Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

First, I question why invest in this if you are truly too late? As you say, there is room for one more-- so don't let bias influence you.

Being the first isn't important-- being the best is. Ford was the first-- but best??

Spin this and tell your audience this product evolved with years of research and seeing the shortcomings of others in the market. Turn the negative into a positive.

I've recommended this article before-- but it's timeless and good reference for this example. https://www.caseplace.org/d.asp?d=1800

I would not specifically call out "you are late". that is a negative. but as in my post-- point out the years of research which lead to improving previous designs of the product and increased efficiency.

Then I'd immediately launch into the "why" invest in the technology in the first place.

A new buyer doesn't know or care that "you are late". They just want to know what can you do for them today.

Dear fishka,

Never apologize, never explain. Your customers don't need it and your competitors may use it against you.

Tell your story. Focus on value and benefits. Remind people of the pain of the issue they face. Extoll the virtues, strengths, and solutions offered by your product or service.

Any ad that uses an apology or that highlights a weakness can backfire. The only time it's been done and done well—because it was probably the FIRST time it was done—was in the AVIS ads from DDB, mostly art directed by Helmut Krone: "Avis is only No2 in rental cars. So why go with us?"

I know the guy who worked on the mechanical for that ad and there's a secret to the 11th line of body copy (and 168 razor cuts on the original artwork!).

Give your value proposition and stick to the facts. FORGET being late. No one cares but you.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

I agree with the others - don't announce that you are late. Don't even say it to anyone. Even stop saying it inside you business. Move forward after the business that is available.

And as the others said - focus on value and benefits. Tell them what the product does and how it helps the customer.

Also know your costs. You said that customers who have signed up already are tied to vendors - so it sounds like there are significant startup costs to installing one of these products. Work this into a pay back period calculation, which you can use in your ad (assuming it is good).

Be prepared with comparison with competitor's products (what yours does better), but don't put that in the ad. Instead bring that out when you get a customer who is directly comparing you to a competitor.

What caught my attention in this discussion is that the product you are selling must be fairly "sticky" if firms that already have a competitive version aren't willing to switch to your product even if it's newer/better/best.

But it also sounds like there are slow adopters out there. They are your customers. They are interested in the product, but not interested enough yet to buy. Something has held them back--price, distrust of new technology, etc.

Your mission: figure out what's up with these slow adopters and market to their needs.

So, back to that program cover. No apologizing. No mention of lateness. Make it all about right now. Make it identify what's holding those late adopters back (usually it's price/new technology fear) and demonstrate how your rendition of this product is the solution to their issues.

Hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me off-board should you have more questions.

kellyann

I agree with the others - don't mention you're too late. It has no benefit for you nor your prospective customers.

Imagine a prospect who's new to your market sees your product and your competitors'. What would inspire them to choose yours? Is yours truly outstanding somehow, or is it just another me-too version? Can you take your product and target it to a specific niche (instead of a big industry-wide event) - ideally a niche who hasn't used your type of product before?