Do It the Wrong Way
November 20, 2008
Sometimes, creating the wrong environment is exactly what you want.
If you read yesterday’s post about creating environments, this is a continuation of that concept. I’d like to take a look at presenting the wrong environment.
The Wrong Way
The best example I can find of this concept is ArticleAnnouncer.com. This program comes highly recommended by one of my best SEO clients, and I wanted to check out their website. When I got there, the word “WHOA” flew out of my mouth like a curse word. The header reads “Urgent, time-sensitive message” and the glaring red, over-inflated font screams “CHEAP INFOMERCIAL”. This is not at all what I expected to find when searching for a quality product priced nearly 4 times as much as its nearest competitor.
Now, the content reads like a typical, high-pressure, sales copy letter. “HURRY, HURRY, HURRY! Only three spots left. You must buy now because you can’t live without this product! The price goes up in five, four, 3 minutes!” And those types of ads have their place. (At least that’s what marketing experts say.)
For me, these pushy in-your-face ads are insulting. They assume that I buy things from late-night infomercials. They assume I can be convinced to part with my hard earned cash in exchange for their brand of trash. They assume I am naive and gullible. (My four year old wants to buy everything from every commercial and infomercial. I think I’m a harder sell than that, and I think most consumers are as well.)
Why Use It?
So why use this tactic? Because it works in some cases. For those consumers who are not immediately put off by the flashy-trashy sales pitch, it creates an air of mysterious value, the urgency of impulsive buying, perhaps the promise of untold wealth, popularity, or happiness. Deep down, people want to believe these sales pitches. It works on a select target audience.
Most of us, however, are smart enough to see through the smoke and mirrors. But can your target audience?
The Competition
In comparison, let’s take a look at a different product that promises the same benefits. Article Announcer’s semi-competitor, ArticleMarketer.com, does a nice job of presenting the opposite environment. Their header reads, “Massive Backlinks and Search Term Domination. Article Marketer.” They present the benefits to the consumer up-front, and tie in their product name for better imprinting. The website is clean, easy to navigate, and has a wonderful graphic of a door opening that reads, “Come Inside to See How Easy This Is.”
Think about which product you would buy. The one that comes highly recommended, has a huge price tag, and an obnoxious website, or a similar product with a smaller price tag (but an added monthly subscription), a quality website, but fewer consumer praises?
Which would your customers buy?
Comments
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Miguel Wickert
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Jamie Simmerman
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Writer Dad
