better than strong ties. Afterall, your friends occupy the same world that you do. They might work with you, or live near you… and go to the same churches, schools and parties. How much then would they know that you don’t already know? On the other hand, your acquaintances occupy a very different world than you. They’re much more likely to know something or someone that you don’t.

To capture this apparent paradox… Granovetter coined the phrase, “The Strength In Weak Ties.” The more acquaintances you have, the more powerful you become, especially in your business position. Understand the importance of familiarity, and ties to other connectors. Don’t underestimate the power of relationships, even the seemingly insignificant ones.

Our society has clearly become overwhelmed with advertisers clamoring for our attention. The New York based firm;
Media Dynamics, now estimates that the average American is now exposed to 254 different commercial messages in a single day. There are billions of websites vying for your browsing time. Cable systems routinely carry hundreds of channels of programming. A glance inside the magazine section of any Barnes & Noble bookstore will reveal the thousands of magazines and periodicals that come out each month.

In the advertising world, this is called the “Clutter Problem.” Clutter makes it increasingly more and more difficult to get any single marketing message to “stick.” Much of what we see and hear, we simply don’t remember.

How “sticky” is your marketing collateral? Is your website original, relevant, fresh and inviting? Does your print collateral blend in with the mediocrity of junk mail that crowds your mailbox? What does your email marketing look like? How about your television and radio ads?

And I am not just talking about design. Looking your best is certainly crucial, but your message… your content is equally, if not more, important.

The name of our company is LOUD! Creative Group. We exist to empower our clients to be heard… to be seen, and to rise above the clamoring clutter of their competition.

Evaluate your marketing collateral, and your message. How much does it stand apart from the rest? How memorable is it? How sticky is it? How worthy is your message of being passed on by others?

“A business that doesn’t advertise is like an old man rocking his chair in a dark room. “He” knows what he’s doing, but nobody else does.”

JAMES D. WEBB

TACO BELL HITS A HOMERUN
Advertising Buy… $5.6 million, Potential Giveaway Cost: Under $1 million, Publicity Value…Priceless. That could well be the marketing brief at Taco Bell, which scored a PR home run with the promise of a free taco to any American who wants one if a base was stolen in the World Series. Luckily for those hungry masses, Red Sox rookie
Jacoby Ellsbury stole second base in the bottom of the fourth inning in the series’ second game. Taco Bell’s promotion gave every American a free taco.

According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, Taco Bell is one of the top 10 advertisers in the series, spending $5.6 million (General Motors Corp. is the heaviest hitter, at $13.2 million).

It’s expected that figure includes all the extra airtime Taco Bell got on the broadcast — plugs from TV anchors and sports figures about the promotion and a live interview with Rob Savage, COO of Taco Bell — not to mention a mention of the promo from a player in a “candid” conversation between Sox shortstop Royce Clayton and Mr. Ellsbury the evening before the big steal.

“It’s definitely driving the conversation,” said Pete Blackshaw, CMO of Nielsen BuzzMetrics. It’s hard to argue with good buzz.

SECONDARY EXPLOSIONS
One measurement of success by our military when bombing our enemies, is the discovery of secondary explosions. Secondary explosions indicate that the bomb landed on stored vehicles/aircrafts, fuel dumps or ammunition depots… indicating maximum effectiveness for the risks and costs incurred.

Who’s talking about your product or service? While nobody’s likely to lead that effort more aggressively than you… it’s important for you to develop smart strategies that engage and encourage “others” to talk about you. Taco Bell successfully landed some secondary explosions with their advertising.

Aim your marketing, PR and advertising efforts at targets that will deliver “secondary explosions,” delivering your business maximum returns for your investment.

For years… physicists have discussed an important phenomon… the “gravitationally completely collapsed object.” Then, a creative physicist, devised a better name for it… he called it… a “Black Hole.” Suddenly the world was interested.

Your words matter. One word or metaphor can quickly define your concept and uniqueness, and make your concept compelling.

If you are selling something complex, simplify it with a metaphor.

There are six peaks in Europe higher than the Matterhorn… Name just one.

Get ink. Advertising is publicity. If you want publicity, advertise.

David Ogilvy; who turned his genius for advertising into the famous Ogilvy and Mather Agency, once stated that marketers were wrong to emphasize superiority. Ogilvy argued that you could accomplish just as much by convincing a prospect that your service was… “positively good.”

I experienced this truth on a personal level. I was recently meeting with a LOUD! Creative prospect that owns a very successful engineering firm in Houston, Texas. He shared with me; in a relaxed and comfortable tone, that he really wasn’t launching an exhaustive search to find the “best” web marketing firm… he just wanted one that was compatible as his new marketing partner, and capable of sufficiently meeting his needs.

Think about it…

1. How often are you really looking the very best babysitter, or the best lawn care service, the best dry cleaning service, auto mechanic, seafood restaurant… or accounting service? Not often.

2. How often do you even know the best when you find it? Not often.

3. How long are you ready to look for the very best, when someone very good is readily available? Not long.

4. How much are you willing to pay for the very best, especially if very good is good enough? Not much.

5. How good does anything have to be to satisfy you? Only very good. Anything extra is a bonus.

Additionally, how do you respond when a service tells you that it’s the very best? Skeptically. It sounds like bragging and puffing.

Let your prospects know that you are simply… positively good.

Please feel free to share your comments. I’d be thrilled to hear from you.

Have you ever been to the luxurious Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas? If not… you’re really missing a treat. The Bellagio upholds its lagacy of beauty, elegance and luxury by exceeding guest’s expectations with unparalleled excellence and amenities.

The Bellagio; just like every other hotel in Vegas, is undoubtedly amongst the world’s best when it comes to strategic and effective marketing.

There is inevitably one answer to virtually every question you could ask… “Where do I check-in?” “Where can we find a place to eat?” “Could you point us to the swimming pool?” “Where can I get change for a twenty dollar bill?” “Where are the restrooms?” The answer is intentionally the same…

“Through the casino.” “Through the casino.” “Through the casino.”

The Bellagio and every other successful luxury hotel on the Vegas strip understand that the more they can direct you to and through the casino floors, the more likely you are to spend money. Is it any wonder that the Las Vegas Strip alone grossed over $6.6 billion in revenue in 2006, according to the American Gaming Association?

Where am I going with this? So many businesses and organizations spend significant time and budget resources to engineer their website marketing efforts. But so frequently that is the last chapter of their anti-climactic story. There was a big bang on launch day… and then the show is over.

Your website should be less like a July 4th fireworks presentation… and more like the Las Vegas casinos. You should be constantly updating your website with fresh content, new success stories and recent case studies. Be relentless in creating buzz and providing a prospect with motive to continuously visit your website.

“Where do I signup for an event?” Through the website. “Where can I find out more about your business?” Through the website. “Where can I find pricing, newsletters, stories, accolades, articles, news, affiliations, incentives… “Through the website.”

Every piece of communication you produce should be announcing your website to the world. Your brochures, business cards, letterhead, envelopes, slideshow graphics, billboards, print, radio and television ads, print collateral, proposals and invoices, press releases, your staff’s email signatures… everything. Tell them loudly. Tell them often.

Learn from Las Vegas and The Bellagio Hotel. Be intentional. Your website is the foyer of your business to your world of prospects. Make it count. Get them there. Keep them coming back.

Feel free to add comments to this blog post. I value your discussion.