Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It's Only Common Sense: Make Your Advertising Work

Editor's Note: To listen to Dan's weekly column, as you've always done in the past, click here. For the written transcript, keep reading..Take a look at all the ads on this website--do any of them really jump out at you? Do any of them really make you want to buy the products or services they're advertising? Do these ads make you want to call these companies and place an order or visit their website to find out more about them? I think not. Most of the time these ads serve just two purposes: To let other companies know that they exist, and that they are still in business.

What differences do you see in these ads? Are there any differences? Do any of these ads stand out from the others? Do you get excited when an ad tells you that the company produces high-quality circuit boards? It's kind of boring, isn’t it? I've never seen an ad proclaiming a company's average-quality PCBs, although I have to admit that I did get an ad from a Chinese company once that proclaimed they built “pretty good printed circuit boards.” Perhaps you saw it in your inbox one morning along with the 25 other ads from Chinese companies addressed to “Dear Mr. or Mrs. PCB User.” I always get a good laugh from those.

But enough of that--back to your advertising and why it isn’t working. I say that because I’m certain that you don’t think your ads are doing their job. Honestly, how many times have you asked yourself whether your ads are working? I know I have--not about my advertising, but yours. Managers ask me that question all the time, enough times that I thought that I would take the opportunity to write about it.

If you don’t feel your ad is working, then it probably isn't. If you have to ask if your ad is working, it's not. It’s as simple as that.

I’ll tell you why your ad isn't working: It's boring, it's vague, and it's obvious. Your ad does not say anything new, it's not creative, and it does not send a strong enough message.

Look, don’t blame the trade magazine where you ad is placed--their job is to provide the space and to make sure that thousands of the right sets of eyeballs scan your ad. The rest is up to you.

If you want people to pay attention to your ad, you have to say something important, something relevant to their specific needs, and something that is going to make them click on your website or, better yet, pick up the phone and call you. And that, my friends, is never going to happen if you just say that your products are high-quality--it's boring, vague, and, worst of all, obvious as hell.

No one is going to call you if you say you deliver your products on time because that's boring, vague, and, worst of all, obvious as hell.

No one is going to base a decision on the fact that you've been in business for over 20, 22 or 27 years--that's boring, vague, and, worst of all, obvious as hell. Who cares? What does that prove?

And forget about free tooling. That’s snorer, too. Or 10% off. Your customers aren’t stupid: 10% off what? The price that you yourself set? Talk about vague.

It all boils down to your message, and your message has to be provocative, inspiring, and true. The message must be based on what your customers want from you, your product, and what you can deliver.

Do you know what your customers want? They want peace of mind and ease of doing business. They want what they want, they want it how they want it, and they want it when they want it--whatever that is. It's your job to find out what they want and then provide it. Once you do that, you can demonstrate it in an ad and customers will pay attention to your advertising.

For example, customers (and they all want this) want their customer-vendor relationships to be easy and worry free so that is what you give them. Once you can honestly provide a completely worry-free relationship, you must to tell people through your advertising, but you don’t say it because no one will believe you. You get your customers to say for you through testimonials. You get your happy customers to brag about you. Those who would never believe your ads before will believe them now since a third party is saying that you’re great.

Potential customers will listen to current customers. You must be good enough to get your customers to brag about you. Do that and your advertising will work, I promise you that. It’s only common sense.