Marketing Matters

Archive for the ‘Marketing Communications’ Category

A conversation just wound up with a potential client in which the main question was “how do we cut through the chatter?”

I told them what I always tell clients, “be honest, avoid hyperbole and let’s make it sound like something you, personally, would actually say to a customer.” They protested that my approach would never work, that there’s so much noise out there, the only way to be heard was to be the noisiest kid on the block. The conversation isn’t a new one, but it’s still disheartening, both as a marketer and a consumer.

Their approach reminds me of last night’s weather report. “A snow storm is going to hit New Jersey! Get ready for a terrible commute or just work from home.’ The projection was for an inch of snow. I can understand an inch of snow being a shocking snowstorm if you live in, say, Tahiti. I don’t. I live in New Jersey, a state where between November and March it’s very likely to snow. An inch is never a storm here. It’s called weather and we have some.

It’s no news that television, particularly broadcast news, treats its audience like idiots, but you see in the overall decline in ratings what that approach is doing for them. If your company wants to build a relationships with your customers want, addressing them with hyperbole or an approach that appeals to the lowest common denominator won’t work. Respect your clients with your messaging. Treat them like the valuable (and valued) part of your business that they are and they’ll respect you back. And buy from you again.