It's All Fair In Love & Marketing

A recent Twitter post has enhanced the question of what's fair in marketing.

"Not all answering services can transfer calls live...but we can! Find out what else we can do: Click to visit"

Is this marketing?

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Well at first blush the statement itself is true.  The post doesn't say "most answering services can't" or "we are one of a very few who can".  It simply says "not all", which only needs one answering service out there that can't to make it true.

That being said, is it "fair"?

Or, is this a company that has carved out a specific niche "remote receptionist" and as such is better able to target their services and message to their target market?  Their target market being those people who might not know their current vendor can transfer live calls or who may have called a few vendors and no one mentioned this solution.

Mobil was the first gasoline company to tout "detergent gasoline".  This was an interesting tactic to take because all gasoline has a "detergent" additive.  So what made Mobil's gasoline special? The industry knew this, but the general public did not.  And because they were first to tell the public this well known insider information, they were able to brand themselves as different even though the product they were delivering was not all that special.

It is hard to list out all the special services and custom solutions we off to ALL our clients and doing so might leave a prospect with a sense of overkill or that you are rambling off services and solutions in hopes that something will click.

Targeting different messages to specific groups / industries can have beneficial effects.

Example:

Target Market : Funeral homes.

If we allow for the given that most answering services can provide service for this industry, how can one company differentiate themselves?

Letting a funeral home prospect know that "Our hold music will never offend your callers" might be just the ticket that gets you noticed.

Every other vendor may be touting their great technology and how they can send reports and use a database to do such and such and saying pretty much what every other vendor is saying and has said to them.

If you break out from the pack by saying, we will also make sure that when we receive a call and if that call is placed on hold the music / songs they hear will in no way be offensive.  Callers will not hear "don't worry, be happy" or other such peppy tune that could be perceived as insensitive.

Now it may be true that other answering services also play songs / music that cannot be perceived as insensitive, but presenting it as a solution can make you the Mobil of answering services.