“SENSORY OVERLOAD” IN ADVERTISING
Remember who you are talking to when you market your product. Human emotions and responses have not changed that much over the eons. Warp-speed technology has overwhelmed most of the buying public. We are not all “millennials”. Most of us buy for the long game. We are looking for quality products and service, not short shelf life. Most of us want information about the product or service, not nerve-jarring flash and noise.
When a customer is looking for a product, they are usually focused like a laser beam and ready to buy. They want to know comparative Information. You will put the best features forward at the start.
What’s in it for the customer?
- Does your product meet their requirements? Their desires? Their needs?
- Do you back your product with a return policy and reasonable warranty?
- What is the price? What are the terms of the sale?
After you hook them with that information, offer more details on why they should buy your product.
If your ads are long, complicated, or filled with background music, they are annoying. Do not “tease”, (i.e. very soon I will tell you the price) potential customers will delete your ads. Technology has given us the attention span of a gnat on steroids. Over-explaining and embellishing ads with “fluff” will not attract customers. Insulting customers’ intelligence will drive them away. Trim ad content to impact. If people do not respect the ad or they perceive the ad does not respect them they will walk away from the product.
Some ads are so “over the top” or “avant-garde” the buying public cannot identify the product. Was it the car, the hair, the clothes, or the hotel?
You want to produce ads that are timeless. Ads that connect with a need or desire in a customer’s mind feed emotions. I can still remember ads with jingles and tag lines and the products are often extinct.
I will not buy a product if the ad has driven me to distraction.
Oh, and one more thing. A call to action in your ad, i.e. call, text, or email us, assumes a timely response by a qualified person, who will listen. The quality of personal contact will make or break the sale.
Contact me; let’s talk about your ad copy. contactliz@egstanhope.com
