In the past, I have defined the Negative Attribute as a
feature of the product that may be needed in order to overcome a potential
negative. I said they are well known to most of us, No Preservatives, No
Artificial Flavors, Won’t Leave Residue, Gluten Free, etc. My assumption was
that they were only rarely needed and even then were expendable if the Selling
Proposition was complex and already had an abundance of communication elements
in it. They don’t generally score very
high when compared to all of the other communication elements yet curiously,
consumers frequently insist on including them in the Selling Proposition. Why
do they do that? Here is the answer.
For a long time, I have referred to what I call the operating
state of humans. That state is “What’s wrong here?” By operating state, I am
referring to their frame of mind. If you were just thinking to yourself “yes,
but not me”, look more closely. This goes for you and I as well. We do it on a
subconscious level constantly and jump into and out of it thousands of times
daily. Its presence seems to vary on our mood or circumstance but I say it is
always right there. I think it is a holdover from the days of the caveman when
things went wrong on a frequent basis.
In the past, I recommended we be aware of this consumer
behavior and avoid several things that will turn the consumer off simply by
making it difficult to work through your Selling Proposition. Here is a short
list:
- Avoid a sentence with more than four words.
- Avoid more than five key elements,
- Communicate on an eighth grade level,
- Make smooth transitions from element to element,
- Avoid long words.
- Avoid any word that may not be widely
understood.
- Avoid small type or anything else that may be
difficult to see.
- Make sure there is contrast in all graphics.
This list was built defensively. That is, with the attitude
that one needed to be careful not to sabotage your own Selling Proposition.
Now, there is a positively motivated action that I like much more. A reason that offers an advantage over your
competition.
Let’s assume you still check the above list to be sure you
are not inadvertently turning the consumer off. What’s next is to find a
negative attribute simply to satiate the operating state of your consumer. I
believe if you do so they will lower their level of interest in finding an
objective that will disqualify their purchase. This will be most effective on a
product where you are relatively sure there are no Negatives in the consumers
mind to overcome.
Let’s get creative for a moment. Let’s say you are selling
an electric fan. It has in it a simple circuit breaker that is already required
by law in case of a short. Electric fans
have been made this way for years. The consumer, on the other hand, has no
fundamental fear of a short as they encounter the category.
The opportunity: The consumer approaches the category
looking for a fan with little knowledge of how fans work. He scans several fans
that boast similar performance features making the decision difficult. But when
he encounters your Selling Proposition, it includes the words “Automatic short
safety protector”. This line is intentionally worded similar to a “surge
protector” that the world has come to accept as necessary. Now we have invented
a Negative Attribute for our own use to set ourselves aside from our competition.
Which one does he buy?
Continuing the thought, I have seen the line “gluten free”
on food products that are completely inappropriate like preserves and juices. I
suspect it was added by marketers who are hoping for a ride on that bandwagon.
The learning here is that in the endless quest to drive your
competition crazy, three words at a time, take a look at the Negative
Attribute. Your competition is likely unaware of this opportunity.
Cheers,
Keith Chambers
Keynote Marketing Speaker
Creative Marketing Consultant
(310) 473-0010
www.chambersgroup.com
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