From sanitary napkins to industrial pipes, all products are sellable with the right marketing strategies. Even boring products can sell well when customers need them or when they realize they need or want them. How exactly can you achieve that? The key is in creating excitement for the product.
When we talk about creating excitement for and around a dull product, we don’t only mean making snappy taglines or clever and relatable ads. Turning a boring product into a fascinating one requires an ingenious, big-picture approach—a campaign that shows up with the right messaging in front of the right audience at the right moment. Here are a few tips you can follow to make any boring product exciting.
Take a “different is better” approach
Take a page from Rolls-Royce’s playbook. When every car maker went on and on about their cars’ roaring speed, Rolls-Royce drove its marketing to a different path by highlighting the quietness of its engine. The company’s longest-running ad began with the line, “At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.” That cemented Rolls Royce’s name in the industry.
You can do the same for your products. Say you sell hangers or boxes. See what your competitors talk about, so you know how you can differentiate your product. Then, take a brave stand in being different.
Tell stories with photos and videos
In this day and age, people have a shorter attention span. But you can catch their eye even if you sell a dull product—you only have to tell compelling stories with great photos and fascinating clips.
An average photographer would likely take a photo of the product as the subject. But when you look at huge, successful marketing campaigns, the products don’t always take center stage. Rather, the focus is on the story and the people using the products, making them more relatable and interesting.
Say you want to launch an ad campaign for microfiber rags. Their advantages are pretty straightforward: they are a superior cleaning tool as they can penetrate cracks that cotton cloths or paper towels can’t reach. Simply telling your customers about that isn’t exciting. Instead, take photos or videos that tell an interesting story around that fact, and you’ll likely get more comments, likes, and shares than expected.
Give an irresistible offer
How you package your campaign matters, and one great way to wrap it up is with an irresistible offer. We’re not just talking about giving huge discounts, even though that can count, too. Think about what your customers will get when they buy a product from you. What else do they get when they buy?
Take McDonald’s, for instance. A burger for six dollars might seem a bit pricey. But that’s not what the food chain sells. They sell meals—full meals that consist of a burger, fries, and a drink. If these meals are marketed at eight dollars, and the customers know that an ala carte burger costs six, they will get a good deal with an eight-dollar set meal. Combo meals are surely an irresistible offer.
As most marketers say, “there’s no such thing as a boring product, just boring marketing.” Never let a “dull” product limit your imagination when it comes to marketing. Don’t be afraid to be different, to tell great stories, and to be clever in making an irresistible offer. That’s what will make your product stand out.
