Take a look around at businesses in your industry and you’ll find that most are commodity-type businesses – there’s nothing unique about any of them – they’re all selling similar products at about the same price or they offer about the same service.
That’s your opportunity to set your business apart from the crowd. Become unique.
How? It’s simple – through preemptive advertising and marketing.
Preemptive advertising is one of the most powerful techniques you could ever use. And guess what? No one uses it.
The first company in an industry that uses preemptive advertising has an incredible advantage over all its competitors. It’s so simple. Here’s all you do: Just take the time to explain to your prospects and customers the processes that are inherent in your business.
You see, our customers and prospects have no idea about what goes into the products and services we offer so we can deliver value to them.
The trial and error we go through during the development stage. The investment. The research. The testing. The processes and systems.
But once we explain it to them, our products and services take on an entirely different position in their minds.
Here’s a little story about the incredible power of preemptive advertising….
Back in 1919, Schlitz beer was the #10 beer in the marketplace. Until that time, they were strictly in the “me-too” biz.
Then, Claude Hopkins, the classic marketing strategist was called in to salvage the marketing of this #10 beer and lift it to success.
When he walked into the brewery, the first thing he did was learn how the beer was made. He toured the facilities and he saw that Schlitz was located right on the banks of the Great Lakes. And even though they were right there next to this unlimited water source, they had dug five, 4,000-foot artesian wells right next to Lake Michigan because they wanted pure water.
The brewers showed Claude a mother yeast cell that was a result of about 2,500 different experiments that had been done to find the quintessential yeast to create the proper taste. They showed him five different, three-foot thick, plate glass rooms where beer was condensed and redistilled and re-condensed for purity.
Can you see where this is going?
They showed him the tasters that tasted the beer five different times. They showed him the whole process. At the end, he was incredulous. He said, “My God, why don’t you tell people the process that your beer goes through?”
And they said, “Because that’s how ALL beer is made. It’s nothing special; it’s nothing unique.”
And he said, “Yes, but the first person who tells the public about this will gain preemptive advantage.”
He got Schlitz to the #1 position in about six months – using preemptive advertising.
Folgers used the same approach to increase sales by over 40% by letting customers know their coffee was mountain grown – a claim most of their competitors could have made as 95% of coffee is mountain grown.
Think about the process you go through in your business to give your customers a high-quality product or service – and tell your customers and prospects about it.
If you’re a retailer, tell customers how you choose the product line for your store. Tell them how many people you employ to ensure they get personalized service. Tell them precisely what those employees do on a day-to-day basis. Tell them how how you unconditionally guarantee every sale…and so on…and so on.
If you’re a manufacturing or creative business, explain to prospects and customers the complete manufacturing process step-by-step. Tell them what raw materials you use to create your products and why. Tell them about the strict quality checks that go into the creation of your products. Tell them about the brainstorming that preceded any production.
If you sell a service, explain to prospects and customers the entire service process. Tell them the skills of the people you hire and your procedures for hiring them. Tell them what the standards are for your company.
Even if your process is the same process that many of your competitors use, it doesn’t matter – because you’re going to be the first one to explain it the customer and gain a clear advantage over all your competitors.
