The other day a small plastic piece the size of a rice grain broke off my $300 food processor and now the appliance won’t turn on. The piece was part of a safety latch mechanism that prevents the processor from running if you don’t have the cover on all the way. I’m not disputing the design and engineering of this mechanism, but what I am saying is that I’m sick and tired of having stuff break because it’s manufactured using the cheapest, crappiest plastic parts. I’m furious over the disposable nature of products these days, from cell phones to appliances to computers. Did it break? Get another one! At least, that’s what manufacturers count on.
We’ve had to replace our microwave four times in six years because they broke after the standard 1-year warranty ran out. It cost too much to fix – certainly much more than buying a new (albeit crappy quality) one.
So this is the set up: I’m a potential customer frustrated over shoddy workmanship and quality. I’m aggravated that I can’t choose between a product with fragile plastic parts and one that’s more durable and will last for years and years. For some products, there is no such thing as choosing to pay more for better quality. It’s all made in China and it’s all made as efficiently and cheaply as possible. I don’t want to save money now and have to buy a whole new product in two years. I want to pay a little more now and have it last ten years. I don’t want to keep filling the landfill and using limited and non-renewable resources. I want to be responsible, even if that means I have to pay a little more.
If you were a manufacturer of a new kind of small kitchen appliance, one that was made from quality, durable materials in the U.S., how would you market your product?
Would the headline on your full-page ad in Good Housekeeping Magazine say:
A. “Meet the Elite Collection Food Processor: The Next Innovation for the Modern Kitchen”
Or
B. “Finally, an Appliance That’s as Durable as It Is Elegant. And It’s Made in the U.S.A.”
I don’t know about you, but if I were looking at a display of food processors at the store after having seen the ad with headline B, you better believe that I would pay the extra $50 for this model. Even an extra $100. That’s not even the point, though. The point is that so many of us feel the pain of cheap, plastic products that break so that we have to buy new ones, that headline B would get my attention even if I WEREN’T in the market to get a new food processor (which I’m not, because I chose to buy an expensive replacement part instead of an entire new unit).
Not all companies care about appealing to your fears, frustrations or desires. They care more about image and brand loyalty. Apple is a company that comes to mind. Their products are higher quality, but they rely more on brand loyalty and the ego-driven “cool factor.” If you’re a company that has spent decades building a reputation for something, you probably don’t need a lot of what I call “hard-sell” marketing. Sometimes all you need to do is place a full page ad showing your beautifully photographed product and a small logo. The headline can be ironic or funny or even abstract. Who cares? You’re Apple and you don’t need to explain why your product is so great.
But if you’re Joe Smith and you own ABC Company and you have dozens of competitors in your town, you need to stand out. You can’t do “brand” advertising because you’ll just be one more annoying ad to ignore while someone is sifting through their mail, clicking through to read their e-mail, or browsing through their local paper. What is your customer feeling and thinking? Do you know? How does your product or service solve their problem, specifically?
There’s kind of a classic saying about advertising copy. If you’re a grass seed company, you don’t want to say that you have “the world’s best grass seed.” You want to say that you, the customer, “will have the greenest lawn on the block!” This appeal to a customer’s ego, fear, pain or desire, is a timeless way of selling just about anything. It’s an art to write advertising copy in this way. It takes a deep understanding of your customer and a willingness to go deep into your own heart and mind to tell the truth exactly as it is.
Great advice, Margaret! All too often marketing copy is about “why my product/service is better” instead of “why my product/service will help you.” The truth is, people put themselves first!