Build A Case For Your Product Or Service

MYM Tip #47

Here’s an idea of how you need to structure your ads - from a selling standpoint - to get the biggest impact. When you go to write an ad, you probably ask yourself, "What should I talk about? What selling points should I bring out that fit my time and/or space restraints?" Well, what you need to do is build a case for your product or service based on the competition you've identified. Let me give you a quick analogy.

Think about your marketing and advertising strategy this way: Your product or service is on trial. The consumer is the jury. You are the attorney and you must prove to the jury they should buy your product - and it's a life or death sentence. Your job is to come up with all the proof and present it in a way that the jury believes you. You must present evidence.

But if you look at the way most businesses advertise, they build no case at all. Instead, they just mindlessly spout off the same old stuff that all of their competitors are saying. A perfect example would be an ad for a franchised auto repair facility. I've had work done on my cars at this place before and I can tell you they're pretty good. But listen to what their mailer says. It says, "We do it all, our hours are designed around your hours, we use high quality parts, we have friendly professional technicians, and we give free estimates." Does that build a case? Let me ask the question differently. If you were in the market for auto repair, has their mail piece convinced you that you'd be an absolute fool if you took your car anyplace else? I don't think so. There's no claim, no proof that they're any different or any better than any other place - just the same old mindless advertising babble. No argument, no evidence, no proof...no nothing. Their only hope is that their ad happens to arrive when you're in need of auto repair. Their entire strategy is based on luck.

Just imagine what it'd be like if an attorney did as poor a job arguing a court case as most advertisers do. Remember the OJ Simpson trial? I know it's been a long time, but it was a high profile enough case and it dragged on for so long that most people remember it pretty well. What if during that trial OJ's attorneys got up on the stand and said, "Come on...he couldn't have done that! He's OJ! The Juice! He runs through airports! He's the 2,000 yard Buffalo Bill! He's an actor! Everyone loves him! There's no way he did it!"?

As ridiculous as that sounds, that's about as good of a case as most advertisers ever prepare to defend and sell their product. It's better, we're cheaper, we're professional, we've got better service, and so forth. Look what OJ's attorneys DID do. They researched and prepared all kinds of forensic reports, alibis, expert witnesses...and everything they needed to prove that he couldn't possibly have done it. Remember how strange that case got? Remember they found a guy who was a glove expert and another guy who was a blood splatter expert? "This glove couldn't possibly have fit OJ; it's too small. If OJ had stabbed somebody, their blood would have splattered in that direction, not this direction." Where do they get these guys? Who knows, maybe glove experts and blood splatter experts make good money. They probably have a lot of free time between cases though.

So here's what you need to do in terms of your advertising strategy: You have to determine what points your case is going to be built on. There's a three step method for building confidence. Step 1: find out what they want. Step 2: give it to them. Step 3: say it in a believable way. That's what we're back to again when building a case. Building a case, building confidence. See the parallel? Again, we cover finding out what your customers want and what they need to know in our MYM Program, so check it out for more information. But right now, I'll give you one more quickie.

If you're going to build a case, you need to know what points the case is built on. When a prosecuting attorney begins the trial, he or she addresses the jury and says what? "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, in this trial, I will prove to you that so-and-so committed such-and-such crime. I am going to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that this occurred and I'm going to do it based on the following evidence, 1, 2, 3, and 4. I am going to bring out three witnesses that all concur that it happened in this fashion. I will present 2 expert witnesses that will testify that these things happened this way. When you have seen this evidence, you will have no option but to conclude that he is indeed guilty."

Again, remember the comparison. Your customers are the jury, your product or service is on trial, you are the attorney, and it's a life or death sentence. Here's a way to find out what your customers need to know when doing business with you or the points that your case will be built on - the points that your ads will be built on.

Here's an easy way to come up with these points to build your case. I'll assume that you already know quite a bit about whatever it is you're selling. Fair enough? So now let's say that one of your best friends is considering buying one of what you sell and he/she is asking you for advice on how to evaluate the various options. What kinds of things would your friend need to know to make the best possible purchasing decision? What things would you tell your friend to look out for? What specific pieces of information would your friend need to possess to make a fully informed buying decision?

Whatever these things are, those are the points for your case. For instance, I had my fence rebuilt in my backyard a few years ago. I don't know a thing about fences except that my wife kept bugging me to replace ours. So finally, after six months, I broke open the old yellow pages and called around using the usual ridiculous process - you know, asking for bids. I got bids from about 4 different companies and the prices varied from about $2,500 to $3,300. So who do you go with? The lowest price, right? Well, that depends.

I called back one of the contractors - the lowest priced one - to ask about their time schedule and told him that I had bids from 4 companies and was strongly considering using him. He then proceeded to give me a short but thorough education about what you need to know about building a fence. He said to make sure, when I was comparing bids, that the price included pressure treated rails and posts, the rails were 2 by 4s instead of the standard 2 by 3s, and the gates would have 4 hinges each instead of just 2 or 3. So I called back each of the other 3 companies and found that none of them had quoted me on pressure treated rails or posts, 2 by 4 rails, or 4 hinges per gate. They all wanted an extra 300 to 400 dollars for those "upgrades." Guess who I bought the fence from?

See, the company that had the ability to delineate what things were important when building a fence was the one that got the business - the company that built a case. Unfortunately, they had no ability to communicate this in any of their advertisements. They had to wait until a second phone call from me to educate me.

Uncover what's important for your customers. Evaluate their options. Say it well.