Business to Business Journal Steve Hample "TV's Dumbest Ad"
"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV and recommend you take Brand X pain medication." How dumb do they think we are? Does the pain pill manufacturer really think we will listen so some Hollywood actor who admits he doesn't know anything about medicine? That ad is my nomination for TV's dumbest. But maybe it worked.
The theme has been picked up by a national stock brokerage firm in a magazine ad that shows two people: an experienced educated trustworthy family doctor with his stethoscope standing next to a smartly dressed brokerage employee. We are to infer that the brokerage employee is in the same trustworthiness league as the physician. A different firm's ad (which includes the phrase "Bullish on America") shows successful relaxed business owner Drew Vogelman standing with his employees and reporting that "Drew's personal Financial Advisor helped him..." but the very fine print at the bottom of the picture states, "The client's name and story are fictitious and are intended to be an illustration ...". One wonders what else is fictitious. But maybe the ads work on unthinking consumers.
I much prefer the ads for Wendy's hamburgers by founder Dave Thomas. Hamburgers I can understand and I liked Dave's direct, humorous way of asking us to buy his product. (He recently passed away after a long and successful career.) His ads definitely worked.
So who can consumers trust? How should a small businesses compete against large firms with huge budgets for slick ads?
Conclusions for consumers:
In general terms, the question has been around for a long time, at least since Plato. A quick web search on epistemology brought back the idea that, for many people, knowledge / truth is what they have learned through past experience or the experience of others around them (Has anyone tried ...). Lacking such experience, they may turn to an authority for an answer (Doctor, I've never had this pain before; what do you think is wrong?). A problem could arise if they turn to a false authority (Take two chicken wings, an eye of newt and call me in the morning).
Consumers should question things. A good source of information is their own past experience or that of their friends. When experience doesn't provide an answer, then seeking an appropriate expert or authority may be wise. For topics where turning to an expert / authority is common, a government or professional association often attempts to regulate the industry and give licenses or certifications to only people who are sufficiently expert. Nothing is perfect. But consumers should ask around or find a qualified expert they can trust.
Conclusions for small business owners:
The word will eventually get around. I think most businesses that survive five years will do well. The problem may be surviving those five years on poverty level profits until lots of customers come knocking on your door. Think of every person walking out your door as an advertisement that you've just sent out. Try to do this even though the computer locked up, the phones are ringing, two other customers are waiting, it's 5 p.m. and you just did something stupid.
What if you can't wait five years for the word to get around? My personal preference is to cut overhead as much as possible so that you can wait. But perhaps your business has a huge investment in a building or equipment or years of training or a franchise that you've purchased. Then bring in the advertising / marketing folks. Each business has its own methods. We don't even want to think about a new urologist handing out free samples. So choose something appropriate to your field. Consider the Dave Thomas approach with your photo or a photo of your local business or something else that you can customize; compete in ways that big corporate national ads cannot.
Become certified or similarly identified as an expert for those consumers who want to turn to an expert. In medicine, accounting, real estate appraising and many other professional fields, national associations have established examinations and continuing education programs so only those who meet the standards can advertise as being "certified" and knowledgeable. If you are in the tire changing business and no certification program yet exists, try another approach such as "over 25,000 tires changed" (another hamburger chain used this approach) or "in business for over 20 years". The idea is to claim that your business history makes you an expert. You may be an expert through personal experience (Jay Moore at World Boards, Inc. started from scratch based on his snowboarding and skateboarding background). You may be an expert because you invented something, "home of the world's first pistachio pita pizza". There are some very successful mass marketers for whom neither the word of mouth nor the local expert approach seems necessary, but as I think of small main street businesses, almost all emphasize personal service and expert advice of some kind.
If you need more ideas, try calling the university's philosophy department and asking whether they think the empiricism version of epistemological thought can be applied to small business advertising. They will probably go into shock.
Dr. Stephen R. Hample is a Bozeman based Certified Financial Planner and a registered representative of KMS Financial Services, Inc. He provides general financial planning, but asks that you check with your own attorney and accountant for specific legal and tax advice. Suggestions and comments may be left at the web site: www.financial-planning-mt.com