How Startups & SMEs can upgrade their communication game? (+ 22 tips for your marketing campaign.)

Why should StartUps & SMEs read this long post of Ogilvy & Mather?

What StartUps & SMEs can learn about Human Psychology thorough this long post of Ogilvy & Mather?

How StartUps & SMEs can use learnings from this long post of Ogilvy & Mather to upgrade their product or service offerings to their Target Customers?

Long post by Ogilvy & Mather

The story goes back to 1972 when Ogilvy & Mather used this long copy advert to educate their target companies (Target Customers). The idea (as we think of it now) was simple - "To educate the clients on how we do what we do and to give the clients a 22 points fact sheet we use to achieve success & growth for the clients."

Though these 22 points on travel advertising were written in 1972, it still holds true and serves as the fundamentals for new-age advertising & marketing professionals as well as for StartUp founders and SME owners, like you for solving product development & business communication problems.

The advert very neatly explained about the various nuances, hooks, and tips to attract and engage the readers that Ogilvy & Mather was using in its travel advertisements. They went on to explain about what readers (humans) wanted, how differently readers saw various advert formats staged at different time frames, and how they used human psychology and changed their adverts accordingly to their benefit and for the benefit of their clients.

What we learn here is that these nuances, hooks, and tips are still relevant in today's age for businesses. The decisions are made by humans and human psychology remains the same. Human beings are, in other words, hardwired. As one article from HBR says, "You can take the person out of the Stone Age, but you can’t take the Stone Age out of the person."

However, an individual's psychology depends on that person’s unique genetic inheritance, personal experiences, and culture. This psychological concept about humans is used to design the products and strategic communication at various successful companies like Apple.

When we see various successful companies of the past or in the present, we can very well see how deeply they are positioned into our heads, not because of how better there products were but because of how better they communicated about it.

Therefore, it is extremely crucial for businesses to use the power of psychology and communication to differentiate themselves from the rest and place themselves into the minds of the consumers.

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Let us take these 22 points individually and see if it can help you as a StartUp owner or an SME owner in developing and upgrading your product or service offerings.

1. Spotlight the "Unique Differences".

For StartUps & SMEs: Define your unique selling proposition (USP) and convert them into a unique bragging proposition (UBP) and keep hitting the spotlight on them.

2. Facts are better than generalities.

For StartUps & SMEs: a) Be descriptive to explain your product or service offerings. b) Compare your products or services with competitors' products & services and show the comparison results to your customers highlighting the unique differences your products or services have over your competitors. c) Use data and numbers to persuade your customers on taking the decision.

3. Give your (advertising) a big idea.

For StartUps & SMEs: Give your product or service a big idea. Define features or communicate your products or features in such a way that they stand out from the rest. Explain the benefits a customer gets with your product or service. Features do not make the sale, Benefits do.

4. Don't shy away from long copy.

For StartUps & SMEs: If they are looking for it (product or service), they will read it. Trying to please everyone in the market is not a strategy one should follow, instead one should focus only on the target customers. Educating your target customer is the first step in converting them into your brand advocates.

5. Copy should allay anxiety about going to a strange place.

For StartUps & SMEs: As a StartUp owner or an SME owner, you should focus on upgrading the customer experience with your products or services. The customer should feel at home while using your products or services. Convey this through your copy.

6. Use research to test provocative new ideas.

For StartUps & SMEs: Research and do social listening about what is trending in society or on social media. Change your offerings or communication style with changes in time, season, or consumer habits. It is to attract, engage, and delight consumers.

7. Give your product a first-class ticket.

For StartUps & SMEs: Everyone wants something premium and exclusive. Use this to your advantage while designing your product or services. Nobody wants anything cheap. Tata Nano was communicated as cheap and you can see the result.

8. 'Newsbreak' advertising can make news of its own.

For StartUps & SMEs: Focus on customers' pain points and explain how your product or service solves those problems. It will help you with word-of-mouth publicity.

9. Bargains are still irresistible.

For StartUps & SMEs: Bargains are always irresistible. Freebies are always welcome. You can use this to attract and engage your target customers. Gamifying the whole experience can add a fun element to engage with your brand even more.

10. Make your coupon the hero.

For StartUps & SMEs: Highlight your coupons, CTA buttons, freebies. Just highlight it, do not overwhelm your communication with it.

11. Make the coupon a miniature advertising.

For StartUps & SMEs: Write a persuasive copy for every coupon, CTA buttons, or freebies you give along with your product or service. Trying building a story around it, or try associating it with some social cause.

12. Don't scorn that grand old word - "Free".

For StartUps & SMEs: Every customer loves anything that comes free. As business owners, you too want to attract your customers with this golden word. But only by using it strategically can help you gain loyal customers else it will build a group of customers who come to you only for free stuff. And that you won't like, right?

13. Go the whole hog.

For StartUps & SMEs: Explain to your customers what they are actually getting with your product or service. Tell the benefits rather than features. Use customer's day-to-day activities or scenarios and place your product or service into these scenarios while explaining how it will enhance their life using your product.

14. Repeat your winners.

For StartUps & SMEs: Keep repeating your features, services, and products that sell until they stop selling. Customers should be reminded constantly about your USP. This will leave a mark about your brand into the minds of the customers.

15. Avoid 'addy' layouts.

For StartUps & SMEs: Unclutter everything. Present yourself as organized and neat. It will give a premium look to your brand.

16. Photograph the natives, not the tourists.

For StartUps & SMEs: Use graphics that your customers want to see. This will help you with your brand positioning. Using graphics that either hurt their sentiments or are very foreign to their taste could negatively impact your whole brand communication effort.

17. Caption your photographs.

For StartUps & SMEs: Be descriptive wherever possible. Let your customers know what you are talking about.

18. Give your advertisements a burr of singularity.

For StartUps & SMEs: Nobody wants to see the same old communication design or same old communication method after some time. Try standing out from the rest and getting your brand to register into the minds of your customers by using some out of the box creatives or by using things that most people neglect in the day-to-day life. This will make your brand stand out from the rest.

19. Let your pictures do the talking.

For StartUps & SMEs: What you show is more important than what you say.

20. Relevant sound effects.

For StartUps & SMEs: One sound is worth a dozen adjectives. Use 5 senses marketing wherever possible.

21. Test direct mail against other media - it could surprise you.

For StartUps & SMEs: Email marketing is the most cost-effective form of communication. Use them strategically and smartly. Look how Zomato, Dunzo, and Swiggy is using this to their benefit.

22. Make your sales literature work as hard as your media advertising.

For StartUps & SMEs: Content was the king, Content is the king, and Content will be the king. Literature should not be always boring. Connect and attract people to your brand by using their stories to promote your brand among them. People love to read stories about themselves.

Correct Positioning is half the battle. The rest is technique. - Ogilvy & Mather on Advertising.

As Startups & SMEs, you could not afford to lose the attention of your customers away from your products or services. Using these above communication strategies you will be sure that your customers will remain engaged with your communication effort and once they are engaged, half the battle is won.

Make sure you start using these in your next marketing campaign.

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