They Say Sex Sells, but Would it Sell Circuit Boards?
It’s no secret that advertisers have been bombarding the public with provocative ads for years in an attempt to grab the consumer’s attention for just a moment more. Ford, Proctor and Gamble, Axe, GoDaddy, etc; they have all run campaigns that have pushed the limits, and in most cases, been exceedingly successful.
Photo Taken From Capinor.com - Click to Go to their Website
But would Sex Appeal increase Circuit Board sales?? There are a variety of angles (or curves) that you have to consider. I welcome you to join the debate in the comments section of this article. We’re very interested in what you have to say.
One of the most significant goals of Advertising is to increase brand recognition. You hope that when a consumer hears your name, they know your product, or that when they see/need your product, they think of you. Web Hosting – GoDaddy. Why do I know GoDaddy so well? I watched the Superbowl. Oh, and there’s the GoDaddy girl.
The sex appeal of various advertisements however, do not necessarily relate to the product being promoted. In my research on this topic, I have run across a ton of ads that sex appeal seems so out of place. Vacuums, Toilet Paper, Web-Hosting, the Nissan Pathfinder.
I think the key is to know your market. Your Target Market is more of an indication of whether you should air a risque ad. Scott Allen
from About.com writes in his article Sex Sells? Oh Really? that “One thing’s for sure — to include sexuality in your advertising will almost certainly alienate some of your audience, but done well, may be more memorable and effective. Don’t be afraid to polarize your audience, though. It’s far better to be loved by some and hated by others than to be forgotten by everyone.” But what percentage of our Customer Base would we cause to hate us?
I would personally want to be aware of the fine line between Attraction and Association. You want to attract a potential customer to your Ad/Product, but you may not necessarily want them to associate your products/brand with something racy, crude, irrelevant, provocative, etc. This ties in closely with Brand Recognition. What are you known for? What do people think of when they think of you? Do they think of professionalism and prestige as one might when they think of Goldman-Sachs? Do they think cutting edge/contemporary like Sharper Image?
My opinion is that that since the Circuit Board industry is very B2B oriented, as well as government and big business focused, sexy won’t sell. In a large consumer market, the odds and tastes are in your favor, but trying to secure a deal for 2000 Mil-Spec Circuit Boards with the Chief Purchasing Officer for a Prime Contractor by flashing some skin will only hurt.
What are your thoughts?
While I agree that a sexy ad might not increase the sales of a 2000 Mil-Spec circuit board, (whatever that is) there is a subtle point worth mentioning.
The GoDaddy girl is not there to sell domain names directly; she is there to help associate the brand she represents with hosting/purchasing domain names in the potential buyers’ heads.
Any strategy, “selling sexy” included, that helps associate your brand with 2000 Mil-Spec circuit boards in your contractor-buyers head is a step toward differentiating yourself from every other 2000 Mil-Spec circuit board manufacturer out there.
Intel was able to turn their name into a customer preferred brand and still have customers specifying Intel processors for their new computer purchases to this day.
If you could raise your brand awareness in your customers engineers that spec the equipment for purchase from “1000 qty. 2000 Mil-Spec circuit boards” to “1000 qty. Cirexx 2000 Mil-Spec circuit boards” you would have accomplished the same thing.
Instead of selling sexy, maybe you sell testing. Maybe you could provide free boards to engineers during the design and prototype stages to have their systems built and tested with your boards so there would be a compelling reason to spec a Cirexx board when it came time to make a purchase as the system was built and certified with your boards.
Just a thought.
I think Sex could sell a circuit board. I think nerds would be circuit boards by the gross if they thought there was a chance at sex (jk).
Two salespersons show up at your office.
Both have product of equal quality and value.
Both know their products.
Both have great personalities.
One looks like Rosanne Barr.
One looks like Angelina Jolie.
Which one do you go with?
Regardless of the industry, sex does sell. And, no, electronics definitely do not sell themselves. Whether it is an attractive sales person or a catchy advertising slogan–the “sex appeal” generated will spark interest to facilitate the introduction of a product or service. (Interestingly, this discussion is initiated from a website called “HOTPCB”–sounds sexy to me.) From there, substance is needed to truly engage the customer and close that sale. Contact greg@bareboard.com to learn how to become more attractive to your prospects and increase your chances of “consummating” that new relationship. BTW, I would be very interested to see what Angelina Jolie was selling.
When designing HDI your via structure is a major contributor to yield loss. Are you interested in meeting me…probable not, but I can continue if you want me to.
I am The Printed Circuit Girl. Im an independent manufacturers rep. My job is to initiate the sale. Prospects can feel my passion and energy just from a cold call and I don’t like to disappoint them. I earned this title because I create excitement but also because I am KNOWLEDGEABLE, dependable and add value. Attraction is helpful but short lived, admiration is ultimate.
Purchase decisions are made on cost, delivery and quality, with delivery and quality as table stakes and cost as the tie breaker. An attractive, or otherwise “pleasant to be with” sales rep will possibly be “tolerated” to a greater extent than others, but in the end it will not enter into the decision process unless the procurement person is willing to risk their job in the hope of an unethical indiscretion. Of course that could happen, but it’s no way to run a successful business.
All things being [kinda] equal, sex will absolutely give a company the advantage when competing in a B2B environment. I’ve seen it, and done it myself, over and over.
I can’t tell you how many times my customers have asked me what my inside sales associate with the sweet voice looks like, or when would I be bringing her in to hang out for drinks.
I feel so strongly about this that when revamping a sales strategy for a European company, I once suggested they put their four best looking inside people in front of customers in male-female teams until they figured out if the decision maker was a woman or a man.
Oh, yeah…it works both ways.
- The worlds biggest pokemon rpg Pokemon toxic rpg http://www.pokemontoxic.net join two day and get a free promo pokemon for joining
Hi people i represent new Hosting company Macano Hosting, i
Visit my Website:
Leave your response!
Categories
Blogroll
Recent Comments
Recent Posts
Most Commented
Spam Blocked