Page 124 - Duct Tape Marketing

108 Part II: Sharpening Your Marketing Focus

Four out of five consumers read only the headline in a print ad; they absorb
no more than seven words off a billboard; and they take one idea away from
a broadcast ad — providing that they don’t tune out or skip over the ad
altogether.

What single idea do you want prospects to take away from this particular
marketing effort, whether it’s a sales call, a display window, an ad, or any
other form of communication? As you answer, follow this process:

1. Step out of your own shoes and stand in those of your prospect.

2. Think about what your target prospect wants or needs to know.

3. Develop a single sentence describing what you want people to think
and what motivating idea you want them to take away from this com-
munication.

Here is the desired outcome for a computer retailer targeting senior citizens:

We want senior citizens to know that they’re invited to attend our
Computer 101 open houses every Wednesday afternoon this month
where they can watch computer and Internet demonstrations, receive
hands-on training, and learn about our special first-time computer owner
packages that include in-home installation and Internet hook-up.

Watch what you ask for. Be sure that you can handle the outcome you say
you desire.

If you aren’t geared up to answer the phone, handle the foot traffic, or fulfill
the buying demand that your ad generates, then you have failed strategically
even though you succeeded — wildly — on the advertising front.

Consider this example: A one-man painting company decided to rev up busi-
ness by placing a series of very clever small-space ads in the local newspa-
per. The ads touted impeccable service, outstanding quality, affordable
estimates, and prompt response. The ads won attention, action, and advertis-
ing awards. The problem is, the painter couldn’t keep up with the phone
calls, the estimates, or the orders. Prospects — who had been inspired by the
great ads — ended up signing contracts with the painter’s competitors
instead.

The moral of the story is to expect a miracle from good advertising and to be
prepared to get what you ask for.