Rational Marketing

BNET recently shared this great post about simplicity. Marketers at Starbucks, Kraft, and Campbell have discovered that “simple” sells. Products that stress fewer ingredients – food, drinks, cosmetics, even pet food – are outselling rivals, as this USA Today story explains.

Is this a trend with traction? Will this “marketing megatrend” extend beyond consumable products? Leading consumers with creative marketing is one thing. Is ’simple’ something we should all be considering in our marketing, branding, and positioning? The answer to that is yes. Here are …

Five Reasons Why You Should Keep It Simple:

1. Communication. Regardless of whether your organization is Business to Business (B2B) or Business to Consumer (B2C), high-tech or high fashion or non-profit. When it comes to positioning, the simplest and easiest to understand way of getting across your unique value proposition (the reason why customers should buy from you and not your competitor) is always the best way.

2. We’re All Consumers. You, me, the CEO, even the seemingly unflappable finance and IT people. We’re all consumers and we’re all subject to mega-marketing trends that invade our subconscious day and night.

3. Stress and Overload. We’re all stressed-out on media, product, and “choice” overload. Too much choice can be a bad thing. We are all overloaded with media and product choices. Moreover, technology adds complexity that takes time to learn. It’s nice to have one less thing to analyze and worry about. “Simple” is calming, relaxing … for a change.

4. In Management and In Life, Keep It Simple. That simple rule goes a long way to explaining why Apple’s Mac continues to gain market share over PCs.

5. Left-Brain And Right-Brain Appeal. Emotionally, we associate “simple” with easy, quick, controlled. While we make left-brain decisions based on the perception of quality and performance, in many of those metrics – defects, moving parts, size and weight – less is more. These days we just want things to work the way they’re supposed to – no instructions, no drama, no returns.

Direct mail is a really great way to communicate “simple” in a clear-cut and easy to understand way. Call us at 602-272-2100 for some fresh ideas in graphic design or just let us mail your simple idea.