If he REALLY believed that people would simply buy when they found out the company existed, they'd be going after image advertising and not going to Ryan for help :)

Great post Ryan!

Jeremy Reeves
http://www.The30DayCopywritingChallenge.com

You hear statements like that when the inventor of a product/service confuses their enthusiasm for it with the prospects — of course they think folks just need to know it's there — they're already sold on it. No one else is.

The Best Case for that client is they might sell a few, then someone who knows how to market will find a way to knock it off, reverse engineer it — whatever, then outsell them until they're out of business.

Don't mean to pontificate, but in a lifetime of marketing, I've never seen a firm even survive that attitude, let alone prosper.

Sounds like he's been reading Eugene Schwartz ;)

But educating the market doesn't have to be about growing the market, it can be about growing your market share.

Like you mentioned, a segment (the smallest segment) of the market might be already sold on you… but everyone else requires being “sold” in one form or another.

All good advertising educates the market in some way — and it's always more than just “letting them know you exist”.

Cheers
Kyle

If he REALLY believed that people would simply buy when they found out the company existed, they'd be going after image advertising and not going to Ryan for help :)

Great post Ryan!

Jeremy Reeves
http://www.The30DayCopywritingChallenge.com

You hear statements like that when the inventor of a product/service confuses their enthusiasm for it with the prospects — of course they think folks just need to know it's there — they're already sold on it. No one else is.

The Best Case for that client is they might sell a few, then someone who knows how to market will find a way to knock it off, reverse engineer it — whatever, then outsell them until they're out of business.

Don't mean to pontificate, but in a lifetime of marketing, I've never seen a firm even survive that attitude, let alone prosper.

Sounds like he's been reading Eugene Schwartz ;)

But educating the market doesn't have to be about growing the market, it can be about growing your market share.

Like you mentioned, a segment (the smallest segment) of the market might be already sold on you… but everyone else requires being “sold” in one form or another.

All good advertising educates the market in some way — and it's always more than just “letting them know you exist”.

Cheers
Kyle