The way the marketplace views your product or service has a strong bearing on its success.
Wouldn’t you agree?
Unfortunately, this perception isn’t always easy to control. Consumers have a way of not always following a predictable path (which is one reason why testing your advertising and marketing campaigns is so important).
Over the years, though, one thing human nature has repeatedly revealed is people’s preferences for cures over prevention.
Think about it …
If you were in my target market and I pitched an herbal powder you rub on your eyelids to ward off diseases such as glaucoma, trachoma and macular degeneration, chances are it would be a challenging sell because you haven’t experienced these ailments.
However, if you suddenly woke up blind this morning and I approached you with a similar powder that promised to restore your sight, would you try it?
Of course.
In fact, you wouldn’t hesitate paying a pretty penny for the cure — much more than the preventative product.
Pharmaceutical companies know this fact well. After all, the Pfizer sales reps promoting the little blue pill aren’t pitching prevention … that’s for sure.
Do you think guys use Rogaine because they fear losing their hair at some point in their lives?
No way!
They want an instant cure for the rapidly growing forehead they’re experiencing right now.
If you’re currently pitching prevention with your product or service, begin brainstorming ways you can turn your offering into a cure.
What difficulties does your product solve? Does your service eliminate any pesky problems?
Sure, you can still promote some preventive features, but you’ll often get more attention — and sales — when you focus on the curative benefits of your product or service.
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August 19th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I would agree, selling an immediate benefit is better than selling a possible one. But I do see a lot of marketing campaigns that focus on fear tactics to sell a product that will help, “just in case.”
Obviously that’s because fear is easy to elicit, and an intense emotion - and getting both behind a product does get it a lot of interest.
That having been said, I would also hope marketers would find a more immediate benefit for their products than, “You really should buy [product] as soon as possible - because the terrorists could strike again any day now!” We’re just finishing a whole decade of fear - continuing to use it to market cannot possibly work any longer.
August 19th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Great point, Ciaoenrico.
If you use fear in your marketing, then I think it needs to be warranted. Too often fear is used only because it taps into powerful emotions. Sure, that’s important, but the fear must be believable (i.e., backed up with statistics, case studies, research, third-party endorsements, etc.)