The problem with the truth is that in marketing, no one wants to tell it. There’s a good reason for it – the truth is very rarely stranger or as interesting as fiction – Just ask Hollywood which genre makes the most money ‘Crazy could never happen in real life action packed’ or ‘True Stories’.
Most businesses have nothing to say to the market that’s exciting, AND true, so they lie – or tell half truths. Or they settle for really vague promises and statements that can be misleading, but aren’t necessarily true. This creates a real probortunity (Problem + Opportunity) for you if you have something worth saying, and you know how to get it believed. I’ve written about believability before and why women wear mini skirts, why Mujuru’s death story was suspect from day one and The Truth about Black people… read them – but also check out this advert – The Herald advertising it’s own newspaper.
The insinuation in that Analyse/ Compare/ Know…that’s how the Herald does it. They measure the validity of their news sources objectively bringing you ‘the truth’, the Full story.
Do you believe that this is in fact true for the Herald? or do you think it’s a little closer to ‘half true’?
You tell me.
What about you and your business? How believable are your marketing claims for those encountering your brand or products or adverts for the first time? When you claim to be the best, cheapest, fastest, biggest etc…how much of your market really believes it?
Does anyone?
You can waste a lot of time and energy with most free online advertising platforms in Zimbabwe. Sure, FREE classifieds come at a great price, but the results are often very poor indeed. If you’re expecting a flood of business from any online classifieds website, you’re likely to be disappointed. Do it anyway, some are better than others…just make sure you systematize the process as much as you can so that it isn’t taking up a lot of your time.
