Availability trumps loyalty.
From David Gottlieb on the Behind the Numbers podcast:
In our specific primary research, we find that 40% of shoppers will brand switch when they can’t find the item they’re looking for.
But if you’re buying a consumer good like a soup or a mac and cheese or a home cleaning product, people are brand loyal to a point, but if they need something for a recipe or to complete their shopping mission, they’re probably not going to go home empty-handed.
That’s a real challenge for brands because brand loyalty is built slowly over time and it can erode very quickly if somebody is forced to try a competitive product, you’re giving them an opportunity that you don’t want them to have essentially as a loyal brand shopper.
The art of the offer from Kay Allison via Rusty Blazenhoff:
How to craft an offer. And, as it turns out, an offer isn’t just telling people what you do. No, no. As I’ve learned, people don’t buy what you do. They buy the promise of transformation.
a great offer doesn’t just describe. It shows you the outcome. It paints a picture of what life looks like after you say yes.
People don’t buy a widget, they buy an emotion.
They buy their way to an aspirational state.
They buy a future in which they’re a different version of themselves than the one of now.
[A business] is defined by the want the customer satisfies when she buys a product or service. To satisfy the customer is the mission and purpose of every business.
Business don’t exist without customers (at least not for very long).
Everything is customer service.
Hook. Story. Close.
The DO Lectures sent an email last year that I keep coming back to about a framework for writing better.
Hook > Story > Close
Which is, of course, a framework for marketing better.
Hook
This is where you appeal to the reader / watcher to catch their attention.
The offer will tell them about the transformation that this will give them.
Stop the scroll / swipe / page turn long enough to get them to stay with you.
The hook is at least 40% of the reason you will be successful.
Story
Sharing your perspective. Doesn’t need to be about you, but needs to answer why you.
Here you can share your one belief about this offer.
Why are you unique? Why should they keep giving you their time / attention? Why should they give you their money?
Close
This is the part where Alec Baldwin yells at you about coffee and Cadillacs.
The questions DO recommends answering:
What’s in it for me?
How do I know this is for real?
What’s been holding me back?
Who is to blame for that?
Why should I trust you?
How does it work?
How can I get started?
Why now?
What do I have to lose by NOT doing it?
It’s almost about pushing your potential customer away so that you only pull in the ones your offer is truly for. And you put them in control of the decision so they don’t feel tricked later.
(Not in the framework, but understood, make sure to deliver what you promise. Doesn’t matter how good your messaging is if it turns out to be a lie.)
Set the hook.
Tell the story.
Close the deal.