Basic New rules in Advertising

The No. 1 Rule in Advertising
Today's consumers are bombarded with flashy gimmicks and over-promises. How to stand out? Tell them the truth.
   
In the past, decisions to purchase revolved primarily around features and benefits. All you had to do was explain what the product was about and why your product was better than your competitor's. So it was all "features and benefits, features and benefits, features and benefits." and they were well spelt out.
The new trend in decisions to purchase is based on sympathetic vibrations, shared values, an alignment of perspectives between buyer and seller. Today's customers aren't just buying what you sell; they're buying who you are.
Our society is suffering from time-poverty, so we're looking for experts we can trust. Does your advertising convince your customers enough to trust you?
The best channel for reaching today's customers is through the customers' own experience and this is the reason word-of-mouth is still very effective since it's based on real life experiences with the product.
1. Refer to things in your ads that you know your customer has experienced.
I call this technique "using a reality hook." A reality hook is an ad with a powerful slogan that virtually everyone can relate to. Check out this scenario; You've got a problem and you want it fixed. You call the repair people and they say, "We'll be there between 8 a.m. and noon." Then about 12:30, they call and say, "We're running a little late. We'll be there between one and five." Such disappointments happen and would make you appreciate another company called  One Hour Heat and Air. Always on time, or you don't pay a dime. Seriously. If they aren't there within the exact hour they told you they were coming, you pay nothing. One Hour Heat and Air understands that time is money. Your time. Our money." Everyone who has gone through delays in call service would relate to the reality hook "Your time. our money"
2. Tell the truth, even when it hurts.
Today's customers have had a lifetime of experience  sifting golden nuggets of truth from a world of hype and empty promises. Make this highly refined ability work for you. Learn to highlight features, benefits and downside. That's right!  "Downside."  Your customers are already trying to figure out the downside so why not just tell them to gain their trust? ? It's the best possible way to insulate yourself from the backlash when they finally figure it out for themselves. Wouldn't the One Hour Heat and Air ad be even more powerful if it included the line, "We install the same units and charge the same prices as everyone else. The difference is that we're actually going to show up when we said we would." This is a much stronger hook to use in our scenario.
3. Deliver to your customers exactly the experience you promised them.
Mass media is one voice speaking to many ears, and it's easy to purchase--you pay your money and you take your chances. But cell phones, instant messaging and e-mail are one to many prospects; they're word of mouth gone exponential. And their messages can't be purchased. The only way to trigger this inter-connectivity is to say or do something genuinely worth talking about. Remember, we're living in a generation more tightly interconnected that anyone dreamed possible just 15 years ago. Today's customer is saying, "Your ads may fool one of us, but that one of us will tell the rest of us
4. Use the current media of your time.
10 to 20 years ago, it was okay to advertise on TV and radio and the local newspaper; but now with the advent of numerous social media, online advertisement is the order of the day. More people are now likely to see your adverts online than on any other older media that existed before now. For example Advance Magazine has a mobile app at http://advance.mobapp.at , Facebook Fanpage and Twitter presence at http://facebook.com/AdvancedBusinessClass and @advancebizclass respectively. Advertising through bulk SMS and joining a vast of networks can drive numerous prospects and customers to your business. The mobile phone is now the most widely used technology and this is a key fact when considering your advertising media.

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