Good enough isn’t, or is it?

By Ken Gasque

Boastful advertising that claims a product or service to be the best is boring, unbelievable and, more likely than not, to be a turnoff.  Why?  Because the advertiser usually can’t prove that their claim is true and that they really are the best, even if they are.  We have a client that does provide the best product in his category.  He spends thousands of dollars yearly conducting tests and having outside labs conduct tests to prove his product is the best.   Is his product the best?  Absolutely, but only marginally.  Sometimes the difference between being the best and being second best or “pretty good” is very insignificant, measurable only in the lab by a trained technician with some very sophisticated measuring equipment.  Quality is important, but the consumer does not pay much attention to claims that “We Are The Best!” and usually can’t tell the difference.

If you are the best don’t make claims about it. The customer will know by experience and will pass that knowledge on to others.  We like to tell others about our discoveries.  If you claim to be the best but your service doesn’t support your claim and the customer can’t perceive a difference, you have created a problem with your creditability.

Think about your own experiences.  If you are searching for a service do you start out looking for the very best?  Doubtful.  Do you compare and analyze services?  If you are looking for a printer do you run tests to determine the best printer?  Or if you are looking for a dry cleaner, or accountant, or coffee vendor, or yard maintenance person do you spend much time looking for the very best?

How do you know when you have found the best?  Is it the best on Leaphart Road, or the best in Columbia, or the best in Richland County or the best in the Midlands?  How is the best determined?

How much time do you think it would take to procure the best in every category?  Could you settle for “pretty good” in one category and seek the best in all other categories?  I doubt it.

Could you rely on someone else’s judgment to recognize the best? No, that would not be proof enough.  Do you rely on the contest run by the media to have their audience ‘vote’ for the best?

Do you believe that the best cost more?  How much more is the best worth, 50% or 10%, if “pretty good” will do the job?  Do you think a service provider thinks dollar marks when a prospect says I’m looking for the best, nothing less will do?

Do you believe a sales person who exclaims that this is the best?  Most professional sales people will tell you “before a customer buys they have to like the sales person and maybe even have some trust.”  The consumer has to feel good about the product and person they are buying from and it has to be “pretty good.”

Your advertising and marketing should help you develop a brand that makes the customer feel “pretty good” about your product or service.   Do not misunderstand; you still have to provide the best you can.  Your product has to be quality, your service has to be fantastic and you have to be there to back it up.  But all of that is expected.  Your branding needs to help the customer experience the brand, enjoy it and feel that it is “pretty good.”

Look at what you buy and ask yourself, is it “pretty good” or do I have to have the “best?”  If you require the best, here is my list of  “the best:” Apple Computer, iPhone, Alibris (online service for hard to find books), Google, Wall Street Journal, Labrador Retrievers, Nikon and Caladiums from Fancy Plant Farms.  You might not agree but you might think they are all “pretty good” and “pretty good” works.

Ken Gasque is president of Gasque Marketing and Advertising a brand development and marketing planning company in West Columbia, SC.  He can be reached at 803 791-0952 or at [email protected] follow Ken on Twitter @Gasque and on LinkedIn.