As we discussed last week, a salesman will encounter three types of people when making his rounds. An A is the actual decision maker and buyer. Bs are those who have influence with the buyer. The Cs are those who talk a good game, but actually have no influence over the buying decision.
Have you ever had an influencer who was negative about your company or your products and services? If so, how did you handle that situation?
Consider carefully the issues that the negative B raises and that may be relayed to you by your sales team. Perhaps some are valid, perhaps some are misinformed.
If your sales team relays feedback received from buyers and negative Bs, consider what is being said, then consider your advertising campaign.
Do your messages clearly convey the benefits provided by your products and services? If not, you may want to refine your advertising message. You may find that your messages are heavy on product features, but light on benefits. Buyers do not buy features; they buy benefits.
Are you advertising at all? You may want to consider doing so. Advertising can provide a powerful boost to the sales effort. Advertising can help change the perception of others regarding a company's products and/or services.
According to the University of Southern California's department of marketing, several sequential factors influence our perception of products and services.
Exposure involves the extent to which we encounter a stimulus. For example, we are exposed to numerous commercial messages while driving on the freeway: bill boards, radio advertisements, bumper stickers on cars, and signs and banners placed at shopping malls that we pass. Most of this exposure is random -- we don't plan to seek it out. However, if we are shopping for a car, we may deliberately seek out auto advertisements and pay attention when they come on the radio.
Exposure to a single advertising effort is usually not enough to affect the individual significantly. Certain commercial exposures such as the "Swoosh" logo are based on extensive repetition rather than immediate conscious attention. But in order for ad messages to be consciously processed,
attention is needed. Attention is actually a matter of degree. Our attention may be high when we read directions for getting an income tax refund, but low when commercials appear during a television program. Note, however, that even when attention is low, it may be instantly escalated if an advertisement for a product in which we are interested pops up.
Several factors influence the extent to which buying stimuli will be noticed. One obvious issue is
relevance to the buyer's needs. Consumers, when they have a choice, are also more likely to attend to
pleasant stimuli. But when the consumer can't escape them, very unpleasant stimuli are also likely to get attention -- thus, many very irritating advertisements are remarkably effective. One of the most important factors, however, is
repetition. Consumers often do not give much attention to a message at any one time, but if it is seen over and over again, the cumulative impact will be greater.
Consider that in 1988, Nike's products catered largely to distance runners. But Nike saw a fitness craze emerge and an opportunity in that. At that time, Reebok sold more shoes than Nike. In order for Nike to surpass Reebok, a new campaign was needed. Nike's "Just Do It" advertising campaign was effective enough to change perceptions and help the company surpass its main competitor.
Fast-food giant McDonald's recently launched a new advertising campaign in the United States called "Our food. Your questions" to gain more trust from consumers regarding the quality of its food.
However, consumers do not listen only to a company's messages; they listen to the messages of others before making a decision.
Keep in mind that consumers do pay attention to customer reviews of products and services. Client testimonials can help validate your products and services. This is called social proof.
If you choose to include testimonials in your advertisements, seek genuine responses when you ask customers for feedback. Testimonials should be truthful and not misleading. They should reflect typical experiences.
An effective advertising campaign can be a powerful tool to overcome negative opinions or change the perception people may have regarding your products and/or services.
Simply put, good advertising can win over the infamous negative Bs -- or at least drown out their negativity.
Helen Roush is Vice President, Communication Sciences at Paperitalo Publications. She can be reached by email at helen.roush@taii.com. For more information on Paperitalo Publications, feel free to contact:
Curt Gifford
cgifford@taii.com
770-367-4823
Helen Roush
helen.roush@taii.com
937-403-8602
Jim Thompson
jthompson@taii.com
678-206-6010
