Your Prospects Can't Remember Your Message

Design your message to be remembered

If your health care business is doing any kind of marketing, you definitely want it to be effective. So today, we’re going to discuss a design principle you can apply to any message that makes an offer – an e-mail, a print ad, a TV commercial, a web page, or a poster in your office.

There’s a classic marketing formula that describes – step by step – the process of getting a customer and making a sale. A-I-D-A. Attention – Interest – Desire – Action. We get their attention, arouse their interest, fan the flames of desire, and get them to take action. Like most formulas – easy to say – not so easy to do. Especially today.

It's about them

Consumers are much more likely to remember messages that deal with topics they care about. They will pay little if any attention to messages about what you need. The most important job of any marketing piece is to get the attention of the intended target audience.

To give a quick example, let's say Dr Smith, an allergist, is opening a new office. He wants to "get the word out" so new patients will come in.  Here are two headlines:

Dr Smith Opens New Allergy Office in MyTown 

New Relief for Allergy Patients in MyTown

Both headlines are about the new office. But the second is more likely to get the attention of allergy patients. Headline # 2 immediately promises "New Relief..." And then it specifically identifies "Allergy Patients" as the target. 

Prospects don't care so much about how or what you're doing. They care intensely about how THEY are doing. They want to know "what's in it for ME?" How does Dr Smith's new office improve my life? What's new, different, better?

Prospects always need a "reason to believe." If I were writing copy to support headline # 2, I would be focusing on how Dr Smith's allergy practice is meaningfully different and why those differences matter. I'd be looking for a physical fact about the new practice such as "free genetic testing for every new patient." I would try to show hor Dr S uses genetic testing to fine-tune treatment. When you connect a vague benefit to a physical feature that confers a benefit, you have an idea that prospects are more likely to accept because "it's real." If it's about something that matters to them, it will stick in their memory.

Getting attention is harder than ever

We all know that the number of marketing messages we see every day has exploded in the last few decades. Even as there are more and more demands on our attention, we are becoming less able to meet those demands. According to a Microsoft study, the attention span of human beings has become dramatically shorter.  In the last few years, it’s gone from 12 seconds to eight seconds. It’s now shorter than the attention span of a goldfish. This means the very first thing your prospect sees or hears must get their attention.  

That's the single biggest reason why we must studiously avoid the routine, predictable, tried and true message designs. We can't afford to blend into the crowd. We want to stand out. So, if you're picking an image for an ad - figure out what "everyone else does" - and DON'T do that! Look for something new, unexpected, maybe even a bit challenging.

At the same time, don't be deliberately weird. It's a fine-line. Walk it carefully. Create mock-ups and show them to prospects and listen to their feedback. What catches their attention? What do they remember? How does it make them feel? Consumers make choices because it "feels right."  So evoking the feeling that leads to buying is critical.

Holding attention is also a challenge

When we get a new idea, the first place it goes in the brain is into working memory. And working memory’s capacity is limited to maybe seven items, plus or minus 2… Each item in working memory may stay there for maybe 20 – 30 seconds.  This means, the more topics you throw at people – the less likely they are to remember any of them.

Before you approve your next marketing piece, ask this question: As a result of seeing this, what do I want my prospect to think, feel, say or do? What is the outcome I want?”

Keep it Simple

One major trend we've noticed - perhaps you have, too - brand names are getting shorter.  The web-based task service "Angie's List" has simply become "Anji."  It does the same thing. But the name is now four characters - instead of ten. As people find it harder & harder to remember, it makes sense to give them less to remember.

When I was writing commercials for retailers, especially car dealers, they wanted each commercial to include:

The giant tent sale, the huge inventory, the massive discounts, thousands in factory cash back, 50,000 mile warranty on every new car, truck, or van, liberal trade-ins, convenient financing, hot dogs & balloons for the kids, hours & locations, ends Saturday at midnight, so hurry in... 

That's a lot.

The commercials became frantic, fast paced, and loud. Also, largely ineffective, for two reasons: too many features of no real consequence, no single benefit or promise that was large enough to motivate action. 

Focus on ONE thing

Instead of trying to get people to remember five things… invite them to DO one thing. Call for an appointment, OR place an order, OR sign up for the newsletter.

Pick one and tell them why life will be better if they do it. That will give your marketing a strong consumer focus and very likely improve its effectiveness.

Want more insights on how to get noticed, known, and remembered? Want help creating an irresistibly powerful message?  We recommend our video course Principles of Presence.  Dr Mark Tager and Robert John Hughes present insights, tips, and techniques from their breakthrough book Enhance Your Presence: The Path to Personal Power, Professional Influence & Business Results.