Look around you and see if you can find silly claims. Silly claims aren’t always false, but they are sometimes pointless. Saying things like, “Increase productivity by 500% without spending a penny more” may very well be a claim you can substantiate – but do your customers instinctually play along?
Claims like the one above seem over-done, exaggerated, dishonest and sometimes just plain patronising. If your statements have the potential to have your customers thinking, “Yea right, do you think I’m stupid?” are they still worth using?
Guide your customers in like this:
- Ask a question to get their interest – how do you increase productivity without spending more money?
- Explain the steps involved – you do A, plus B and then C at this point.
- Then put your claim in the conclusion – that works out to a 500% increase in productivity.
Some claims and suggestions need to be placed deeper in your strategy then others. These types of messages should be entered in your brochures, not your one-liner adverts.
Sure, things like – “You’ve won a place in a £1,000,000 sweepstake” will attract people. But this tactic is for getting 1 in a thousand people to spend more than the second it takes to bin your flyers considering your offer.
Unless you’re not even remotely interested in getting to your real customers, and not just every Tom, Dick and Harry: you need to go for your niche. Compare line fishing to a trawler’s net – one gets you loads of fish – the other lets you gently reel in the ones you need.
