It’s difficult in the marketing world to define marketing principles that are truly more than mere theories…

But the Eureka! Ranch has managed to do it.  Over the last decade, it has compiled and analyzed thousands of client cases related to the introduction of new product/service concepts and new marketing messaging for existing products/services.

This research has produced and quantitatively validated a number of well-proven and very practical conclusions for marketers of all types.

One of the key principles that emerged from this research dispels a dangerous marketing myth and therefore needs never-ending reinforcement. And it applies consistently across industries and consumer/business segments.

I’m referring to the critical importance of communicating what the Eureka! Ranch folks call your “overt benefit.”

The value of communicating benefits rather than mere features is hardly a breakthrough discovery.  The NEW news is just how overt that communication of benefits needs to be in order to produce a consumer response.

As consumers, we utilize only 2% of the information to which we’re exposed.  In the clutter of the marketplace, we need to “get it” quickly – in a matter of seconds.  In order for this to occur, marketers must be direct and focused on their most compelling one or two benefits.

Contrary to popular belief, there is a negative correlation between number of benefits presented by marketers and success in the market place.  Benefits more numerous than two actually tend to produce diminished results.  Therefore, marketers need to discipline themselves to capture the essence of their offerings in one or two easily observed benefits.

The communication philosophy that we must have the courage to embrace is to set a prospect say “no” because what you offer does not apply to her – NOT because she does not understand what you offer.

How do you build “overtness” into your marketing copy?

Add directness, bluntness, and specifics to your generic promises. (i.e. It’s not a “fast car wash,” it is a “6 minute car wash.”) Straight talk wins. Direct, to the point language out performs fancy word play in the minds of consumers.

8 More secrets from the Eureka! Ranch:

1. There is no difference in effectiveness between rational and emotional benefits.  HOWEVER, when rational and emotional benefits are combined, effectiveness suffers. You must make a clear decision to appeal to your consumer’s heart or mind – not both.
2. Benefits are relative to a specific target audience. When you focus clearly on a specific audience, you create expert credibility. And guess what… consumers expect to pay more for specialized expertise than generalist offerings.
3. When a customer buys your product or service, she’s often buying a moment that she has visualized in her mind.  To the extent that you can provide visualization of the moment of overt benefit (the defining moment of success for your product or service), your communications will be significantly enhanced.
4. Confusing people is NEVER a good strategy for winning their interest or patronage. Clever and obscure communication does not create consumer interest or curiosity.  It leads to rejection.
5. Benefits should be reduced to not more than 10 clear and focused words for maximum impact.
6. Beware of solving a problem that is not a real problem.  For a benefit to have motivational power with consumers, it must be relevant to their true needs – yet unexpected in that it offers a new insight or approach to addressing their needs.  The greater the anxiety that your prospects feel relative to a particular problem, the greater the chance that they will rush to the solution.
7. Beware of selling the absence of a problem instead of a positive benefit. There is far greater power in selling the positive than the absence of a negative.  Selling the absence of a negative requires that customers know that negative exists elsewhere in the marketplace. When prospects have to do more work, you generate less sales.
8. Beware of assuming knowledge. Do not assume consumers are aware of anything or anyone.

What a joy it is as a marketer to promote a product for which there is an objective, compelling argument… when the numbers simply speak for themselves… when people would have to be crazy not to buy it.

This type of product doesn’t seem terribly common, but my guess is that there are a lot more of them out there than we know.

We’d all like our products or services to fall into this coveted “no brainer” category, and as clever marketers, we do our darndest to build and convey the compelling case for our wares. So often, we make our arguments quantitatively.  After all, who can resist when the numbers speak for themselves?

The problem is that even when they do… often they really don’t.

For two years, I’ve been working on developing a portable health record product.  In a nutshell, it is a subscription service that enables a consumer to have his, her, or a whole family’s health records and other vital, health related information (insurance card, living will, etc.) gathered, organized, stored, and maintained on a USB thumb drive that updates itself whenever it is launched from an internet connected computer.

It has all the makings of a product that could be a real hit with consumers and medical professionals.

The concept is simple, and the numbers truly speak for themselves. Which is to say, this should be one of those coveted items to promote.

Here’s the quantitative argument.

Recent studies show that nearly 200,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical errors – many of which could be avoided if doctors had the information that they need (when they need it) about the patients they are treating.

What should you do about this?  Take a simple precaution that could save your life, and carry your health records with you – right on your keychain.

We’ve been experimenting with different approaches to selling the subscription for the last eight months and along the way, have tested different ways of making the above argument to consumers.

Judge for yourself, and see which is more compelling:

Quantitative argument: Recent studies show that nearly 200,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical errors – many of which could be avoided if doctors had the information that they need (when they need it) about the patients they are treating.

Concrete argument: More Americans die each year from medical errors that from breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, AIDS, and car accidents – COMBINED. Many of these errors could be avoided if doctors had the information that they need (when they need it) about the patients they are treating.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the concrete argument drives more than double the response rate of the quantitative argument.

Here, as is often the case when marketers make quantitative cases for their products or services, the numbers appear to speak for themselves, but really don’t say much of anything to the prospective buyer.

A marketing case made on numbers hinges on the treacherous assumption that the audience has the requisite peripheral knowledge to put the numbers into meaningful perspective.

200,000 deaths… that’s a lot.

Isn’t it?

How many people die each year?

How many Americans are there these days?

If this was a serious threat to me, wouldn’t I have heard about it before?

I must not be at risk.

MESSAGE FORGOTTEN.

Furthermore, arguing the numbers overlooks the fact that most buying decisions – particularly consumer purchases – are based in large part on emotion.  Numbers generally struggle to evoke emotion.

Now let’s look at the concrete argument. By framing the case relative to the combined death toll of several well known (and feared) causes of death, each prospect is immediately given perspective and a dose of emotion associated with whichever of these killers happens to have impacted him or her in any way.

Think about the action (often unpleasant) that we all take in our efforts to dodge these bullets. Mammograms. Colonoscopies. Digital rectal exams. Seat belts. Air bags. Donations to research. Miles walked for the cause. Pink ribbons….

Now you’re telling me that I can mitigate a risk greater than all of these combined simply by carrying my health records on my keychain? You’ve got my attention.

Is it any wonder that the concrete argument outperforms the quantitative?