Vision Marketing

Marketing tools that have an old-school theme can be cool and effective. Marketing that is truly old-school (outdated) provides lessons in how not to attract customers. I recently provided feedback on an ad from a national auto service chain that was a perfect example of outdated marketing that many retail businesses are still burning money with. Beyond a positioning and messaging strategy, here was my feedback to simply optimize an ad they were already committed to:

1. Remove or revise the coupons. If there is no proven marketing strategy behind any promotional offer, don´t use it simply because the company and industry has been doing it forever.
2. Add pricing info for the most commonly needed service or product. Regardless of how competitive your prices are, include some pricing info to help facilitate the target´s decision making.
3. Add a customer endorsement, which is one of the oldest yet most effective and underutilized marketing tactics.
4. Add the human element (with photos). Especially important in a service business.