#9 – Prospects and Customers Have Tuned Out

“Everybody’s talkin’ at me.
I don’t hear a word they’re sayin’.”
Fred Neil – Everybody’s Talkin’ (Echoes of My Mind)

As a small or medium sized business business owner, you already understand that you can’t get business by “building a better mousetrap.” You know that “if you build it, they WON’T come.” No matter how good your product or service is, the only way to get people to buy it is to sell it – or nobody will give a hoot.

Unfortunately, when it comes to selling, most businesses put together marketing campaigns that are nothing but advertisements. They advertise in the newspaper, on TV and radio, through the mail, in coupon packs, and even on the internet. But there’s a HUGE problem with advertising…

Your audience is fed up with it.

Americans are exposed to over 6000 advertising pitches every day. They’ve had it up to here and they’re not taking anymore. They’ll do almost anything to turn off the advertising or to block it out entirely. They TIVO their favorite programs so they can skip over the commercials. Their phone numbers are on the “Do not call” list. They keep shredders next to the doorway – ready for the day’s junk mail. Nope… they definitely don’t want advertising. And, to drive that point home, let me list a few facts from the Yankelovich Partners’ research on advertising:

About 60% of consumers have a much more negative opinion of marketing and advertising now than they did a few years ago.
61 percent feel the amount of marketing and advertising is out of control.
Around 65% feel constantly bombarded with too much marketing and advertising.
61% feel that marketers and advertisers don’t treat consumers with respect

Your audience can spot an ad from a long way off and when they do they mentally turn tail and run. No matter how great your message is – they’ll never hear it. Believe me, your prospects and customers don’t want no stinkin’ advertising!

What they want is information – information they can use to help them make the right choices. What they want is to be entertained – with stories that make them laugh, make them cry, or make them cheer. They want to find out how others got to where they want to be. Advertisements don’t give that to them… but your marketing can.

Download the full article: Prospects and Customers Have Tuned Out