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Most marketing is based on out-of-touch philosophies and is delivered in such a way that fed-up consumers do not believe it anyway.
American Demographics once said that “Americans trust marketers about as much as the U.N. trusts Saddam Hussein.” Unless marketers fancy the idea of being ferreted out of a spider hole at gunpoint and hung, that is NOT an analogy to celebrate.
Over 70 percent of U.S. adults believe marketers exploit and mislead them. You can’t create a marketing strategy that works until we accept it. When you use this knowledge as a basis for your marketing strategies, you will reach your market in such a way that they WILL believe and accept your marketing.Yet we still see banks throwing marketing money down the spider hole. They use radio, newspaper, and television advertising dripping with tired clichés and awful rhetoric, which does more to turn off potential consumers than to engage them to buy.
A recent bank advertisement trumpeted “5-Point Customer Service!” What in blue blazes does THAT mean? How many customers are going to see the ad and say, “At last, huzzah! I’ve been looking EVERYWHERE for 5-Point Customer Service!”
It gets worse. This particular bank was well-known in its market area for having below-average customer service.
This bank broke the two Golden Rules of Marketing: (1) Don’t say you are what you aren’t — because when people discover you’re not, you’ll look even worse, and (2) If there isn’t at least an implied promise, don’t waste your money!
Vague assurances don’t motivate people to buy. These three motivators do. People will buy from:
1. People they know or know about;
2. People they trust, and
3. People to whom they relate and who relate to them.
Build relationships on these terms and there will be no stopping your profits and growth!