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By Will Dylan
For the small business owner, advertising is a critical
expense that helps to drive customers through the doors or
to a website on the Internet in the hopes that they will
spend their money. With tight ad budgets, small businesses
need their advertising to payoff every time. Ads that result
in no sales are simply wasted money.
There are countless online articles that tell you to use the
words "free", "guaranteed", and "limited time offer" in your
advertising to boost sales. They work, however the ongoing
overuse of these words has reduced their effectiveness
somewhat. When you're writing your next ad, keep the
following advice in mind when if you plan to use these key
advertising terms.
"Free" - Getting something for nothing has universal appeal
and is a strong attention getter. Where most businesses fail
is that they give away something that is essentially
useless, leading customers to believe that your business
falls into the same category (i.e. "useless"). For example,
many websites give away free "e-books", in order to entice
potential customers to visit their site. The e-book itself
is usually loaded with advertising and links to the website,
and contains very little real, valuable information.
If you're going to advertise a free giveaway, make it a
legitimate, valuable item. If it's an e-book, try not to
make it a shameless self promotion piece that doesn't add
any value to your customers. In fact do the opposite.make it
at least somewhat valuable. Use the quality and value found
in your e-book to inspire your potential customer with
confidence that you offer a quality product or service. A
credible free giveaway of any kind that has value and
contains no shameless self promotion will be a huge
credibility boost for your business.
"Guaranteed" - Customers appreciate the safety and security
that comes with a satisfaction guarantee. All reputable
retailers and businesses have some type of return policy,
because they know that it will encourage customers to buy,
and only a small fraction of people ever bother to return
anything.
They key to guarantees is to be reasonable. A 100% money
back guarantee is reasonable. So is an exchange policy or
warranty against defects. Some of the more recent guarantees
that have emerged in advertising, especially on the
Internet, are actually a turn off to a potential customer. A
"double your money back guarantee" usually makes customers
wary of the seller. Why 200%? Is that what it takes to
generate a sale, and if so, how good can this product or
service really be? When it comes to guarantees, mirror those
offered by the industry leaders in your business, and don't
go too far.
"Limited Time Offer" - If you're going to offer your
customers something for a "limited time" then follow through
on your promise. Customers don't appreciate being lied to.
If you state that your special offer expires tomorrow, then
follow through on your promise and rescind your offer
tomorrow, even if its only temporarily. When a business
consistently offers "limited time" deals week after week,
customers lose faith in the credibility of the business.
Anyone who jumped on your offer believing that they only had
a "limited time" to take advantage of it will now feel that
you were not honest in your advertising and will not likely
give you additional business in the future.
"Free", "Guaranteed", and "Limited Time Offer" are great
tools to use in your advertising to get attention and
stimulate purchases. However, overuse and abuse of these
terms can be very harmful to your reputation and to your
future revenue stream.
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