Insight #21: Build A CASE For Your Product Or Service...Just Like An Attorney Would

Here’s an idea on how you need to structure your ads - from a selling standpoint - to get the biggest impact. When you begin to write an ad, you probably ask yourself, “What should I talk about? What selling points should I bring out that fit my time and(or) space restraints?” The first thing you need to do is to build a Case for your product or service based on the competition you’ve identified. Here’s a quick analogy.

Think about your marketing and advertising strategy this way. Your product or service is on trial. The consumer is the jury. You’re the defending attorney and you must prove to the jury they should buy your product - and it’s a life or death sentence hanging in the balance. Your job is to come up with all the proof required and to present it in a way that convinces the jury to believe you. To accomplish this, you must present sufficient and favorable evidence that supports your Case.

But if you look at the way most businesses advertise, they build no Case at all. Instead, they mindlessly spout off the same old stuff that all of their competitors say. A perfect example is an ad for a franchised auto repair facility. They’re a competent facility, able to do a pretty go job of auto repair. But here’s what their mailer says:

"We do it all. Our hours are designed around your hours. We use high quality parts. We have friendly professional technicians, and we give free estimates.”

Does that build a compelling Case? If you were in the market for auto repair, would this mail piece convince you that you’d be an absolute fool to take your car anyplace else? Not likely! There’re no claims. There’s no proof that these folks any different or any better than any other repair facility. It’s just the same old mindless advertising babble - no argument, no evidence, no nothing. Their message is filled with mind-numbing generalities. Their only hope is for their ad to coincidently arrive just at the moment a prospect is in need of auto repair. Their entire strategy is based on luck. It’s oriented towards prospects whose auto repair needs fall within an extremely narrow time-window. This is what’s politely called “serendipity marketing”.

Just imagine what it would be like if an attorney did as poor a job arguing a court case, mimicking the same forethought and strategy most advertisers use when presenting a case for their businesses. Remember the OJ Simpson trial? It’s been a while since then. But, this high profile case dragged on so long, most people still remember it pretty well. Let’s have some brainstorming fun. What if, during that trial, OJ’s attorneys got up on the stand, lacking any supporting evidence for the defense, and simply said, “Hey, come on...he couldn’t have done that! He’s OJ! He’s the Juice! He runs through airports! He’s a movie star. He’s the 2,000 yard Buffalo Bill! Everyone loves him! There’s no way he could have murdered his wife!”

As ridiculous as that sounds, that’s about as good of a Case most advertisers ever prepare and deliver to defend and sell their products and services.

“We’re faster; we’re cheaper; we’re professional; we have the best service, we’ve been in business since 1432 BC,” and so forth.

Contrast this goofy approach and look at what OJ’s attorneys really DID do. They researched and prepared all kinds of forensic reports, alibis, expert witnesses, and everything they needed to prove that he couldn’t possibly have done it. Remember how strange that case got? Remember they found a fellow who was a glove expert and another person who was a blood splatter expert? “This glove couldn’t possibly have fit OJ; it’s too small (despite the fact that a blood-soaked glove shrinks when it dries!). If OJ had stabbed somebody, their blood would have splattered in that direction, not this direction.” Where did OJ’s legal dream team dig up these guys? Who knows! Maybe glove experts and blood splatter experts make good money. They probably have a lot of free time between cases though!

So, in terms of your advertising strategy, you have to determine the important points upon which your Case is going to be built. There’s an easy three-step method for building confidence with your prospects.

Step 3: Say it in a believable way. That’s the strategy we’re back to again when building a Case.

Building a Case is simply building confidence. To do so, you need to consider the most important and relevant points to use. To continue with the analogy, let’s see how a prosecuting attorney might address the jury at the beginning of a trial:

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury: In this trial I will prove to you that so-and-so committed such-and-such a crime. I am going to prove to you, beyond a reasonable doubt, that this is exactly what occurred. And, I’m going to do it based on the following evidence: 1, 2, 3, and 4. I will bring out three witnesses who were present at the scene when the crime was committed who all concur and who will testify that the crime happened in this fashion. I will present two expert witnesses that will testify that these things could only have happened this way. When you have seen this evidence, you will have no option but to conclude that he is indeed guilty.”

Again, remember the comparison. Your customers are the jury, your product or service is on trial, you are the defending attorney, and it’s a life or death sentence.

Back to marketing:
Here’s an easy way to find out exactly what your customers need to know before and when doing business with you.

This process helps determine the points to build your Case. Let’s assume that you already know quite a bit about whatever it is you’re selling. Let’s assume that one of your best friends is considering buying one of what you sell. Your best friend is asking you for advice on how to evaluate the various options.

What kinds of things would your friend need to know to make the best possible purchasing decision? What things would you tell your friend to look out for? What specific pieces of information would your friend need to possess to make a fully informed buying decision?

Whatever these things are, they’re the points for your Case. For instance, a consumer had a fence rebuilt in his backyard a few years ago. He didn’t know a thing about fences except that his wife kept bugging him to replace it. So finally, after six months, he broke open the old yellow pages and called around using the usual process of asking for bids. He got quotes from four different companies and the prices varied from about $2,500 to $3,300. So who does he go with? The lowest price, right? Well, that depends.

He called back the lowest-priced contractor to ask about their time schedule and told him that he had bids from three other companies and was strongly considering using him. The contractor then proceeded to provide a short but thorough education about what a homeowner needs to know when building a fence. He said to make sure the price includes pressure-treated rails and posts, 2 by 4 rails instead of the standard 2 by 3s, and gates with 4 hinges each instead of just 2 or 3. And, he gave detailed reasons why these components were so important for the longevity of the fence. These features were included in his bid. So the homeowner called back each of the other three companies and found that none of them had quoted him on pressure-treated rails or posts, 2 by 4 rails, or 4 hinges per gate. And, they all wanted an extra 300 to 400 dollars for those “upgrades.” Guess who the homeowner bought the fence from? Surprisingly, in this case the lowest bidder also had the best deal in regards to product quality, strength, and longevity.

Because this company had the ability to delineate what things were important when building a fence, it won the business. This was the only company that built a Case.

Learn Proven, Innovative Marketing Strategies & Tactics To EXPLODE Your Revenue And Grow Your Business...
In Just 7 Days!

The MONOPOLIZE YOUR MARKETPLACE system is a step-by-step program for innovating and marketing your company. We’ll show you how to first, BE better than the competition and second, DO marketing better than the competition so that you become the obvious choice to do business with.
MYM On-Demand is the latest in eLearning technology featuring broadcast quality video, stereo quality sound, and fully-synchronized slides in a complete, interactive rich streaming multi-media presentation. This is the first and ONLY online marketing resource of its kind. It teaches you step-by-step how to enhance your marketing efforts through a proven method called the Monopolize Your Market System. It shows you how to win more business and to make more money.
CLICK HERE to begin
Monopolizing Your Marketplace Today!

<<< Previous Chapter RETURN To Table Of Contents Next Chapter >>>

This ebook is brought to you by:
[={yourcompany}]

email: [={youremail}]

web: [={yoururl}]

phone: [={yourphone}]

Copyright © 2005 MYM Marketing & MYMOn-Demand.com. All rights reserved. This publication is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.