Page 342 - Duct Tape Marketing

326 Part VI: The Part of Tens

2. Run kitchen sink ads.

A kitchen sink ad is like a kitchen sink argument in that every point —
every feature, every idea, every department’s viewpoint — is tossed into
the mix in an effort to get more bang for the buck (a truly awful phrase
that deserves its own place on the list of worst ideas). The result is a
jam-packed ad featuring a long list of product bells and whistles but no
clear focus and no attention-grabbing consumer benefit to seize and
hold the prospect’s mind.

Take aim instead: Know your best prospect and what need that person
seeks to address (see Chapter 2). Then stop that person with a headline
that highlights the promise of your most compelling benefit, backed by
copy that proves your claim with facts (see Chapter 8).

3. Portray the customer as a fool.

Trying to be funny or grabbing attention by showing the customer as an
inept bumbler wandering through life in search of your solution is hardly
the way to win customers and influence buying decisions.

Form a sincere relationship with your prospect instead of poking fun at
the very person you’re trying to influence.

4. Save the best for last.

It happens in presentations, sales letters, and ads. Businesses wait
to divulge the greatest benefits of their product until the last minute,
thinking that prospects will be sitting on the edges of chairs in rapt
anticipation.

Not so. If your opening doesn’t grab them, they won’t wait around. Four
out of five people read only the headline (see Chapter 11), they listen to
only the first few seconds of a radio ad, and if the first impression of a
personal presentation is weak, they tune out for the rest. Eliminate slow
starts and lead with your strengths.

5. Change your logo often and dramatically.

And while you’re at it, change your Web site constantly. And your adver-
tising tagline, too. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s what happens when busi-
nesses let media departments, freelance artists, employees, and others
create materials without the strong parameters of image guidelines to
ensure a consistent company image (see Chapter 6).

If you want prospects to trust that yours is a strong, steady business
(and you do!), show them a strong, steady business image.

6. Build it and trust they will come.

Sorry, but consumers aren’t just sitting around waiting for the next new
business, new Web site, new branch outlet, or new event to come into