Radio-Hed-Logo-2By Jeffrey Hedquist

If you create commercials that help your prospects by making them more knowledgeable, healthier, or saving them money, they’ll be grateful. They’ll remember you. It’s because you used the law of reciprocity and gave them something. You didn’t just sell them. This approach positions you as the expert.

Here’s how…

Educate prospects on how to buy a used car, what to watch for when they shop for fish, how to get a loan, or how to compare or analyze various products.

Don’t make every commercial about buying from you. A successful lawn care company we know will often include things homeowners can do on their own to improve their lawn like watering aerating, etc.

Create a series of consumer tips: The 6 warning signs that your bank loan officer isn’t giving you the scoop; 4 secrets that most fitness instructors won’t tell you; practical ways to save money on legal costs.HHHto

Break the tips into episodes. Tip #5: how to get the best deal, not get burned, live longer, lose weight, get free of pain, build muscle, landscape your yard…

Lead into the advice with a strong headline:

Here’s the biggest mistake car buyers make

When is a sofa a disaster in the making?

What’s that smell?

What’s a simple way to get relief from back pain?

Taste this.

What don’t you know about food supplements?

How to sell your house.

How to buy a used car.

How to save $2000 when you remodel your bathroom

Don’t make a $4000 mistake when you…

I, and anyone who has lived within range of New York radio stations can never forget the voice of Sy Syms, educating us on how to buy name brand clothing at discount prices. At least one commercial explained their sequence of markdowns during a sale – with a certain percentage off every few days (and less selection as the prices were reduced), and finally reminding us “An educated consumer is our best customer.”

Sy’s right. Anyone bold enough to tell me the inside secrets, to make me a smarter buyer, to show me how to do something myself without their help, must be really good at what they do. This approach builds credibility and differentiates the advertiser from the competition.

© 1997–2009 Hedquist Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Audio

  • The R.A.P. Cassette - June 1994

    Production demo from interview subject Mary Collins of Knight Quality Creative Services; plus big work from great names like Larry Whitt, Mark...