Ever Get the Wrong Idea?

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You all have felt this one, that stupid feeling after you think you thought something and you were way off. Like you meet someone and start chatting maybe even a kiss or two, then you feel really stupid when you call them and they were really just on a three day binge and don’t remember you anyway. Well that’s a bit extreme, but the point I’m making is that human nature is a dumb, fumbling instinct that leads us to believe in things that are faulty. Yes, we have evolved beyond cavemen, no offense. We know better, but every once in awhile it will catch us with our guard down.

After That?

Well, after you get over the initial “damn” and smack yourself on the forehead, you’re left a skeptic. It’s happened to every one of the potential clients you deal with on a daily basis. You may say things, sometimes without realizing it, that give off the wrong impression. Your copy may be saying something you didn’t want it to. Then you lead a bunch of followers to a cliff and watch them dive off into the ice-watery land of consumer hate as they tell you and your mama to piss off. Consumer trust is where your company needs to focus their efforts when considering possible sale pitches.

Be brutally honest from the get go.

I know it’s hard people, but it is not as hard as you may think. And actually it feels really good. How often in your life have you been able to say exactly how you felt about a person, place, or thing, good or bad. Mother-in-law visiting for the weekend, bite your tongue. A one legged guy says you’re gorgeous, what can you say, but a weary thank you (run after this, he can’t catch up). Your kids ask you why Grandma Patsy is sleeping on the bathroom floor at the family reunion, don’t even go there.

Ok, so in the real world a lie here and there might be inevitable, but in the marketing world the truth is a simply necessity. Here are a few tips to help you prevent putting off the wrong impression and getting a bad reputation:

No need to exaggerate, they’ll smell a rat.

State simple facts. Don’t make claims that aren’t grounded in factual cement. You don’t have to over do it. People respect realistic statements, they distrust exaggerations. Which sounds better to you?

“Over a million snowboarders ride our boards!”

“In a survey at Tahoe’s hottest resort, 153 snowboarders were riding our boards out of the 250 boarders surveyed.”

Whatever, these examples leave much to be desired, but you get the point. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be allowed within 150 yards of a consumer.

If anything seems overrated, back it up with a fact.

In some cases you might have to include statements in your copy that seem too good to be true. You want to include these great selling points in your copy, you have to right? You don’t, but when you do, provide the information you need to gain trust from your readers. For example if you say that firefighters prefer your fire alarms, add a testimonial from a real firefighter, or several if you’re lucky enough to hang with the fire crew. If not, don’t fret. There’s more fish in the sea. Just get a survey going or ditch the claim if it doesn’t work out and go solo.

Oh, hell no! She’s didn’t just get new flooring.

Another oddity of human nature is that everyone wants to keep up with the Joneses. Use those testimonials. If they don’t believe you, they’ll believe their brother. Use this to your advantage, it’s ok. If sister’s happy with her new Berber carpet, they’ll be happy too. They’ll have to have it and you wouldn’t want to neglect your consumers of the satisfaction your product provides.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Remember, if you give your friends special treatment, you better be prepared to give the same treatment to their friends, and their friends friends, and so on. Trust me, they’ll find out if you don’t and you’ll have Aunt Jude on your door wondering why she didn’t get the set of steak knives free with her purchase of the Ginsu.

Most importantly, keep it real and be there when the customer wants you!

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Tags: Business Principles, Copywriting, Search & Marketing
Posted in Advertising, Business Principles, Copywriting, Search & Marketing