In the Trenches With You: What Marketers Could Learn

I took a break from my business, which took a beating in the pandemic, to help some friends out with their shop. The labor shortage meant they might miss the big summer tourist season, so I stepped behind the counter for a few shifts a week. Working in a small business, the kinds of companies I typically help with marketing, was enlightening. 

The amount of work that goes into every direct sale was incredible. Daily sales depended on a host of seemingly random events, from the weather to the products we had on display. I could affect sales with pricing, with displays, with wording on signs. All fall under the umbrella of marketing, so I thought I was well-positioned to help my friends, but working in the store, day-to-day, I found that many of the ideas we hold dear in marketing do not apply in the trenches of everyday business.

The first concept to go down, the idea that "no one wants to be sold." Yeah. Yeah, they do. Because selling, if I recall the words of my car dealer client of twenty-two years, means listening to the customer and delivering on their needs. It means giving them frank and upfront information, and contrary to what most people believe – price is foremost on their minds. Businesses sell to people but selling doesn't mean following them around the store (or the interwebs) like a lost puppy. It means giving them information and giving them room to decide. Applying this to advertising, provide them with the information about your product they want. Give them breathing room and invite them in for a conversation.  

The second myth, content is king. In business, sales are king. No sales, no business. Great brands without sales litter history – Oldsmobile, RC Cola, Montgomery Ward, TRW, Burma Shave, Falstaff Beer, Burger Chef. Great brands but no sales. Branding is part of what we do to generate sales.

The third concept I discovered, people want to know your business. No one accidentally walks into a store. They come to your website to buy a car, a pizza, a pair of shoes, your software – so take them there. They come there with a purpose. Are you going to meet that purpose? Is your website designed to deliver content, build the brand, or give what the customer wants? A good website does all of it, but it prioritizes the customer's needs.

And finally, does your advertising agency understand your business? Do they know how hard you work for that $10 sale or how many customers you're losing because your competitor has a better location. An ad agency interested in your business will talk to your customers and employees; they'll ask hard questions about your values, what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Then they'll present a strategy that best suits your business rather than what they want to sell you.

I’ll end with a quote from Bill Bernbach: “Forget words like “hard sell” and “soft sell.” That will only confuse you. Just be sure your advertising has something with substance, something that will inform and serve the consumer, and be sure you’re saying it like it’s never been said before.”