To Market your Small Business, Get Out of the Crowd

Most Americans like to be viewed as individuals. We don't want to be seen as "just like" anyone else, because we're not. So why do so many businesses advertise their services just like everyone else?

One theory is that most people don't study copywriting or hire a copywriter. They depend upon the folks at the newspaper or the yellow pages ad salesman to tell them what should be included in their ads. They mistakenly believe that those folks are experts who will help them build their business.

Of course those people have no knowledge of the business or what it offers -- and most of them have no training in marketing. Their business is selling ads, not writing good copy to fill those ads. So they advise you to do what everyone else in your profession does. It's safe, after all. Everyone does it.

The sad thing is, it doesn't help the business and it doesn't help the consumer who is looking for a specialist to solve a problem.

I've been reading a lot about this problem lately, so just for fun I opened my yellow pages at random. I found pest control. Of 14 companies listed, 8 had some form of block ad. Each ad listed several varieties of insects and mentioned that the business is insured. Most displayed a picture of a spider.

Two companies were geared toward removing mammals, and that's where I found the only glimmer of individuality. Both listed a variety of animals, but one had a subhead stating that they were bat removal specialists.

Then I opened another page and found a couple dozen professional movers. I found pictures of trucks, and copy that was almost identical on every ad. The only way to choose one would be to shut your eyes and point at the page.

My theory is that while everyone wants to be an individual, most people are afraid to be too different. Maybe they think their competitors will get angry if they say "I do XYZ better than anyone else." Maybe they're afraid to mention a specialty for fear they won't be called for anything else. Maybe they're afraid they really aren't better. Maybe they're afraid that customers won't respond to ad copy that stands out from the crowd.

I don't know the reason, but I do know that there's good news in it for you. If you take the chance to be different, you'll increase your response to those ads and grow your business by leaps and bounds.

So give it some thought. Think about what you do best. Consider your favorite part of your business. Where do you outshine your competition? What IS your specialty?

And what rule says your ad must list features instead of benefits? Copywriters spend hours working on one page of copy in order to bring out all the benefits of a product or service. Why? Because all customers want to know the answer to: "What's in it for me?" They want to know the benefits.

Before you place your next ad take the time to think about yourself and your business. You're the expert who knows what you offer, so don't rely on someone who has known you for 5 minutes to tell the world what you can do.

Then allow yourself at least a couple of hours to write your ad. What you say really is that important.