A CLIMBER'S GUIDE

So now that you've heard a couple rah rah, 'do right' speeches, what's next?  How would Lou Holtz do right if he were an advertiser?  Can a principled approach to advertising really work better than the "Up to 65% off, Million Dollar Sell-Off, This Weekend Only Sales Event?"  Can the truth really work better than the spin?  Not only can it work better but it's also the only way that advertising can truly move your business forward over time. 

You see advertising is only one part of the equation.  So before you ask – what about the '50% off' sales at Sears and JC Penny, the 'Red Tag Sales Event' for GM, the 'You Pay What We Pay' at Burlington Hyundai' the 'Inventory Reduction Sale' at Goss Dodge or Freedom Nissan or the 'Chairs by the Pairs' (2 La-Z-Boy's for the Price of One) sale at the Superstore - remember that most of these businesses continue to exist or survive in spite of their advertising.  They may have a good location, a desirable product line, great customer service, a strong sales/management team or just plain deep pockets.  When demand is high, many businesses don't even care if their advertising works or not.  When demand is low – advertisers blindly throw good money after bad because of a lack of strategy.  They often hope that an aggressive ad campaign will cure 'slow traffic' without considering that 'slow traffic' is not the problem - it's a symptom of the problem.  When traffic is slow, your business is trying to tell you that something in the overall mix needs fixing.  Snorting more 'ad-cocaine' will numb the pain in the short term.  You'll see a rush of business for the weekend but you'll still be down at year's end.  Fix the problems first and then advertise your advantages.
In some cases, the problem could be that you've failed to get noticed, rise above the clutter or stick and simply haven't effectively communicated your advantages.

You can't save a bad business with good advertising and you can't slow a great business with bad advertising.  That's where it gets tricky.  The list of quick fix manipulative offers above is a result of prescription without diagnosis - or if there is diagnosis, it's being ignored.  Whether your sales are strong or not, achieving a healthy return from your advertising investment requires a commitment to the principles of effective advertising.

10 steps (there's probably 40 steps but I'll keep it to 10 for now) to a healthy return on your investment:

1.  Tell the customer's story – not yours.  Don't talk about the company, talk about the customer and how your product, service or offering will make their life better.  
2.  Substantiate your claims.  'It's All About the People' doesn't do a thing unless you tell us how 'It's All About the People' actually benefits the people. 
3.  Remove all of the clichs and predictable ad-speak from your copy.  Don't make your ads sound and look like other ads. Avoid the over-polished pitch and become unpredictable. Predictability kills an ads ability to convince or persuade.
4.  Avoid the desire for instant gratification altogether.  If it works this weekend it will work less and less over time.
5. Use intrusive electronic advertising and not passive print advertising.  Electronic works better and better over time and print works less and less.
6. Create frequency and consistency with your schedule.  It's a hard thing to accomplish but the right balance of reach and frequency is what media planning should accomplish within your budget.
7.  Don't worry about whether or not your friends, relatives and business associates like your ads.  'Different' works in advertising but it makes people uncomfortable.  The subjective nature of creative advertising makes it a target for criticism and the local mixer.
8. Use emotion over intellect.  Win the heart of your customer and their mind will follow.
9. Be bold, take chances and get noticed - but be honest.  Audacity has nothing to do with character. Class is found in bold honesty more than in playing it safe.  You will always risk insulting people when your message has clarity.
10. Speak to the people in the way they really speak to each other.  Don't spin it, pitch it or polish it because people see right through it.  Don't be afraid of telling it like it is.  The general public appreciates it even though your constituents won't.

You can you have a sale periodically (although you're better off not) – just make sure it's valid and don't do it too often because you'll only train your customers to wait for your next sale, and more importantly people will leave you to save a dollar just as quickly as they came to you.  Relational shoppers are looking for a better experience and they are loyal when you deliver it.  Transactional shoppers will still come but don't rest your hopes on growing a healthy customer base with them.  And please don't offer 50% if it only applies to a limited number of items that no one's really interested in.  If you do make this offer, tell them what qualifies and be painfully honest.  Blatant honesty is one of the most effective elements of the modern-day ad campaign.

See the link below to see a pitch from a data back up company, Sepaton, that had the courage to walk away from the predictable talking head approach to marketing and stepped outside the lines with a marketing tool that breaks all of the rules and gets results.