Soar sales by simply changing your marketing message
Published: Thu, 05/05/16
If you’ve ever suffered through an unsuccessful marketing campaign, you’ll love this story …
In was the mid-1990s and Procter & Gamble’s team of marketers were stumped.
Just a couple months earlier, the company behind major brands such as Crest, Gillette and Tide released a new product that seemed like an almost-certain winner. They spent millions developing a colorless, cheap-to-manufacture liquid that could turn any smell odorless.
Simply spray and stinky scents disappear.
As part of the launch, the marketing team created campaigns to promote the product as a way to eliminate odors. One commercial showed a woman spraying her clothes to cover cigarette smells after eating in a restaurant’s smoking section. Another featured a pet lover spraying her dog’s favorite spot on the couch.
The ads ran in heavy rotation in three major test cities …
Surprisingly, Febreze sales flopped.
The confused marketers brought in a Harvard scientist to pore through consumer psychology studies. They also conducted in-depth consumer interviews.
What they discovered resulted in a complete change in their marketing message.
You see, one consumer the team visited was a lady in Phoenix who owned nine cats. Her house was clean and well kept. However, when P&G’s people walked into the living room -- where her cats hung out -- they were overcome by the strong odor.
Crazy thing is, when asked about the smell, the lady didn’t notice anything. She was desensitized to the scent.
Similar scenarios played out with “noseblind” consumers in stinky homes throughout the U.S.
Researchers also discovered that people who liked Febreze often sprayed it to give rooms a fresh scent after cleaning. They didn’t even use it to cover up odors.
With this knowledge, the marketing team created new campaigns. The original messages were adjusted to highlight Febreze’s freshening effect and how the spray eliminates home odors that you can’t smell (but your guests can).
Sales doubled within two months. A year later, Febreze brought in $230 million.
Think about this situation and your business …
Are you missing out on sales because your marketing message doesn’t match what your prospects want?
Could a re-write of your marketing create greater interest and generate more leads?
There’s really only one way to find out …
You must test.
If your marketing isn’t working the way you want it, try different messaging. If fact, you’re welcome to send me what’s not working and I’ll take a quick look.
Just reply to this email.
If I think I can significantly boost your response rates and make you money, I’ll let you know what I’d charge to write you a new version.
Fair enough?
At the very least, you’ll get a few new ideas you can start testing yourself.
Talk soon,
Tom