By Natalie J. Armstrong,
www.MarketingMediation.com

You might take a moment to reflect on the messages that have been sent to you throughout the year. How to sell; how to advertise; where to advertise; the list goes on.

Advertising will be one of your biggest expenses so you may want to remember one word in advertising, if you recall nothing else you have read.

Believability will be a key factor to your sales and of course, to resulting profits.

There are extensive articles, squibs, and how-tos on writing ads. For the most part, they are all geared to several themes, none of which has changed over the years. The Internet has offered us some great potential and changes. What it hasn’t changed, however, is people. It is very important for you to remember that the 1980’s was the Age of Skepticism in advertising. The ads, the brochures, the guarantees and the warranties everything was being challenged by the public. And many found that industry upon industry was deceiving them. You can bet that by the 1990’s, not much has changed and in the attitudes of the American consumer. They hate to be lied to . . .

Marketing and advertising is the art of trying to figure out customer perception. While this may be an art that takes time, if you lie to them during or after your evaluation process, they will never forgive you. The Madison Avenue advertising firm of Oglivy did a study in 1989 and found that 75% of those polled do not believe advertising! That is not good odds and if we give you 4 strikes in this game of salesmanship, that means you have 3 against you as you start out writing that ad, that brochure or the sales letter. If you are to succeed in the coming years, you are going to have to sway public opinion your way to with a totally believable campaign all year long. Remember this is a relationship game. You’re not going to makes anyone a believer in you with a single ad or two. You’re not going to do it with a single colored brochure either. And surely, you’re not going to do it in a one shot email ad to some unknown party.

Only when you are believable will you become credible. And only when you have reached the plateau of both will you continue to succeed in business regardless of how big you are or what you are selling. The same rules apply to GM as they do the small book dealer. To a customer, a lie is a lie. Lying in business will be like the line cowboy who fires his single bullet into the hoard of Indians. As he foolishly sparks the fire of self-destruction, there is nothing left to do but sit back and lament and wonder why did I ever do that?

Natalie J. Armstrong is the Founder and Managing Director of Golden Media, a marketing and consulting firm dedicated to promoting the resolution industry. She is the author of The Essential Guide to Marketing Your ADR Practice and speaks internationally on business development and the successful marketing strategies of the conflict resolution industry. More ADR Practice Development articles and information about Ms. Armstrong and Golden Media can be found at www.MarketingMediation.com.