Godzilla versus Mohtra? No. It's the battle of what you say versus how you say it. It's about clearing up the confusion about what we hear when it comes to advertising, marketing, branding, presenting, selling and copywriting. Rest assured there are people who firmly reside in different corners.
It's time to put it to rest. To come out of our corners and shake hands.
The iconic advertising giant David Ogilvy said, "What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it."
New Jersey's own communication coaching expert Steve Adubato writes in his December 13th Star Ledger column, "It's how you say what you say."
Can they both be right?
Absolutely. And here's the best part. When you get it right, you increase the effectiveness of your message- whether it's a face-to-face meeting, a letter, a web page, blog, or social networking.
I'm oversimplifying, but here's the three things you do to get it right:
1) Understand what you want to say,
2) Understand how your target audience hears what you say,
3) Adjust what you want to say accordingly.
But is it foolproof? Unfortunately, nothing is foolproof. However, everytime you construct your message - whether it's branding, brochures, case studies, special reports, sales letters, phone calls, lead gen letters, or one-on-one meetings- in a way that looks at the total picture and incorporates both the "what you say" and the "how you say" from your target audience's point of view you significantly increase the opportunity for an "Ah-Ha" moment and action.
Need convincing? How many messages do you think Microsoft has going? Intel? at&t? Verizon?
At the most basic level at least two- one for the user who doesn't understand or care about the details of how something works, only that it does work and make their life considerably easier; and one for the user who has to know how everything works to the degree any company is permitted to share information, such what platform does it run on, what programming language is used, how many little red wires are inside.
See, one person just wants to know they can EASILY make movies on their laptop and make a phone call to ANYONE from ANYWHERE.
The other person wants to know HOW you do it.
Confuse the message... Confuse the customer. The result... NO ACTION.
"I, (insert your name here), promise to eliminate customer confusion by delivering the right message to the right audience the right way."
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
********************************************Mark H Daniels is a B2B and B2C Marketing and Sales Coach, Copywriter, Author and Speaker specializing in simply better selling by finding your unique customer value proposition, refining existing messages, stories, and presentations, and designing new ways to present your company and product in print, in person, and on the web that has prospects and customers thanking you and making decisions in your favor. Reach Mark at http://www.mysaleshero.net/ or call 732-417-0680
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