I thought that it would be good to write this month about something I see all too often with clients. Designing advertising for yourself, not for your potential clients. Let me share some of the most common mistakes I run across...
- Making the ad for yourself rather than for whom you are advertising to. All too often advertisers say what they want to say rather than what customers want and need to know and hear. The idea is to share with potential customers what you can do for them, not what you think they want to hear about you. Designing an advertisement from the businesses’ point of view, not the customer’s
- Remember, you see your business from the inside out, while your customers are on the outside looking in. Try getting out from “behind the desk” so to speak, having their view. I once joked with a dentist to sit in a patient’s chair in his office. When he asked why as he was looking up at me standing over him, I simply said, “now you have the same view that your patients do”. A simple thought, but rarely practiced.
- Writing “War & Peace” on a postage stamp. One of the most often made mistakes that I see. Your advertisement is meant to peak their interest, not tell your life story.
- Speaking in your language, not your customer’s. Getting too technical is a real no-no. It might make for an impressive vocabulary, but if no one can understand it, does it really matter?! By eliminating these often made mistakes, your advertising will immediately be better for it…as will the people you are trying to reach!
