Give Them One Good Reason to Call You!

“Give me one good reason why I should call you.”

Sounds like a line from a country and western song, right? But that’s basically what customers want to know when they’re looking at your vehicles or other advertising.

Oh, sure, you could probably give them 5 or 10 reasons. But it’s a busy, ADVERTISING JUNGLE out there. Customers don’t have the time or attention span for all that.

So can you get it down to one reason—one brief, memorable, compelling catch-phrase that you can put on the side of your trucks and elsewhere, to catch more attention and more sales?

Yeah, I know. It’s not easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But it’s important.

Lightning Bug or Lightning Bolt?

Mark Twain said that the difference between using almost the right words and exactly the right words is like the difference between hitting someone with a lightning bug or a lightning bolt.

So is the line on your vehicles (or your ads) electrifying people… or just bugging them? Where does it fall on the lightning bolt to lightning bug scale?

Unfortunately, most catch-phrases I see these days are more like lightning bugs. They do NOT help catch customers. In fact, they couldn’t catch a cold in a kindergarten! Here’s one I saw recently:

“Quality craftsmanship at reasonable prices.”

Big fat lightning bug! Sure, it says something positive. But it says it in such a Boring, Predictable way. These words are so overused that they have lost their punch and their freshness—like something that’s been in the fridge way too long!

When people hear words like this, it gives them the blahs; they think, “I’ve heard that a thousand times, it just more of the same old blah, blah, blah.”

Also, since this phrase sounds like something anyone might say, it doesn’t stand out. It’s not distinctive. Which company are you? “Oh we’re the company that believes in quality craftsmanship and reasonable prices!” Well, I would hope so!

Okay, now for a lightning bolt. In New York City, there’s a company named FreshDirect which delivers fresh food directly to people’s homes. And here’s the line on their trucks:

FreshDirect
Our food is fresh. Our customers are spoiled.

Why is this so great? First of all, it makes you smile. Not a bad start! The fresh twist catches your attention, and I’m betting people will notice it and remember it. I sure did.

But it also creates a great feeling for the company and really sells the benefit: the idea that you’re going to “spoil me” by bringing great, fresh food right to my door.

So yes, it gives me one good reason to call FreshDirect, and it does it in a fresh, fun, memorable and believable way. Lightning has struck!

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LAWS OF THE MARKETING JUNGLE is written by Geoffery Moore, president of Geoffery Moore Marketing, which has created advertising both for big corporations on Madison Avenue and for dozens of smaller businesses and contractors. Geoffery is the author of Think Like a Customer to Market Like a Genius.

FREE MARKETING ADVICE. If you want to talk with Geoffery about how to make your advertising work harder, call him at 800-757-3049, email him a question at: geoff@geofferymoore.com. or check out his Website: www.GeofferyMoore.com.
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