Why Soft is the New Hard Sell
by Danny Brown on April 29th, 2008
One of the most successful movies at depicting business life was ‘Wall Street”. Made and set in the property boom and “me too” decade of the 80’s, it was the perfect example of the “hard sell” approach of sales and advertising. Now, however, despite some people still relating selling or advertising a product as normally “hard selling”, many companies are turning to the method of “soft” selling to get their message across.
The difference here is that instead of aggressively “forcing” your advertisement onto consumers and customers, your business should now adopt a softer approach that will actually make them more likely to buy from you. This is because they won’t see you as trying to make them buy your product – instead, you will appear to be trying to help them with their requirements.
Soft Selling in Action
If you’re still unsure of why your business should be using a soft sell approach to both your marketing and advertising campaigns, then the Dove “Real Beauty” campaign is a perfect example. Instead of using super-thin models to promote their products, the advertising campaign for Dove’s beauty products uses real women of all shapes and sizes. The message is that Dove knows that not all women are magazine perfect, and they’re celebrating this by using real women with real body shapes.
The success of this approach has seen sales of Dove products increase massively – despite Dove products often costing more than their counterparts. This is testament to how their advertising campaign has clicked with women everywhere, and has also resulted in their competitors using similar tactics.
Soft Selling and Your Business
Once you realize the benefits of soft selling, it’s time to see how it can work for your company. Depending on the market you’re in, you will have to take a different approach to ensure you target the customers you want. However, no matter which industry you’re in, the key to a successful soft selling campaign is to make sure that you’re using it effectively. To do this, you need to come across as offering a solution without actually trying to sell that service or product.
Another good example is the current campaign by Apple, showing why Mac’s are better than PC’s. The adverts don’t attack the PC, or say that it’s an inferior product – instead, they show what a Mac can do, and that it can actually do everything a PC can do and more. Because Apple isn’t deriding the PC industry, potential customers see Apple as a friendly company who doesn’t have to stoop to low-end advertising tricks, and as such Apple Mac sales have increased exponentially.
Let your business take the same approach – instead of calling out your competitors, let your advertising show that your product offers a solution to everyday needs. Slogans like “We understand…” or “Let’s talk about…” offer a softer and friendlier approach, and should see your sales and customer base increase accordingly.
