The internet was invented in 1990 and it took less than five years before sites recognized the potential power in the margins of their pages, selling this real estate to advertisers— resulting in the first display ad appearing in 1994. While this was a major stride for modern advertising many have been made after it, yet nearly three decades later— so many remain to market under the same guidelines.
Consequently, it’s also why so many businesses are seeing depleting gross profits.
Now as a consumer, you may be calling BS because in 1994 you weren’t being served ads at every turn; in your email, on your Facebook, in your apps, in your voicemail inboxes, etc. I’m talking about the message, however— not the method.
The message being used is the same overused, spammy sales pitch marketers have been using for decades— since the dawn of traditional advertising. Price.
If you sell by price, you die by price.
Why? Because if your pitch is your price, you’re stuck with it. There’s no raising, only lowering— but that model won’t get you very far.
Just as soon as a competitor with deeper pockets comes along, they’ll outbid your advertising spend. That means they’ll be replacing you in front of your audience, ultimately stealing your business.
You’ll be stuck with a fixed price and an increasing ad spend in order to contend with your competitors, decreasing your gross profits. Or— you increase your prices to keep up with your competitors ad spend and risk losing customers when your fixed price changes.
While there was once a time and a place where selling by price was appropriate; like six second traditional radio spots or park bench banner ads; it won’t not only work in 2018— it’ll end your business.
The advertising message may not have changed since Y2K, but consumer habits certainly have— which has opened up opportunities for marketers to evolve and potentially increase gross profits. 81% of consumers do research online prior to making their purchase decisions— even if they’re not ultimately planning on buying online.
If we know they’re doing this research, that provides opportunities for us as marketers and business owners to be that resource to our customers online. They’ve made it clear price isn’t what their driving question is for us— so what other questions are regularly asked by customers about your product or service?
Digital advertising should be proactive, therefore we need to recognize these regularly asked questions and meet consumers with the answers first and foremost— long before price is ever discussed. Generate a list of these questions and create content that answers them, ultimately linking back to your own website.
This allows your name and logo to be in front of customers, not removing what your price-based advertising was doing in terms of branding— but this instead introduces you as a resource for your audience.
You can retain a potential customers attention much longer if you don’t meet them at the door with your price, but first present a resolution to a query they had, or even simply by introducing your brand.
Which leads into the ultimate resolution of increasing gross profit…
Branding. Branding. Branding.
A strong branding strategy should work as the backbone of your marketing campaigns. While your segmented sales event promotions, special pricing ads or any other more immediate, gimmicky sales ads require more frequent refreshing, your branding content can run quietly in the background, introducing potential clients to you while you’re busy closing sales with your bottom funnel traffic.
Your branding materials help you not only introduce your audience to you, but familiarizes them with you, increases their recognition of you in the market and increases loyalty among your current database. All of these factors help grow a strong gross profit.
Keep in mind that people like to connect with people, so if you’re the head of your organization you should consider including yourself in your branding materials. Putting your face forward for your business can increase recognizability and create stronger connections between you and your audience.
While there’s no place for price in your digital marketing, that doesn’t mean there’s never an appropriate time to bring it up. Focus your digital efforts on being a resource to your audience while making sure they seen your brand wherever they are most, and nurture consumers to a conversation where price can be openly discussed. Your gross profits are guaranteed to thank you.
