Do you want to know why most advertising fails? Because the marketing message is bland and fails to get any attention from time-poor, marketing sensitive consumers.
The whole purpose of advertising is – in the words of legendary advertiser John Hegarty – to promote and sustain competitive advantage for brands.
So you’re trying to communicate an advantage. Yet most websites say the same thing as all the others in that business niche. The same tired cliches, a totally un-unique USP, the same uninteresting mundane message. This approach means no one even notices you, let alone does something as crazy as call you up and buy from you.
By far and away the easiest way to distinguish your business from the crowd is to speak with a different voice. The natural instinct is to play it safe, to see what others are doing and mimic them. But I say be bold, have the courage to show your personality. Give the people visiting your website a reason to connect with you, to believe you and to want to do business with you – not your competitors.
It’s the most common advice I give to my clients. To speak in a more genuine, believable and likeable way and you’ll be noticed and remembered more than other brands. People buy from people, so if you can give your company an online personality, you’ll improve conversion.
Now, a little caveat. Don’t go too far. People like to see they’re dealing with human beings but not nutters. So if you’re an eccentric extrovert, keep things in check. Remember that most companies sound the same. Dull, dull, dull. So you only need to inject a little life into your website content to get your marketing message heard above the noise of the crowd.
You’re not the same as everyone else. So quit sounding like it.
