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It’s So Easy

Audio marketing can be a strange beast. We understand clear, direct and inclusive language can increase the effectiveness of a message, but time and again stakeholders get cold feet. Rather than follow their head and leverage our knowledge of consumer behaviour, they choose to load ads with clichés.

In itself that’s not the worst approach. We want to be as efficient as possible in what we say and a cliché can function as a mental shortcut for consumers. You can think of it as a ladder in Snakes and Ladders; letting a listener skip a few squares as you guide them through your message.

Easy As…

Now we come to an advertising favourite: EASY.

Is it a cliché? Yes. Is it useful? Also, yes. What’s often overlooked is when you use the word easy, you’re making a promise to consumers. And failing to deliver on that can – in worst-case scenarios – cause damage to your brand.

Remember, word of mouth is still the most powerful form of advertising. And the consumers most likely to share their experience with brands are those who feel like they’ve had a bad one.

Those who were told dealing with your brand would be easy, and then had a less than great experience.

The Cliché

So using the word easy presents two major hurdles: it’s both a cliché and a promise to consumers, and to use it effectively you need to overcome both.

Firstly, what are you trying to say about your customer experience when you claim it is easy? It’s worth spending some time digging into that and working out what it really means. Are you quick? Are you cheaper than your opposition? Do you go to your customers at home or work?

It could be a great point of difference alone – even the key message in your marketing – which you’re missing as you skim over it dismissively. Clichés can be useful, but they can also be audio wallpaper. If you use it, use it well.

The Promise

If easy is a promise to potential customers, you have no choice but to be exactly that. This means taking time to review the customer experience you deliver – and being honest about it.

In your store or showroom are customers acknowledged? Do your staff then give them space and time, or does a hard sell start immediately? Well-trained staff should have the emotional intelligence to work out the best approach.

If you direct consumers to your website, is it actually easy to use? Is the menu clear, does navigating it make logical sense? Is there a chatbot popping up on every single page and getting in the way? Are any offers you reference in marketing assets obvious and easy to find? We’ve all visited a site and not been able to find the reason we went there in the first place.

Easy? No. Infuriating? Absolutely.

Go Easy on Easy

Using the word easy is not an issue in and of itself. What matters is what that small word means to the people who hear it, and making sure it is a genuine proposition on your part.

Which of course, is easier said than done. But worth the effort.