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I was recently sent an email that told of an experiment that was done by the Washington Post. Very briefly, a man went to a metro station in Washington DC during rush hour and played his violin.The email that was originally sent to me did not contain much of the details. After sending it to some friends, one was very kind to respond to me with the link to the actual Washington Post article. Her desire to find more on this article was very helpful to me, as she did not know I was going to feature it in this newsletter.
The piece was entitled, "Pearls Before Breakfast." If you work in a large city and commute using public transportation, you may be able to relate to the story. One cold January morning, a musician was playing his violin at a metro station. What people didn't know about this man is that he was Joshua Bell, an internationally acclaimed virtuoso, and that he was playing probably one of the most expensive Stradivari violins.
During this experiment, Bell played some of the most beautiful and difficult classical musical pieces. You would think, despite the casual way he may have been dressed, people would have stopped to listen. Right? Well, sad to say the answer is "wrong." You may read the entire article by clicking HERE.
Reading this story made me think. How many business owners provide a really great product or service but no one knows about it? Small business owners spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars each year to advertise and market their business. Where are they going wrong? Could it be that:
- people don't really know a good thing when they see it?
- most are just too busy to take notice of the things around them?
- our marketing just isn't telling the right message?
Because of our fast-paced world, it's important to get your message out to people in a way that quickly attracts their attention. It's not the cleverness of your advertising that gets them to respond. Instead, they must have a need for what you are selling.
As we read through newspapers and magazines we are actually skimming the advertisements. If you notice, you will usually stop at an advertisement that has a headline that captures your attention for something you need to purchase. For example, say you are interested in purchasing a new mattress. If you are skimming through the newspaper, your eye may be drawn to the headline for "Mattress Sale." If you don't have an immediate need, you'll just gloss right over.
So what do you have to do to get noticed?
1. Make sure your headline reflects the problem you will be solving for your prospect or features the product you will be selling?
2. Be certain your ad focuses on the needs of your customer and is oriented toward them using "you" and "your" instead of "we" and "our."
3. Keep your company logo, contact information, and web address at the bottom of the advertisement.
4. Whenever possible, educate your reader.
5. Always include a "call to action."
We can help you evaluate the effectiveness of your current advertising campaign. To find out about our marketing services or how we can help you create an advertising campaign that will make them stop and take notice, contact us at info@eaglesoars-marketing.com.
